I had one as a kid, they're great pets. If you ever do get one, you should get more than one. They're actually quite social and can get lonely, which I unfortunately found out years after mine had passed.
I'm a native speaker of Mandarin (Chinese), where there's no rat/mouse distinction either. I know that in English they're different so I do say rat for big ones and mouse for small ones in English, but otherwise they're basically the same to me.
Yup, even the specific species names aren't consistent between languages. The species that is most commonly called African Soft Fur Rat (Mastomys natalensis) in English is called a "Vielzizenmaus" or "Mouse with many Nipples" in German. The German name is way better, they are more closely related to mice and their fur isn't that much softer than on any other rodent. I don't know how many nipples are a normal amount for rodents though, maybe they're perfectly average
I'm always so boggled by how people can't (or don't care to?) distinguishing between their basic rodent species. Common rats, Mice and hamsters look very very different if you give it even a second of thought. Yet any time I watch clip compilations of rats there are always clips of hamsters and mice (sometimes even chinchillas!!) mixed in there.
So, for anyone who wants to learn some basics on how to distinguish them:
::: spoiler rats
Wikipedia
The biggest tell is that they can get pretty big. A huge (larger than your hand) rodent with a long bald tail that doesn't look very overweight will almost always be a rat. The overweight ones will probably be rats too, people tend to overfeed their rats.
Their face shape tends to be more square and blunt than in mice, especially when you look at them from the side.
:::
::: spoiler mice
There are a lot of very different Mice species (especially when looking at wild mice) but if you had to know just one it should be the Fancy Mouse. It's not really a species, just the term for mice that have been selectively bred for domestication, so they can look vastly different in color and fur texture, but the overall body shape is somewhat consistent.
Generally, mice stay fairly small (generally smaller than your hand) and their head to body ratio is somewhat different compared to rats (I'm actually not sure what exactly looks different, maybe less neck? It just looks different when you look at them side by side)
Their ears will also be bigger than rat ears (though large-eared "Dumbo" variations are a thing for both mice and Rats):
Picture 1 is a Dumbo Mouse, Picture 2 is a (young) dumbo rat:
:::
::: spoiler hamster
There are two variations of hamster you should generally know: the larger Syrian Hamster or Golden Hamster
and the Dwarf hamster , which isn't a species but more of a catch-all term. In captivity, a Dwarf hamster is usually going to be a Campbell, Roborovski or Djungarian Hamster (or a mix thereof).
Syrian hamsters are larger than dwarf hamsters and Mice, but usually smaller than rats (some very fat hamsters exist of course). They only have a very short stubby tail and a round face. Very round if their cheek pouches are full.
Syrian hamsters are strictly solitary and extremely territorial, you should never keep more than one in one cage (optimally, you wouldn't even have more than one in your house). They will kill and eat each other on sight. Don't let anyone tell you that "it works for their hamsters", it does not.
Dwarf hamsters are way smaller than Syrian hamsters and about as large as a mouse (depending on the species ofc). They're pretty recognizable because they're very round. Usually they don't have a tail either, with some species being an exception and having a slightly longer stub.
The biggest difference to Syrian hamsters is that Dwarf hamsters are very social!! Generally, you should never keep them alone, as they bond to each other and build social hierarchies. Solitary Dwarf hamsters can die from the stress of loneliness. It's sometimes even recommended to keep your groups number even so that no hamster is left out when every one else bonds as a pair.
Keeping a solitary Dwarf hamster is less dangerous than keeping a pair of Syrian hamster though. Some people say that they can make it work by interacting a lot with the dwarf hamster so that they don't get lonely. I don't really know if that's scientifically proven though.
:::
::: spoiler bonus round
Here are some more common pet rodents you might want to know about:
Chinchillas: Big boys, need a lot of space to run around and sand to bathe in.
Gerbils: About as large as Syrian Hamsters but usually pretty lean looking. You can recognize them from the fact that their tail is covered in fur.
Guinea Pig: You might confuse them with hamsters from a photo, but they are way way larger and more square, especially in their face scape. They're also pretty vocal, so you'll hear them coming lol.
:::
::: spoiler check your knowledge
Here's images of rodents, what are they?
:::
::: spoiler solution
image 1: Rat
image 2: Muskrat
image 3: Syrian hamster
image 4: Fancy Mouse
image 5: Fancy Mice
image 6: Trick question, they're African Soft Furred Rats, a species of mouse
image 7: Guinea Pig
image 8: Rat
image 9: Dwarf Hamsters (Roborovski, I think?)
image 10: A young Dumbo Rat
:::
Not quite fully vertical, but I got a Microsoft Sculpt Mouse ten years ago and it was an overnight improvement. I fear the day it finally gives up the ghost.
