Mouse or rat?
How to tell them apart
Mice and rats are told apart mainly by size: “rat” is used for the bigger kinds, “mouse” for the smaller.
Quick answers
They differ on 1 of the 8 quick answers: do people eat it.
| Question | Mouse | Rat |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | Mammal | Mammal |
| Carnivore? | Omnivore | Omnivore |
| Dangerous? | No | No |
| Domesticated? | Yes | Yes |
| Awake when? | Night | Night |
| Hibernates? | No | No |
| Kept as a pet? | Commonly | Commonly |
| Do people eat it? differs | No | In places |
At a glance
| Question | Mouse | Rat |
|---|---|---|
| Found in | Worldwide | Worldwide |
| Habitat differs | Towns, Farmland, Grassland | Towns, Farmland |
| Size differs | Tiny | Small |
| Length differs | 6.5–9.5 cm, not counting the tail | About 40 cm including the tail (brown rat) |
| Weight differs | 12–30 g | 140–500 g (brown rat) |
| Legs | 4 | 4 |
| Covered in | Fur | Fur |
| Lives | In groups | In groups |
| Lives for differs | 1–2 years | 2–3 years |
| Can fly | No | No |
| Swims | Yes | Yes |
| Lays eggs | No | No |
About each
Mouse
Small rodents best known through the house mouse, which lives alongside people almost everywhere. It was domesticated as the pet “fancy mouse” and as the laboratory mouse, one of biology’s most important model animals.
Rat
Medium-sized rodents, the best known being the brown and black rats that live alongside people. The brown rat has been bred into the pet “fancy rat” and the laboratory rat.
Sources
Last reviewed . The answers and notes come from each animal's own page, where every source is listed.
How each answer is decided: How we answer. More look-alikes: Side by side.