Common Rodent Misconceptions

Animals you didn't know are rodents

1. Porcupine

Porcupines are a medium sized rodent that feasts mainly on vegetation. They are foragers, and will also eat bark, twigs, flowers, acorns. It is easy to identify them from their large, bulbous nose.

2. Capybara

Capybaras are the world's largest rodent and can grow up to 2 feet tall and 150 lbs. The capybara is a social and semi-aquatic. Their webbed toes allow them to move in water with ease and speed. They are herbivores, and are most closely related to guinea pigs.

3. Beaver

Beavers are semi-aquatic, medium-large rodents with large, flat tails and webbed toes used for swimming. They make dams using wood from trees that they cut down with their teeth, which provides them with an ideal habitat. A beaver's diet consists mainly of wood and bark, but also includes some vegetation (aquatic).

4. Chinchilla

Chinchillas are small-medium, temperature sensitive rodents. Their thick coats of fur allow them to live comfortably in their natural environment: mountains. Chinchillas are herbivores; In the wild, chinchillas eat grass, twigs, and leaves. They are very popular as pets, however, they are delicate creatures, and their needs are vastly different from those of other rodents.

5. Paca

Pacas are a medium sized rodent and do not make good pets. They are herbivores and eat fruits, nuts, and foliage.

Animals you thought were rodents but are not:

1. Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are small, omnivorous, nocturnal mammals from the family Erinaceidae. They mainly eat insects, but are foragers, and will eat anything from small lizards and frogs to fruit. Some types of hedgehogs, such as the European hedgehog, are found in the wild, while others, such as the African Pygmy hedgehog are often kept as pets. Wild hedgehogs go into hibernation during the winter, however, this could be deadly for hedgehogs kept in captivity.

2. Opossum

Opossums may look like rodents, but they are not. They are marsupials. Mother opossums have a pouch to carry their babies in until they get bigger, then she carries them on her back. These are the only marsupials found in North America. Opossums are omnivores, and eat pretty much anything. They are immune to most snake venom, allowing them to eat snakes. They are more afraid of you than you are of them. They will hiss as a defense mechanism, but if they get scared or stressed, they will involuntarily loose consciousness, and excrete smells to make predators think they are dead.

3. Mole

Moles are small mammals, and surprisingly, are not rodents. They have poorly developed eyes, but a great sense of touch. These mammals are burrowing and insectivores, meaning they eat whatever bugs or worms they find on/in the ground.

4. Bat

Bats are not rodents, they are actually more closely related to humans than they are to rats or mice. Bats are the only mammal that can actually fly, and belong to the order Chiroptera. Most bats are insectivores, however, some species will eat fruit or fish. Bats are not blind; they have poor eyesight, but can see in the dark (sort of). Bats use echolocation as a means to find food (insects) in the dark.

5. Skunk

Skunks are not rodents; they are carnivorous animals belonging to the family Mephitidae. Skunks are mainly nocturnal, and spray (very stinky) as a defensive response when threatened.

6. Ferret

Ferrets are not rodents. They are most closely related to weasels, also not rodents, both belonging to the family Mustelidae. Ferrets are not nocturnal or diurnal, they are crepuscular, meaning they are most active around dawn and dusk. They are omnivores, and will eat whatever they want.

7. Sugar Glider

Sugar gliders are not rodents; they are small, nocturnal, omnivorous marsupials. They are actually not at all related to flying squirrels (which are rodents, like other types of squirrels), but are related to kangaroos. Sugar gliders are common pets, as they are small and cute.

8. Rabbit

Although rabbits, both wild and domesticated, have similar characteristics to rodents such as guinea pigs or chinchillas, they are actually not rodents. They used to be considered rodents, but are now considered to fall under the order Lagomorpha, not Rodentia.