I tried a vertical mouse for two days, and painful sensation came to my wrist and arm the first evening, I switched back after the second day and pain was gone after a few more days. Never again. I don't doubt it's good for some people, but it's not for everyone. And I don't understand why it's never said anywhere that not everyone will be more comfortable with it.
Anker makes a cheap vertical mouse that works pretty well for me. I would suggest trying that first because it will take time to get used to.
If you are willing to spend a little more, the Evoluent vertical mouse absolutely beats everything I've tried in terms of comfort. I bought an older model on eBay because I didn't want to spend a lot. The only problem with the Evoluent is that the button your middle finger is under is the middle button and your ring finger is the right click. If you can remap the buttons, then it would be hands down the best option. Unfortunately, not everyone can install stuff to remap buttons on their work computer.
29 Comments
candyman337@lemmy.world · 63 pts · 339d
For the record, that rodent is a rat not a mouse lol
lowleekun@ani.social · 36 pts · 339d
Random fact: Rats are so god damn cute, i would have one if they had a reasonable life expectancy.
ramenshaman@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 339d
I had one as a kid, they're great pets. If you ever do get one, you should get more than one. They're actually quite social and can get lonely, which I unfortunately found out years after mine had passed.
DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 338d
If I had one, my cat would definitely just eat it.
Nikls94@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 339d
Random piece of information: the Japanese call all of them just "Nezumi" 🐁 🐀
candyman337@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 339d
Well the Japanese need to be more specific because they're very different.
I can't imaging how hard it is to Google specifically rat or specifically mice questions there lmao
Capricorn_Geriatric@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 339d
Have you heard of grue?
In any case, the same applies to animals. They may not be linguistucally differentiated in the same way across language boundaries.
randint@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz · 2 pts · 338d
I'm a native speaker of Mandarin (Chinese), where there's no rat/mouse distinction either. I know that in English they're different so I do say rat for big ones and mouse for small ones in English, but otherwise they're basically the same to me.
KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 339d
The japanese simply don't make that distinction and it's not a problem for them
Plenty of languages (including my Polish) don't make a distinction between town and city, and they don't have problems
candyman337@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 339d
I feel like town and city is a little less consequential than two separate species
KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 338d
Mice and rats are both generic names for multiple species
candyman337@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 338d
Damn, you're right, welp I stand corrected
python@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 335d
Yup, even the specific species names aren't consistent between languages. The species that is most commonly called African Soft Fur Rat (Mastomys natalensis) in English is called a "Vielzizenmaus" or "Mouse with many Nipples" in German. The German name is way better, they are more closely related to mice and their fur isn't that much softer than on any other rodent. I don't know how many nipples are a normal amount for rodents though, maybe they're perfectly average
fading_person@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 339d
Wait, aren't town and city the same thing?
SabinStargem@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 338d
I think cities are bigger. Hamlet -> Village -> Town -> City -> Metropolis, or something along those lines.
smh@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 338d
Can also denote a difference in government styles: towns have a town council, cities have a mayor. Cities can be smaller than towns.
This depends on your region, naturally.
sundray@lemmus.org · 13 pts · 339d
It's also a wireless rat.
python@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 335d
I'm always so boggled by how people can't (or don't care to?) distinguishing between their basic rodent species. Common rats, Mice and hamsters look very very different if you give it even a second of thought. Yet any time I watch clip compilations of rats there are always clips of hamsters and mice (sometimes even chinchillas!!) mixed in there.
So, for anyone who wants to learn some basics on how to distinguish them:
Wikipedia
::: spoiler rats
The biggest tell is that they can get pretty big. A huge (larger than your hand) rodent with a long bald tail that doesn't look very overweight will almost always be a rat. The overweight ones will probably be rats too, people tend to overfeed their rats.
Their face shape tends to be more square and blunt than in mice, especially when you look at them from the side. :::
:::
::: spoiler mice
There are a lot of very different Mice species (especially when looking at wild mice) but if you had to know just one it should be the Fancy Mouse. It's not really a species, just the term for mice that have been selectively bred for domestication, so they can look vastly different in color and fur texture, but the overall body shape is somewhat consistent.
