Rats can reach 50cm from nose to tail. Mice and rats have long thin tails, pointed noses, whiskers and beady black eyes. Squirrels and beavers Squirrels are a little like mice and rats, but have a big bushy tail and live in trees. They are well known for their habit of hoarding nuts in autumn to provide a food store for the winter. In Asia there are giant flying squirrels that can glide for over 450m between tree tops.
Beavers are among the biggest of rodents.
They live in water, and gnaw through small trees to provide wood to dam streams. In the pond behind the dam, they build their homes, called lodges. In the Americas, porcupines are small creatures that live in trees. They have sharp claws and are covered in short, spiny quills which act as a defence against predators. In the rest of the world, porcupines are larger creatures that live in under-ground runs and have long quills.