| Common Name | Species Name | Origin | Comments |
| RATS | |||
| Brown Rat [Norway Rat] | Rattus norvegicus | Central Asia? Now worldwide | Very good rodent pet despite its reputation as a carrier of disease and destroyer of crops. See rats. |
| Black Rat | Rattus rattus | India? Now worldwide, but in less numbers than originally | The original plague-carrying rat of the Middle Ages (or rather the carrier of the flea that bore the disease), black rats are less prevalent in the West thanks to the Brown Rat which has supplanted them to a large degree. Also, black rats are better climbers and prefer trees and countryside to the more urbanised surroundings of cities and towns. They are still quite widespread in countries such as India. I am not aware of any black rat ever offered as a pet, and obviously extreme care should be taken if one is taken from the wild. Certainly not a rat for children unless captive-bred is offered, and even then the typical white rat would probably be better. |
| African Giant Pouched Rat | Cricetomys gambianus | W, C & S Africa | Fairly large rodents but quite tame in captivity. Need large cage. |
| Cricetomys emini | W & E Africa | ||
| Multimammate Rat [Multimammate Mouse, African Soft Furred Rat] | Praomys natalensis | Africa south of the Sahara | |
| MICE | |||
| Arabian Spiny Mouse | Acomys cahirinus | ||
| Golden Spiny Mouse | Acomys russatus russatus | ||
| A. r. harrisonii | |||
| A. r. lewisii | |||
| Heather Vole/Tree Mouse | Phenacomys spp. (3) | ||
| Leaf-Eared Mouse | Phyllctis spp. (11) | ||
| Kangaroo Mouse | |||
| Kangaroo Rat | Disoponys | ||
| Pocket Mouse | Perognathis spp. (25) | ||
| Spring Mouse | |||
| Harvest Mouse | Micromys minutus | ||
| Wood Mouse (Long-Tailed Field Mouse) | Apodemus sylvaticus | ||
| Yellow-Necked Mouse | Apodemus flavicollus | ||
| House Mouse (Fancy Mouse) | Mus musculus | ||
| White-Footed Mouse /Deer Mouse | Peromyscus spp. (60) | ||
| Antiplano Chinchilla Mouse | Chinchilla sahamae | ||
| Four-Striped Grass Mouse | Rhabdomy pumilio | ||
| Striped Grass Mouse | Lemniscomys spp. (8) | ||
| Nile Rat /Unstriped Grass Mouse | Arvicanthis niloticus + 4 spp. | ||
| Fat Mouse | Steatomys spp. (6) | ||
The Myomorpha families | Back to Rodents | Back to Mammalian Pets | Back to Home Page