What Is The Difference Between A Rat And A Mouse

1 5 2 5 years.

One of the most important differences in behavior between mice and rats is that mice are curious and rats are cautious. Mice reach reproductive maturity in 6 to 10 weeks and live only about 1 year. Both mouse and rat have a pointed snout though. Adult rats are substantially bigger in both size and weight.

Mice do not dig deep and even if they do so they may dig only to about a foot. A female mouse births up to 10 litters of 5 to 6 young every year. A rat is bigger and has a thicker tail. There are 65 known species of rats while 30 different species are known from mice.

The rats belong to the genus rattus while the mice belong to the genus mus. Rats dig deep and long burrows. The most common rats are the black rat and the brown rat rattus norvegicus while the most familiar mouse type is the common house mouse mus musculus. Rats mate in spring and fall with females delivering 4 to 6 litters a year each with 6 to 12 babies.

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The average rat lives 1 to 2 years. By nature rats are more unclean nasty and sort of wicked. A regular adult rat will weigh between a half and one pound whereas a mouse is more like half an ounce. A young rat also has distinctly larger feet and head compared to the body than a mouse.

Rats are also over ten times heavier. The major difference between a rat and a mouse is their size. When it comes to ears mice have large floppy ears however rats have larger ears in size compared to mice but not in respect to their body size. What do rats look like.

While a rat is either medium sized or large a mouse is relatively smaller in size. Mice are usually light grey or brown in colour with a lighter shade on their bellies. Key differences between rat and mouse. Still as compared to that of a mouse the muzzle of a rat is a bit softer.

Starting with the snouts of both mice and rats mice will have more of a triangular nose whereas a rat s nose is blunter. On the other hand mice are social timid and more inclined to be night rodents. Mice have 20 chromosome pairs 2 6 million base pairs. A mature mouse can be distinguished from a young rat by its larger ears and longer tail compared to its body length than the rat.