Maybe he just thought it was a different kind of mouse especially since he didn’t know there were gerbils in the house? Like if someone doesn’t have a mouse side by side to compare, I can understand mistaking a gerbil for a mouse.

I dunno. Maybe the story is made up, maybe it’s not.

Eh I mean at a glance, especially in the heat of the moment, they do look pretty similar (both small rodent creatures).