I do not own the Fallout series.
AN: Originally this was just a page about Mole Rats, but I decided to expand a bit.
Rodents
We are all familiar with these pests. Tiny(ish) mammals that are more canon fodder than actual threats. Mole Rats, Pig Rats and Rad-Rats, lots of rats. However, we will also cover other similar creatures like squirrels and rabbits.
Mole Rats
It feels like you can hardly walk a mile without running into a Mole Rat sometimes. Far from being dangerous, these mutated rodents are more pests than anything else. Omnivores, they'll eat whatever they can get their paws on. From fungus and roots to carrion and crops, they tear up gardens and spook brahmin. They live in family groups of up to 8, usually made up of a breeding pair and their litter. Their dens can be found in old junkyards, under coolant stations, and in natural caves. They use their enlarged incisors to dig through dirt, concrete and wood and they hunt using vibrations in the earth.
Mole rats are hairless for the most part, save for their whiskers that help them see underground. Blind, they depend on vibrations and other senses to navigate their tunnels. The size of a particularly fat cat, Mole rats have pink mottled skin.
Pig Rats
About the size of their cousin, the Mole Rat, the Pig Rat is another pest commonly found in New California. Typically inhabiting mines and caves in groups of ten to fifteen, the Pig Rat is little more than a waste of ammo. So instead, you should probably just kick it.
Hairless, burrowing rodents, the Pig Rat has a broad, round body with a stubby tail and a snout. This snout is what gave them the name 'Pig Rat'. Their heels are mildly elevated and they fold their hindlegs when not moving. They live beside Mole Rats and Cave Rats and like to dig up gardens and eat roots.
Rad-Rats
The common rat has long since mutated from a small household pest to a cat-sized annoyance to settlers and scavengers. Found in caves and abandoned buildings, the Rad-Rat, or Cave Rat, or simply Rat, is like its fellow rodents, more a pest than actual threats. Living in groups, they scavenge for food. While far from dangerous to a well-armed scavenger, they can overwhelm an injured or inebriated wanderer.
Rabbits and Squirrels
Far from dangerous, these smaller critters are often hunted for food by smaller predators, like Wolves and Foxes, or by hunters. They're lager than their Pre-War counterparts, though not by much, and having patchy fur. Its interesting to note that most mammals have been less directly affected by radiation, at least when compared to insects and crustaceans. They're also ingredients in practical, if not appetizing dishes such as Rabbit Stew or Squirrel-On-A-Stick.
Beavers and Opossums
A semi-aquatic rodent found throughout North America, the Beaver is an industrious mutant. They use their enlarged incisors to cut away at trees and use them to build dams in rivers. These dams are used to make pons where Beavers build their dens or 'lodges'. Beavers use their large flat tails to warn their family members of danger by slapping them against the water surface. Beaver fur is a popular trade item among Trappers.
Opossums (often pronounced as just 'possums') are a type of small mammal known as a marsupial. Most female marsupials have a natural 'pouch' used to carry still-nursing young, but the opossum does not possess such a pouch. Opossums ae small, covered in grey fur and thumbs and have three heads and several tails.
Rodents Trivia
While most Mole Rats are the descendants of the common Naked Mole Rat, or Heterocephalus Glaber, some Mole Rats on the West Coast were created using FEV.
The Mole Rat Brood-Mother is easily identifiable due to her enlarged stomach from unborn Mole Rats.
In Klamath's Trapper Town, their used to be a horde of rats in the abandoned mines, supposedly led by a massive 'Rat God'.
Mole Rats are tamable, but make poor pets.
Mole Rats are fond of Cheezy Poofs.
Eating cooked Mole Rat is not recommended unless you are on the brink of starvation.