You May Mistake These Animals For Rodents But They Are Not

People have diverse attitudes towards rodents. Some consider them to be a nuisance. But others think of them as an excellent addition to the family.  For the latter, they are thought to be glorious pets such as Hamsters.

But you are likely to come across other animals that are constantly mistaken to be rodents. These include raccoons, bats, and rabbits. Yes, even the cute carrot eater is mistaken to be a rodent. Below you will understand in detail why they are not rodents. Enjoy the read.

Raccoons

Most American presidents have kept pets in the White House. But did you know President Calvin Coolidge kept a raccoon as a pet? President Coolidge was the 30th president and he had an interesting group of pets in the White House which amounted to a small zoo. These included an antelope and a hippopotamus. The president’s raccoon was called Rebecca.

Here’s what differentiates raccoons from rodents:

Raccoons are a little bigger than the size of house cats, so it is quite easy to see that size could have been a factor when trying to figure out which family the Raccoon fits into.

Without the advancements of modern science, physical characteristics like their size and shape were key to helping scientists classify organisms.

Upon a closer inspection, scientists found that rodents have an upper and lower pair of continuously growing incisors.

Raccoons, however, share a similar mouth composition to that of Humans, dogs, and cats in that they have molars, canines, and smaller front incisors that do not continuously grow.

This main comparison of key characteristics confirms that Raccoons are definitely not Rodents and are not part of the Rodent Family like early historians suggested. Read more from Pests Hero…

Bats

Bats became famous again when Covid-19 struck. Allegations claimed that the spread of covid started with people taking bat soup in China but this has yet to be verified as truth. Bats are thought to be flying mice but they aren’t rodents. They are actually mammals. In fact, they are the only flying mammal.

Here’s what bats like to feed on:

Bats are carnivores. Their diet varies depending on the species. Megabats are more likely to feed on fruit, pollen and nectar, while microbats are more likely to consume a variety of insects, such as moths, beetles, gnats, and crickets. Bats’ nocturnal behavior provides an advantage for their insect-heavy diet, as many insects fly at night. There are also fewer competitions for food at night. Vampire bats are the only species of microbats that feed on blood. Blood-feeding species prefer to feed on horses and cattle than on humans.

When catching prey, a bat’s vision is often important than its sense of sound. Insectivorous bats often use echolocation, an acoustic orientation, to locate and catch prey. They emit a series of supersonic cries through the mouth or nose and detect flying insects by the echoes reflected back. Read more from PBS…

Rabbits

Peter Rabbit is an interesting modern movie. It features modern rabbits on a quest to reclaim a garden. Their quest isn’t easy, but who can beat the intelligent Peter Rabbit? You should certainly watch it if you haven’t. Due to their front teeth, rabbits like Peter are thought to be rodents. But that is not true.

Actually, one key feature differentiating rabbits from rodents is their teeth. Here’s how rabbit teeth compare to those of rodents:

Rabbit and rodent teeth may appear similar, but they have many differences that set the two apart. In fact, the differences in their teeth are one of the major causes of the separation of rabbits from the Rodentia.

Rabbits have two sets of top incisors, whereas rodents only have one. Lagomorphs have their second pair of incisors in their upper jaw. These second incisors are tiny and tucked behind a larger set of main teeth. Therefore, they aren’t generally visible from the front.

Overall, rabbits have more teeth than rodents, though some of them can be quite small.

Furthermore, rabbit incisors are encased in enamel from both sides, whereas rodents have a layer of hard enamel only on the front. The back of the tooth in rodents is covered by a layer of dentine. Read more from Rabbit Care Tips…

Hopefully, this post has helped you distinguish between real rodents and other animals. But what if the real rodents are in your space and you no longer know what to do? Worry no more, Maryland residents. Backyard Bug Patrol has your back. Call us today for all rodent control services.