A Pack Rat, that’s what!
More specifically, a White-throated Woodrat, Neotoma albigula.
There are several different kinds of related Woodrats, just to make things confusing for humans. And in addition, Woodrats are not the same as the rats we usually think of, when we think of rats–those are the Old World Rattus rats.
Woodrats or Pack Rats look more like giganto mice, with their big ears and big dark eyes. Their tails are also fuzzier than the bare Rattus tails.
These amazing creatures can survive on the moisture they get from the vegetation they eat, and do not need to drink water. How’s that for a desert adaptation!
Quite a while back we talked about Pack Rat middens, the amazing homes the White-throated Woodrats build in the desert.
These folks must have special skills, to build such large defensive structures without getting nasty stab wounds, since middens often include a lot of cactus branches.
Desert Mysteries Weblog 
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