What is this cute little rodent?
 

My mother sent photos of a little rodent that has been helping itself to sunflower seeds in one of her feeders (this is in France). We can't find any wild European rodents which match. My sister suggested that it might be an escaped gerbil. What do you think? The tail is hairy, which eliminated most of the 'wild' options.

If it is a gerbil then my mother will try to catch the poor thing, she said it's not scared of her when she gets near it.

Looks like a gerbil to me. Cute little guy!

Ditto.

I would guess that, as well, and it will not take well to winter over there.

I don't think I've heard the words "cute" and "rodent" used in the same sentence before.

You don't think those big dark eyes are cute?? If the rodent is outside and not destroying anything that is mine, I don't care. And if it's a gerbil, it most definitely falls in the category of cute rodent! :)

Since everyone seems to agree, my mother is going to try to catch it next time she spots it in the feeder. She has an old hamster cage in the basement to put it in. Only trick is catching it before one of the many neighborhood cats does...

I just scrolled through a bunch of photos of gerbils and I didn't see a single one that looked nearly as cute as "yours" does in the second pic. It's like the Nermal of gerbils.

100% not a gerbil.......eyes ae positioned too far forward. Gerbils eyes are very much on the side of their head. I believe you have something a bit more exotic.

Subrosa...you always leave us dangling. What do you suggest then?

I have no idea what it is but agree with the word "cute".

It looks like a hamster! Does it have a little tiny tail or a long tail? If it has a tiny tail, it is a hamster. It would be the Syrian type. Of course, it would be easier to confirm this with a picture of the little guy from the side.

Long tail. Look at the first photo.

Definitely not a hamster, then. It does look like some pet that has either been released or gotten loose. I did not think it was a gerbil as it did not look at all like the ones we have had. However, who knows?

Perhaps in the family of flying squirrel/sugar glider?

You know the eyes look right for a sugar glider. Camille, please have your mom.catch it, it'll die in the cold!

Something exotic that would be native here or really exotic? I'm been looking at tons of webpages about wild rodents in France and western Europe, but can't find anything like that. If it's wild it should stay wild.

---------- Post added at 07:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------

If it's an escaped pet, I wonder where from. My mother lives in a tiny village in the hills and her hamlet has only 5 other houses, one of which is rather far. Should be easy enough to go ask the neighbors about it. And the hamlet isn't on the main road, so unlikely to be a dumped pet.

---------- Post added at 07:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 PM ----------

Going on the sugar glider idea, I ended up finding something which is not a glider but a good match. Iis it a Dormouse maybe??? Hazel dormouse - Wikipedia
But they are supposed to be hibernating at this time of year.

It does really look like a hazel dormouse. I have never heard of these before. I just spent a few minutes looking at pictures of them and they are really adorable!

Does it eat orchids?:biggrin:

I raised mice and gerbils as pets as a child, and I also agree it's not a gerbil for sure, but is SO cute! Because I had rodents as pets , I find it VERY difficult to trap or kill them, unless I HAVE to due to damage from infestation. He looks pleased with himself : )

For sure!

The local wildlife center agrees that it's a hazel dormouse, but a bit strange that it isn't hibernating yet. It must be using the feeder to finish fattening up. Some research turned up that they are not nuisance rodents as they never go inside homes.

They are extremely rare and considered to be threatened in many parts of their range in Europe due to habitat loss (hedgerows and woodlands with a dense understory). As such they are on the national red list (protected species) in a number of European countries and can't be killed or caught. I was surprised to read that in optimal habitat conditions their numbers are only about 10 individuals per hectare!

Good for you Camille for that research. Just another Stone in the wall of what human beings have done to the Earth and Wildlife.