I live in Ohio, and want to know what type of rodent is as small as a mouse, with no tail?

Question

I was outdoors today and saw two small dark brown rodent type creatures fighting..well, it seemed like a fight..and they were as small as mice, but didnt have the traditional mouse tail.They seemed tailless. Does anyone know what kind of rodent this is?

Answer 1

Blind mice are sometimes known to lose their tails. Something to do with farmers's wives and carving knives.

http://www.galleryone.com/images/christe...

Answer 2

Well, the meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus, which is quite common throughout the US, has a short tail. I've read that they're aggressive and territorial (see source below) so it's one possibility).

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/si...

If those were hamsters (which are also territorial and fight each other), then it means that there's a feral population (feral means that they were once domesticated and are now wild) and you should probably inform the Wildlife authorities in your area, because they're an exotic species.

Please check the photographs of the meadow vole in the link below and let us know.

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UPDATE: The pine or woodland vole (Microtus pinetorum) also lives in Ohio and has an even shorter tail.

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/si...

However, this is a social species so if the animals you saw were indeed fighting, they probably weren't pine voles.

Could they have been grooming each other?

Answer 3

shrew

Answer 4

they could have been moles.

Answer 5

what you saw was probably a wild hamster.

Answer 6

The cat left one on the step. It has been in the freezer for 6 months. I was going to stuff it but its so small I'd mess it up. I think it is a shrew. Maybe I'll let the maggots have it and save the bones. I live in Logan, OH.