# Is this a rat or something else



## 98316

Hi, can anyone tell me what they think this might be. At first I thought it was a young rat but it hasn't grown in size over the last 6 weeks so am now not at all sure. 

As you can see it's no longer than the size of a half coconut but that makes it bigger than a mouse but I think smaller than a rat, as others are bigger.

This has now taken up residence under my fish pond. I've only seen the one in the last four weeks and am now intrigued as to what it could be.


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## Broom

Hi Travelbug

Its a rat, should not be fed could get overrun when attracted by food.

We had one which attempted to take food birds had knocked off our bird table, son in law put it to ground.

Best regards
Broom


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## autostratus

Perhaps a
Bank vole: http://tinyurl.com/5wq4sp
or
Short tailed vole: http://tinyurl.com/5ooqmj


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## clodhopper2006

Yes it's certainly a rat and you can be very sure it won't be the only one. They reproduce in large numbers and start early. I think I read once that once a rat starts to reproduce it can have 15000 decendants within a year


Bob


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## greenasthegrass

Definitely a rat! cute though in a rat kinda way!


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## clodhopper2006

Noooooooooo! it's definitely not a vole


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## 107088

Its a brown rat.

Traps, poison, dead, and the 50 gazillion of its relatives.

For crying out loud do NOT feed the thing.


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## annetony

It looks like a rar to me as well, although it may be a young one because of its size, get rid of it as soon as you can,

you can catch leptospirosis (Weil's dissease) from them, not pleasant and in some cases can cause death (not of the rat). :wink: 

Anne


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## apxc15

It's easy to confuse the Wood Mouse with a young rat, that sure looks like a rat, and it isn't a Wood Mouse, the ears are too small. Call your local council soonest and they should send a some one round to check and then sort. Where there is one there is likely to be many.
Pete


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## johng1974

looks like my last flatmate !

8O


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## claypigeon

Hi if you need my services give me a shout.

Dave


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## spykal

Hi

It is very light in colour but it could still be be Rattus Rattus ...which is a black rat or ship rat ... found everywhere in the world but locally quite rare in UK ... they are not black at all, but all shades of brown :wink:

By the way the black rat was blamed for spreading the Black Death ...bubonic plague and is still exterminated for this very reason.

Read more Here <<


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## pelicanpete

I have them in my roof (yes they really do live in roofs!) here in Florida. They're unwelcome and I'm working on it! But then again, I have alligators, armadillos, snakes and a whole host of other wildlife keeping me company in my garden and lake. Here's a link to a picture of a roof rat (rattus rattus) which seems to confirm you have one and the same http://www.countyofkings.com/ag commissioner/Wildlife/big roof rat.jpg

Back to the UK next week to enjoy some MH'ing.


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## vardy

Middle toes do not look right for rat - rat has very long ones in proportion to outer toes. Bank vole is similar to this photo, so identity needed. Body (without tail) length of brown rat is 22-27 cm - bank vole is 9 - 11cm. Get out the ruler and do the math! The difference is twice and more the size if rat.

Whoever he is, if there is no nourishment source - they go elsewhere. Don't feed,and make sure nothing around pond/garden is edible (nuts, plant seeds, berries).

I kill nothing - ever, the only prey that tempts me usually has 2 legs not 4. I assume you may want to just shift 'em on??

Usually with no food they just decline/move/cats get 'em. 

They don't like disinfectant and won't live where it's washed down regularly. I make weak jeyes or dettol in bucket. Don't get ANY near pondwater. I don't put it down holes to drown babies just in case they turn out to be something other than rats.

My last dodgy little 'friend' has moved out at the end of last year after I did the above. Now I have what I think is a collared mouse as new tenant.


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## 98316

Thanks for all the replies. 

As I said earlier this has been around for about 4 weeks, during that time it hasn't grown at all size wise and I would estimate its body is about 12 cms in length at most. 

It is also on its own, not once during the last four weeks have I seen another one which is another thing that threw me a bit as rats tend to hang out in groups.

I'm not keen on the poison angle unless I know for sure it is a rat, so will try the disinfectant, as the bird table is stood on patio slabs so can do this. I can't not put food out as I have lots of baby birds at the moment including sparrows, blue tits, robins and blackbirds and they are all in my hedge with the parents feeding them from the contents of the bird table. 

So disinfectant is the next thing I shall try. I only put the sunflowers on the ground to try and get him to come out into the open so I could photograph him. 

Am sitting here watching the woodpecker feed whilst I'm typing this.

Thanks again for all the great replies.


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## johng1974

definately not a field mouse? a big one from a big field?

:?


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## 96299

Yeah..Thats a top hat for sure :lol: It might not be that big now,but they soon grow and could turn out to be one big old rowland in a few months. 8O Dont want to scare ya or anything like that. :lol: 

steve


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## johng1974




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## 98316

Lol didn't scare me. If it's just one then I'm not too freaked out about it, I figure it should be more scared of me that I am of it and as long as it stays out of the way when I'm in the garden that is fine for now. Am going to keep an eye on it for next few weeks to see if it grows at all, but the first sign of there being more than one then I shall take action.

My mother on the other hand won't set foot in my garden whilst there is even a possibility of a rat being on the loose no matter how small it is!.

Thanks once again for all the replies.


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## sallytrafic

My vote - Not a rat.


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## Otto-de-froste

EEs HHamster!!!!!

No ees rat


Si


EEs HHamster!!!

Manuel


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## MAJORTAFF

It's definitely a RAT. We've lost ours, it maybe the blue food as he ate so much of it either that he found out you had good food and hoped on the train from the bottom of our garden. Don't send him back!! and make sure he eats more blue food otherwise he will be with you forever :lol: 
Best wishes
Major Taff


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## mandyandandy

Whatever you do when around the pond area and in particular if you touch the water please wash your hands well. 

Andy's uncle had a rat in his garden, didn't want to be rid of it as they lived out in the wilds and had all sorts visit the garden. He got the illness mentioned earlier and was seriously ill in hospital for weeks, took him over 12 months to recover. 

I had never heard of it before but has made me a bit more cautious now around them. 

You could trap it and take it off to the wilds somewhere, now it likes your food it shouldn't be too hard. 

Mandy


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## eurajohn

Don't forget, any "sweet little rodents" Rats, Mice or whatever they may be are living outside whilst the weather is pleasant, will, when it get colder look for more snug accomodation , this might be your garden shed etc. but just as likely inside your house. Will you still consider them "sweet or just one of natures creatures" when it has bitten through the insulation of your wiring and caused your house to go up in flames or more likely found their way into your food storage areas and left their wet and dry refuse ( the stuff you normally consign to the Thetford bowl in the van) around the shelves storing the food you had planned to eat. At the very least discourage them, at best dispose of them as soon as is possible.


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## Richard_the_Rogue

If that's not a rat I'll eat my motorhome.


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## Spwt

100% Brown Rat.


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## Chudders

It,s a Rat, don,t be fooled by the so called cute look. Get rid of it.


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## Glandwr

Let's hope the little bugger was a male. If not according to Clodhopper's reproduction formula you could have 31,252 of them running around by now considering the OP was May '08.

Difficult to miss that many I'd have thought.

Dick


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