What is the difference between a mouse and a rat?

Rats and mice belong to rodents, but relatives do not have animals to each other. Gray rats or pasyuki are natural enemies of mice. As soon as the first one appears in the house, the second ones begin to feel fear and try to leave the house faster. To choose the right method of dealing with a pest, you need to know what the rat and the mouse look like and how they differ.

External differences

Mice and rats are easily confused. But if you make a careful comparison of the animals, you can see a lot of differences in appearance of rats and mice.

Height and weight

Mice and rats are easily confused.But, if you make a thorough comparison of the animals, you can see a lot of differences.
The mouse is small in size. Her body without a tail is six centimeters. And the weight of the bottle does not exceed 30 g.

Pasyuk adults can weigh a kilogram. Their height reaches 30 centimeters. Black rat less of a gray relative, but still more of a mouse.

Paws

In mice, they are small and have tenacious claws, thanks to which the pest easily runs on vertical surfaces.

Interesting!

Mice do not know how to jump. They seed and leave frequent traces on earth.

Rats have strong and muscular limbs. The hind legs are longer than the front, which allows the animals to move around by jumping. The fingers have membranes, which are called leathery folds.

Head

In the photo of rats and mice, it can be seen that the animals differ most of all in the shape of their faces, ears and eyes. In mice, the skull has a triangular and slightly flattened shape. In rats muzzle oblong. The gray look has a dull nose.

The ears of rats are small and triangular. They are pressed to the head. Mice have large pink ears, wide at the base.

The eyeballs of rats are small.In norushek eyes large and expressive.

Tail

Rat tail is short and fat. It reaches half the length of the body. Although you can see long and thin tail in rats black like mice. But the latter have on the "fifth limb" scales, which are arranged in a circle and thin sparse hairs.

Wool

The mouse is silky and pleasant to the touch. And her kinsman has a tough and coarse "hair". The cover of an adult resembles a hard pile. The coat does not cover the rat tail.

Rat and mouse

Differences in intelligence

Often, between fans of ornamental rodents, disputes arise, who is smarter - a mouse or a rat. But the difference between the animals in the intellect is obvious.

Norushki able to constantly fall into the same trap. Animals do not hesitate to swallow the bait with poison and climb into the mousetrap.

Rat is not so easy to cheat. She sniffs suspicious objects for a long time and behaves cautiously. The animal can determine rat traps and traps and bypasses them. The rodent is able to explore the surrounding space and analyze. If the terrain is safe and comfortable, the rat will lead the rest of the pack there.

Interesting!

The pest regulates the number of the pack. If there are many individuals in the clan, then the mother eats the born. rat pups. In the case when there is a shortage of rats, the number of offspring increases.

People who hold ornamental rats claim that the pet responds to its nickname, singles out the person who feeds it, water it and learns it with simple tricks. Mice are not capable of this.

Lifestyle

Mice and rats prefer to be nocturnal. The owner of the apartment or house quickly discovers the animals at nightfall. They scrape loudly, make unpleasant sounds, gnaw surrounding objects.

Pasyuk is a natural mouse enemy. It destroys the holes and drives them out of the inhabited territory. If the mouse smells Pasyuk, he would prefer to move to a safer place.

Interesting!

There are people who specially give birth to domestic rats. In this way they are trying to get rid of the mouse invasion.

If you do not know how to distinguish rats from mice by external signs, look at what food prevails in their diet:

1. Pasyuki love to live in landfills. They are omnivores and do not disdain to feast on the remnants of the human table.In the absence of food, rats open the hunt for their fellows.
2. The mouse loves to gnaw seeds and cereals. Her teeth are not able to spoil the concrete or brick, but can shake off paper, soft wood, leather products.

The behavior of rats aggressive. If in danger rats will attack even man. The animals are able to attack in a pack. The mice are shy. They try not to be seen by people and flee.

What is the difference between the little rat and the little mouse

Rat and mouse

Rodent breeders claim that it is easy to distinguish a mouse from a rat. Kids have a different size and look different. But for a person who does not see newborn animals every day, it can be difficult to figure out what type of representative is in front of him.

Mouse and rat cubs have the following differences:

1. Mice have a pointed muzzle. In the pups the nose is dull.
2. The ears are big and round. The rat pups have an auricle triangular and pressed to the skull.
3. The tail of the newborn nurushka is long, and in rats it is thick and short.
4. In small mice there is no skin folds between the fingers.

Pup at a month reaches the size of an adult mouse. At this moment, it becomes difficult for many to distinguish the mouse from the rat.If the animals can not be closely considered, it is necessary to navigate along trail of a rat in the snow or the land that they leave:

1. There are no membranes between the fingers on the imprint of the mouse limbs.
2. Rat tracks are located at a distance from each other. Fingers bulging. The foot print is wide.

If you compare how the babies of rats and mice look in the photo, then it is easy to distinguish the crumbs.

If it is difficult to recognize the difference between a mouse and a rat, then it is worth looking into the pet shop. Decorative animals behave in the same way as their wild relatives. The appearance of animals also does not have major differences with "free" rodents.