Generally, mice stay fairly small (generally smaller than your hand) and their head to body ratio is somewhat different compared to rats (I'm actually not sure what exactly looks different, maybe less neck? It just looks different when you look at them side by side)
Their ears will also be bigger than rat ears (though large-eared "Dumbo" variations are a thing for both mice and Rats): Picture 1 is a Dumbo Mouse, Picture 2 is a (young) dumbo rat:
::: spoiler hamster
There are two variations of hamster you should generally know: the larger Syrian Hamster or Golden Hamster and the Dwarf hamster , which isn't a species but more of a catch-all term. In captivity, a Dwarf hamster is usually going to be a Campbell, Roborovski or Djungarian Hamster (or a mix thereof).
Syrian hamsters are larger than dwarf hamsters and Mice, but usually smaller than rats (some very fat hamsters exist of course). They only have a very short stubby tail and a round face. Very round if their cheek pouches are full.
Syrian hamsters are strictly solitary and extremely territorial, you should never keep more than one in one cage (optimally, you wouldn't even have more than one in your house). They will kill and eat each other on sight. Don't let anyone tell you that "it works for their hamsters", it does not.
Dwarf hamsters are way smaller than Syrian hamsters and about as large as a mouse (depending on the species ofc). They're pretty recognizable because they're very round. Usually they don't have a tail either, with some species being an exception and having a slightly longer stub.
The biggest difference to Syrian hamsters is that Dwarf hamsters are very social!! Generally, you should never keep them alone, as they bond to each other and build social hierarchies. Solitary Dwarf hamsters can die from the stress of loneliness. It's sometimes even recommended to keep your groups number even so that no hamster is left out when every one else bonds as a pair.
Keeping a solitary Dwarf hamster is less dangerous than keeping a pair of Syrian hamster though. Some people say that they can make it work by interacting a lot with the dwarf hamster so that they don't get lonely. I don't really know if that's scientifically proven though. :::
::: spoiler bonus round Here are some more common pet rodents you might want to know about:
Chinchillas: Big boys, need a lot of space to run around and sand to bathe in.
Gerbils: About as large as Syrian Hamsters but usually pretty lean looking. You can recognize them from the fact that their tail is covered in fur.
Guinea Pig: You might confuse them with hamsters from a photo, but they are way way larger and more square, especially in their face scape. They're also pretty vocal, so you'll hear them coming lol. :::
::: spoiler check your knowledge Here's images of rodents, what are they?
:::
::: spoiler solution image 1: Rat
image 2: Muskrat
image 3: Syrian hamster
image 4: Fancy Mouse
image 5: Fancy Mice
image 6: Trick question, they're African Soft Furred Rats, a species of mouse
image 7: Guinea Pig
image 8: Rat
image 9: Dwarf Hamsters (Roborovski, I think?)
image 10: A young Dumbo Rat
:::
karashta@sopuli.xyz · 25 pts · 339d
Real talk, though. I switched to a vertical mouse and almost all of my hand pain went away. Really enjoying it.
rmuk@feddit.uk · 4 pts · 339d
Not quite fully vertical, but I got a Microsoft Sculpt Mouse ten years ago and it was an overnight improvement. I fear the day it finally gives up the ghost.
BlueMagma@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 339d
I tried a vertical mouse for two days, and painful sensation came to my wrist and arm the first evening, I switched back after the second day and pain was gone after a few more days. Never again. I don't doubt it's good for some people, but it's not for everyone. And I don't understand why it's never said anywhere that not everyone will be more comfortable with it.
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 339d
What are you using? I've been thinking about switching too.
ElectricTrombone@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 339d
Anker makes a cheap vertical mouse that works pretty well for me. I would suggest trying that first because it will take time to get used to.
If you are willing to spend a little more, the Evoluent vertical mouse absolutely beats everything I've tried in terms of comfort. I bought an older model on eBay because I didn't want to spend a lot. The only problem with the Evoluent is that the button your middle finger is under is the middle button and your ring finger is the right click. If you can remap the buttons, then it would be hands down the best option. Unfortunately, not everyone can install stuff to remap buttons on their work computer.
karashta@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 338d
I have a Evoluent VM4R that I've really been liking.
I also have a cheap Anker that's okay as a back up
barnaclebutt@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 339d
Me too. It was one of the few things in life that made a huge difference.
CleoCommunist@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 339d
WE SHOULD RENAME THE WIRELESS MOUSE TO HAMSTER
ThunderQueen@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 339d
dubyakay@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 338d
Yeah, that's dumb.
Lumisal@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 339d
So far a 45° mouse has been the best for me
M137@lemmy.world · -4 pts · 339d
God damn that person had to be obese as fuck, their fingers look like toes.