Part four the house mouse.
Unlike other mice, the house mouse has a strong smell and greasy fur. It taints the places it lives in, which include houses, warehouses, hospitals and other public buildings. Mice also leave their black droppings and their urine wherever they have been, which carry diseases and parasites, they also cause damage by their gnawing. Although house mice only live for about eighteen months, and many die in their first winter, it is hard for humans to get rid of them. They breed so fast that in one summer the mice from one nest will have multiplied many times over. Females bear from five to ten litters in one year with each litter containing up to six young. The young will leave the nest after about three weeks, the females are then ready to breed after about another three weeks. House mice normally live within a couple of metres of their food supply, moving on when food is short. Mice have chisel like front teeth that grow all of the time, they use to gnaw their way through wires. Many different kinds of stored foods will attract house mice, which is mostly active at night. Alert and nimble, it has prominent ears, big eyes and a pointed face. Its grey-brown coat is greasy and glistening and its tail long and scaly. The male is about seven inches in length including tail, with the female being slightly smaller. They are widespread, mostly found around buildings but may also be found in hedgerows and on farmland. Males will fight to establish social dominance and a territory. Highly adaptable, house mice can live in all sorts of places. Some even thrive in frozen meat stores, developing longer fur to keep them warm. Where food is plentiful house mice may live in fields and hedgerows during the summer. But few will survive cold weather outdoors, most spend the winter in buildings.
Showing posts with label house mice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house mice. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
The muridae family.
Part one the wood mouse.
The wood mouse or the long tailed field mouse is probably the most widespread and abundant of all our British mammals. It is not just confined to woodlands though as its name suggests, it will thrive in hedge rows along with more open spaces including moorlands, mountains sides and our gardens where it will live in our sheds and out buildings. Wood mice do not have a strong smell to them unlike house mice. The wood mouse is very active, running and bounding from place to place with their front feet tucked up and venturing into open places where other small mammals will rarely go. As quick as they can be though if you listen out for them as you are taking a walk you will come across them in the undergrowth. Wood mice used to only move under cover of darkness, but they now seem to be moving alot during daylight hours. They are still taken frequently by owls and cats and some raptors. Most wood mice will stay in a general area, but may travel up to a quarter of a mile during the day or night. During a cold winter they have been known to go into a torpid state(almost like hibernation) during this state the use less energy than normal. This enables them to survive food shortages. The population is always at its lowest after a cold winter, but their numbers soon pick up. They start to breed in March, the female might bear up to four litters during one year. Each of the litters may contain up to five young. They rarely live over two years in the wild. Its sandy brown coat and large ears and eyes help to distinguish the wood mouse. Their underparts are white with a yellow streak on the chest with their long tail being slightly haired. They are about three and a half inches in length. When a wood mouse becomes frightened, they often wash and groom themselves. They do this by sitting on their haunches and licking vigorously at their armpits, forelimbs and belly. Wood mice dig their own burrow system, where they store food and spend their time when they are not foraging for food. The young mice are born in the nest chamber. Autumn fruits such as hawthorns and other berries are part of a wood mice`s diet, often using an old birds nest to store them.Seeds are the wood mouses main food, along with shoots and buds. They will also eat snails by nibbling their way through its shell. Wood mice are always cautious when approaching something they are not sure of. They have an acute sense of smell and rely on odours as a means of recognising other mice. They have large hind feet that enables them to leap almost like kangaroos.
The wood mouse or the long tailed field mouse is probably the most widespread and abundant of all our British mammals. It is not just confined to woodlands though as its name suggests, it will thrive in hedge rows along with more open spaces including moorlands, mountains sides and our gardens where it will live in our sheds and out buildings. Wood mice do not have a strong smell to them unlike house mice. The wood mouse is very active, running and bounding from place to place with their front feet tucked up and venturing into open places where other small mammals will rarely go. As quick as they can be though if you listen out for them as you are taking a walk you will come across them in the undergrowth. Wood mice used to only move under cover of darkness, but they now seem to be moving alot during daylight hours. They are still taken frequently by owls and cats and some raptors. Most wood mice will stay in a general area, but may travel up to a quarter of a mile during the day or night. During a cold winter they have been known to go into a torpid state(almost like hibernation) during this state the use less energy than normal. This enables them to survive food shortages. The population is always at its lowest after a cold winter, but their numbers soon pick up. They start to breed in March, the female might bear up to four litters during one year. Each of the litters may contain up to five young. They rarely live over two years in the wild. Its sandy brown coat and large ears and eyes help to distinguish the wood mouse. Their underparts are white with a yellow streak on the chest with their long tail being slightly haired. They are about three and a half inches in length. When a wood mouse becomes frightened, they often wash and groom themselves. They do this by sitting on their haunches and licking vigorously at their armpits, forelimbs and belly. Wood mice dig their own burrow system, where they store food and spend their time when they are not foraging for food. The young mice are born in the nest chamber. Autumn fruits such as hawthorns and other berries are part of a wood mice`s diet, often using an old birds nest to store them.Seeds are the wood mouses main food, along with shoots and buds. They will also eat snails by nibbling their way through its shell. Wood mice are always cautious when approaching something they are not sure of. They have an acute sense of smell and rely on odours as a means of recognising other mice. They have large hind feet that enables them to leap almost like kangaroos.
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