Why are chinchillas, ginea pigs and gerbils considered as rodents (rats) since they dun look like rats???
2007-11-08 15:09:56 · 6 answers · asked by pinkgrapes2007 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
The main thing that classifies an animal as a rodent, like a few people already stated, is their incisors. Rodents have a single pair of incisors in each jaw, and the incisors grow continually throughout life.
Check out this link: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/rodentia/rodentia.html
2007-11-09 07:51:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They have rodent teeth; 2 on top and 2 on bottom, for gnawing. They also have some molars but they are way in the back. Beavers are rodents too, and they get up to 90 pounds. A capybara is a rodent too, it weighs around 150 pounds and looks like a cross between a guinea pig and a sheep, and it stands underwater on the bottom to poop. Rats are not the only rodents.
2007-11-09 00:46:04 · answer #2 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Rodents are a group of mammals having certain characteristics, among which are large gnawing incisors which continue to grow as long as they live. While rats and mice are the most common types of rodents, they are hardly the only ones. Beavers, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, porcupines, and hamsters are also rodents. The largest rodent in the world, the capybara, resembles a giant guinea pig more than a rat.
2007-11-08 23:20:36 · answer #3 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They got 2 teeth up and down like a rat]
2007-11-09 02:03:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rodents are a group of mammals
2007-11-08 23:48:28 · answer #5 · answered by Maryajne B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
its there incisor teeth that classify them into the rodent family like mice, beavers and rats.
2007-11-08 23:18:52 · answer #6 · answered by someguy57 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