so i was working on the yard the other day, and i stumbled upon a rodent nest! at first i thought they were rats, and today i went to go take another look and i'm not so sure that they are rats because of the coloring and the tails. i thought mice/rats were always uniform in color, but these have a white stripe on their heads. the tails (which you cant see in the pics) is a short fluffy looking thing, as opposed to a long pink tail. they are still babies, so its hard to tell.

i'm just trying to figure out if they are pests like rats and should be killed before they end up in the house, or if they are ok animals like rabbits or something and i can just let them do their thing...

here are a few pics... i cant get a good face shot of them, but lemme know what you guys think. and FYI: those arent spots in the 4th pic, they got wet from the sprinklers

 

The ears make me think a rabbit but...I dunno I'm definitely not an expert.

 

I was going to possum at first, but the last picture really looks like a baby rabbit. You will know soon enough. If its a possum let me know and one of our boxers would love to come play.

 

my girlfriend thinks it's one of these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla

 

They appear baby rabbits to me

 

Looks like a chinchilla to me...If the pics were better I could find out.

 

yep, gf says chinchilla to

 

rabbits are a high probability since i have rabbits in my back yard... this is the front yard though, so i thought it to be odd that they'd nest so far away from where they live.

rabbits only eat soft plants though, right? just wondering, cuz i thought i saw a few acorns mixed in with the nesting material. it is under a liveoak tree though, so they might have just fell there. speaking of nesting material, it consisted mostly of fur and dead grass... which i guess i should go back out there and replace the nesting material since i dont think i'm really interested in exterminating these anymore.

they are significantly larger today than they were yesterday, but still a little smaller than the average hamster... i'll take a few more pics tomorrow.

 

the article on chinchillas states "chinchillas are born fully furred and with eyes open. Litters are usually small in number, predominately twins".

these have their eyes still closed, and there are at least 4 in that hole.

 

Maybe try putting a glove on and pick one up and take a pic of it that way?

 

little Cotton Tail bunnies.

...or what is known to my dog as breakfast!

 

pretty sure its not a chinchilla, (googled pics of baby) also pretty sure its not a rabbit cause of the long pink tail, I believe its a species of chipmunk, as they usually live underground. chipmunks shouldnt be a problem around your house/yard.

 

looks like a BADASS new coat to me!

 

lol..
Those are Cotton Tails... see them all the time. The white stripe on the head is a dead give away!

I will bet a dollar to a donut hole that none of those have a long pink tail.

slayer_taunu said: "the tails (which you cant see in the pics) is a short fluffy looking thing"

Are all yall city folk?

 

Take the nest and catapult that **** into Fort Worth. Done.

 

those are rabbits. the local ones around here always nest in a yard kicking up the grass to make the babies invisible. look at the nest again around dusk and you should see a rabbit a few feet away keeping an eye on them.

i always enjoy seeing them scampering around but i have a neighbor who plants alot of stuff in their back yards and they shoot the invaders with bb guns

 

it may be a new species of varmit....................more than likely just rabbits!!

 

Yeah I would say chinchilla too..................if he lived in South America.
Looks like Alvin, Simon and Theodore.

 

no no, they DONT have a long pink tail. it's short and furry


...so anyways... how long do you think i have to wait before i can eat them? LMAO

 

You should have just mowed over them and gone about your business.

They look like little rabbits to me. Look how big the hind legs are compared to the body.