Help please - Mouse or young rat?

[raystrack]

I would appreciate help in identifying a pretty rodent.

I have a small creature living around my shed. None of the pictures found by Googleing sites look the same. I have two problems with identification in that a. I am colour blind and b. I can't find my camera

First impressions are that it is very pretty: body about 50mm (2") long from nose to tail base, possibly smaller. Very pointed face with long, dark whiskers and huge black eyes. It is dark brown with light underside and has a long, thin tapering tail which is also light on the underside.

The nearest photo match so far is of a Wood Mouse but it is darker than any photo seen to date. I saw one exactly the same size two years ago in my shed but in the Summer I also had a brown rat in the garden, which seems to have disappeared when I got rid of it's home (a section of terracotta soil pipe I'd bought from a garden centre and used as a planter). The rat was a lighter colour and seemed to have a blunter nose.

What do you think - baby rat or mouse?

[Adam Cheeseman]

Hi there,

Sounds like you've got a young Wood Mouse. They do have pointed faces but the give away is the eyes. They look too large and bulging for its head, while rats have small beady eyes.

The two tone colouring sounds right too. If you can handle it all you should see a pale yellowish brown band running from armpit to armpit of its front legs - though this is not always clear.

A wood mouse tail is also hairy where a rats tail is almost naked and looks scaly.

Cheers,

Adam

[henrya]

Originally Posted by Adam Cheeseman

Hi there,

Sounds like you've got a young Wood Mouse. They do have pointed faces but the give away is the eyes. They look too large and bulging for its head, while rats have small beady eyes.

The two tone colouring sounds right too. If you can handle it all you should see a pale yellowish brown band running from armpit to armpit of its front legs - though this is not always clear.

A wood mouse tail is also hairy where a rats tail is almost naked and looks scaly.

Cheers,

Adam

I'd agree with Adam for same reasons. Also Brown Rat tails look quite thick where they join the body - Wood Mice tails look slender and delicate.

henrya

[raystrack]

Thanks - it was too fast to spot the yellow band. I also couldn't tell if the tail was hairy or not. I'm in trouble with my neighbours for letting the rat go - I haven't the heart to kill anything.