• python@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      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:

      rats

      picture of a rat 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.

      mice

      picture of a mouse
      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:
      Dumbo mouseDumbo rat

      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 hamster
      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
      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.

      bonus round

      Here are some more common pet rodents you might want to know about:

      Chinchilla
      Chinchillas: Big boys, need a lot of space to run around and sand to bathe in.

      Gerbil
      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
      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.

      check your knowledge

      Here’s images of rodents, what are they? image 1
      image 2
      image 3
      image 4
      image 5
      image 6
      image 7
      image 8
      image 9
      image 10

      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

    • lowleekun@ani.social
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      4 days ago

      Random fact: Rats are so god damn cute, i would have one if they had a reasonable life expectancy.

      • ramenshaman@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        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.

      • candyman337@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        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

        • randint@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
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          3 days ago

          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.

        • KSP Atlas@sopuli.xyz
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          4 days ago

          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

              • python@lemmy.world
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                10 hours ago

                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

            • SabinStargem@lemmy.today
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              3 days ago

              I think cities are bigger. Hamlet -> Village -> Town -> City -> Metropolis, or something along those lines.

            • smh@slrpnk.net
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              3 days ago

              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.

  • karashta@sopuli.xyz
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    4 days ago

    Real talk, though. I switched to a vertical mouse and almost all of my hand pain went away. Really enjoying it.

    • BlueMagma@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      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.

    • rmuk@feddit.uk
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      4 days ago

      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.

      • ElectricTrombone@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        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
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        3 days ago

        I have a Evoluent VM4R that I’ve really been liking.

        I also have a cheap Anker that’s okay as a back up

  • ThunderQueen@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Every time im reminded that my bones cross when i turn my hand, i can feel it and get very uncomfortable for like 10 min until i forget again

  • dubyakay@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    body part is made to be in multiple different states without any tension info graphic implies that one state is “unnatural”

    Yeah, that’s dumb.

  • M137@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    God damn that person had to be obese as fuck, their fingers look like toes.