# Is this a rat or a mouse? (link to dead rodent photo) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485 "2006-02-08T02:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/1 "2006-02-08T02:31:47Z")
I’m on deadline at my student newspaper and I need to know, definitively, if [this](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jonkleinow/Rat_Or_Mouse.jpg) is a rat or a mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/2 "2006-02-08T02:38:56Z")
That is 100% mouse (I used to do animal research with rats). ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/3 "2006-02-08T02:40:18Z")
Yep, mouse. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/4 "2006-02-08T02:45:19Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > I’m on deadline at my student newspaper and I need to know, definitively, if [this](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jonkleinow/Rat_Or_Mouse.jpg) is a rat or a mouse. I’m curious as to what the urgency is about. I hope it isn’t a story about what’s really in the cafeteria food? I agree with the mouse diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/5 "2006-02-08T03:16:05Z")
Yeah, that’s a mouse. I maxim’ed six of them when I was a freshman. The ears are telling in your photo, since I can’t tell based on size; rats are much bigger than mice. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/6 "2006-02-08T03:18:51Z")
I’d go with mouse too. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/7 "2006-02-08T03:27:42Z")
There are a lot of mice infesting a dorm floor. Students are referring to them as rats, since they’ve seen them “as large as your hand” without the tail; administrators and the pest control company says they’re mice. No worries about food, or so they say; the mice are only on the fourth story. How they got up there without being seen on floors 1-3 I don’t know. > [@Khan](#): > > I maxim’ed six of them Dare I ask what this means? ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/8 "2006-02-08T03:30:53Z")
Yuss. Maus. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/9 "2006-02-08T03:38:11Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > There are a lot of mice infesting a dorm floor. Students are referring to them as rats, since they’ve seen them “as large as your hand” without the tail; administrators and the pest control company says they’re mice. No worries about food, or so they say; the mice are only on the fourth story. How they got up there without being seen on floors 1-3 I don’t know. Rats are typically a lot bigger than a person’s hand if you count the thick tail. The are also easy to differentiate from mice. Your mouse should be about the size of a hamster or gerbil. Rats in the U.S. are usually about the same size as kittens. Here are some photos are rats: [http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&q=photo%20norway%20rat&sa=N&tab=wi](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&q=photo%20norway%20rat&sa=N&tab=wi) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/10 "2006-02-08T03:43:46Z")
Specifically a [House Mouse](http://www.hlasek.com/foto/mus_musculus_8366.jpg) Mus musculus. Rats have heavier faces and proportionately smaller ears. [Norway Rat](http://www.agr.unideb.hu/allattan/emlos/ratnor.jpg) _Rattus norvegicus_ [Black Rat](http://www.mammalogy.org/mil_images/images/mid/759.jpg) _Rattus rattus_ ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/11 "2006-02-08T09:53:01Z")
> [@](#): > > …There are a lot of mice infesting a dorm floor. Students are referring to them as rats, since they’ve seen them “as large as your hand” without the tail; administrators and the pest control company says they’re mice. No worries about food, or so they say; the mice are only on the fourth story. How they got up there without being seen on floors 1-3 I don’t know… - - - Maybe they came down the sewer pipe vent? Is it a four-floor building? 😃 ~ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/12 "2006-02-08T11:17:18Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > There are a lot of mice infesting a dorm floor. Students are referring to them as rats, since they’ve seen them “as large as your hand” without the tail; administrators and the pest control company says they’re mice. No worries about food, or so they say; the mice are only on the fourth story. How they got up there without being seen on floors 1-3 I don’t know. > > Dare I ask what this means? Perhaps someone was conducting an experiment, or simply wanted to keep a pet. A pregnant mouse could populate a floor all by herself. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/13 "2006-02-08T14:08:52Z")
> [@Lynn Bodoni](#): > > Perhaps someone was conducting an experiment, or simply wanted to keep a pet. A pregnant mouse could populate a floor all by herself. Someone’s pet would be my guess. So are you implying that the school/pest control _won’t_ do anything about it because they are mice, or just contesting what they are. If they won’t do anything I would contact some of the higherups either within the school or go to the city/county/state health board or housing authority. And what do they mean no worries about food? The mice will eat your food and poop all over the place…including in your food. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/14 "2006-02-08T15:10:33Z")
The “big as your hand” thing would give me pause. Assuming the students are right about that (note to self: never assume such a thing), those are unlikely to be _Mus musculus_, which are quite tiny – maybe as big as your thumb, not counting the tail. I can’t actually open the link in the OP, though I’ll take as conclusive what other posters have said about it. But here’s a possibility that hasn’t been considered – that the dorm has \*both \* mice and rats. Rats aren’t always that big. I’ve seen smallish ones that are indeed about as big as your hand, but not nearly as big as a kitten. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/15 "2006-02-08T15:16:58Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > The “big as your hand” thing would give me pause. Assuming the students are right about that (note to self: never assume such a thing), those are unlikely to be _Mus musculus_, which are quite tiny – maybe as big as your thumb, not counting the tail. I think what are commonly called “house mice” are quite small - MUCH smaller than any rat - but field mice are rather larger. Much bigger than a thumb, although I wouldn’t say “as big as your hand” either. I would guess that the students are exaggerating, either deliberately or just because that’s what happens when people see a creepy creature crawling around their bed. The mouse in the OP’s link looks like a field mouse to me - all the “house mice” I’ve ever seen are gray rather than brownish. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/16 "2006-02-08T15:28:45Z")
You tell the administration that if there are mice on the main floor, then they’re throughout the entire building. I started out with one in my basement. One which multiplied very quickly. They then proceeded to gnaw through the 1x4" baseboards on my top floor. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/17 "2006-02-08T22:24:13Z")
> [@GingerOfTheNorth](#): > > You tell the administration that if there are mice on the main floor, then they’re throughout the entire building. I started out with one in my basement. One which multiplied very quickly. They then proceeded to gnaw through the 1x4" baseboards on my top floor. LOL. We used to joke that we had a mouse. Never mice, just one, very quick, mouse. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/18 "2006-02-08T22:37:48Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > I’m on deadline at my student newspaper and I need to know, definitively, if [this](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jonkleinow/Rat_Or_Mouse.jpg) is a rat or a mouse. WAG It must be a rat, Cause it don"t look like MICKEY! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Analogue\_Skywalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Analogue\_Skywalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Analogue_Skywalker)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/19 "2006-02-09T02:13:49Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > I’m on deadline at my student newspaper and I need to know, definitively, if [this](http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jonkleinow/Rat_Or_Mouse.jpg) is a rat or a mouse. I live in a warehouse, def. a mousey. I find them in my dishwasher, my toilet, and running around the place after it rains. soooo cute. rats are not so cute, mice are cute! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2006, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485/20 "2006-02-09T02:40:32Z")
Looks like a small [Pack Rat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_rat) to me. Big ears, long nose, heavy tail… We get them about every other year. The one in your picture looks kinda small. They get kinda big. Say soda can - small shoe size. We live trap them when they get in the house and let them go. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-rat-or-a-mouse-link-to-dead-rodent-photo/343485.md?page=2)