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Rats and Mice and Rodents, "Oh, My..."
Do you think that rats and mice are cool pets and fun to have around? Some people consider these animals to be very clever and very nice companions, but most seem to have a dislike of even looking at pictures of furry little critters like these. Hamsters and gerbils are more popular pets even though they resemble their less popular cousins. Which “rodent” do you think would make the best pet for your family? I think the beaver would be my choice. These animals can build some wonderful dams because they are nature’s own top engineers. Did you know that there are many more rats and mice in the world than there are people? The earliest ancestors of these animals lived on Earth 50 million years ago. Today rats, mice and other rodents have had to learn to deal with many new conditions and changes. Of all rodents, the furry rats and mice have been most successful in learning how to adapt to different environments. Rats and mice are smaller mammals and they are found in countries all around the world. The animals that they are most closely related to are squirrels, guinea pigs, porcupines, and beavers. All of these animals have small, shiny eyes, large front teeth, and long whiskers. Another name for this group of creatures is “rodents”. It usually surprises people when they hear that rats and mice are very clean little animals. Much of their spare time is used for washing and grooming… just like cats. One of the main reasons that people consider these animals to be “filthy” is because these creatures live in some very dirty places. It is pretty hard to convince someone that you are a clean animal when you live in a dump. Of course, there is also the problem with rats and mice leaving their waste all about. This is perhaps the number one reason that people do not like these small rodents. The tiny harvest mouse has a long tail that it uses like an extra hand as it climbs about on wheat stalks and small branches. All mice with long tails are very good climbers and they are very acrobatic. Short-tailed mice like lemmings, field mice, and voles do not have the same graceful balance and fantastic climbing moves. The dormouse and hamster both hibernate during the winter. On the colder days of winter months, they sleep and sleep. On some of the warmer winter days they wake and snack on the food that they have stored in their home. • There is one small hamster that was allowed to live in an outdoor burrow and it once stored 90 kilos of food for the winter. Imagine how much food it had brought home without any help. The Jerboas and Kangaroo Mice are two species that have to travel for great distances in the desert and plains to search for food. Both use their big hind feet to jump while their tail is used like a balancing pole behind them. In fact, when they stop and rest they use their tail as a prop to lean back against. The Jerboa is “nocturnal” and because it has giant ears this little mouse is able to hear very well at night. It can hear 4 times better than any human, and can even hear the sound of an owl’s wings in the air. This super hearing gives the Jerboa time to escape. • One little mouse that almost everyone thinks is “quite cute” is the African dormouse. This little charmer has a bushy tail very similar to a squirrel and it is very entertaining to watch it climb and jump. It’s big, shiny eyes are another appealing feature. Did you know that many rodents rely on their tails to stop them from sliding backwards? The tails of most mice and rats are very specialized to help keep them safe. Although the tail looks fairly smooth, there are scales present. These scales are usually flat, but if the animal loses their climbing grip, the scales will pop up and keep them from sliding back down the surface that they are on. It would be totally awesome to have climbing gloves or shoes with pop out grippers, wouldn’t it? This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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