Beau very short, could be a rodent (6)
I believe the answer is:
beaver
'a rodent' is the definition.
(beaver is a kind of rodent)
'beau very short' is the wordplay.
'beau' becomes 'bea' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'very' with its last letter taken off is 'ver'.
'bea'+'ver'='BEAVER'
'could be' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for beaver that I've seen before include "Dam builder" , "Large furry rodent" , "Hard-working furry rodent" , "Animal with soft fur, builds dams" , "Work hard" .)