Mouse

The mouse is a small rodent that is spread widely throughout nearly every country. The mouse is found in all corners of the globe, including parts of Antarctica.

Many people today like to keep the mouse as pets because of the small size and quiet temperament of the mouse. The mouse is also used a lot in scientific research although the mouse is not an easy animal to examine.

The mouse is often easy prey around the world for small mammals, birds and reptiles. Due to this the mouse generally does not live for much longer than a few months in the wild, mainly because the mouse is small easy prey for many mammals and birds. The mouse though has been known to get up to a few years old when kept as a pet.

Mice can be harmful pests at times, through damaging and eating crops and spreading diseases through their parasites and faeces. It is because of the pest problems caused by mice, that domestic cats are thought to have been introduced into common households.

The gestation period in female mice is less than a month, and the female mouse has an average litter size of about six baby mice, although the mouse litter size is commonly higher than six. The baby mice are known as pups and these mice pups are born with no hair and with their eyes and ears closed. Mouse babies are weaned when they are around three weeks old.

There are nearly 40 different known species of mouse found throughout the world. The different mouse species range in size and colour that is generally dependent on their environment.

Mouse Foot Facts

• Mice have soft feet with nails on each of their toes that enables the mouse to climb well as they can wrap their feet around things.
• Mice have five toes on their two back feet and four toes on their two front feet which gives mice more stability when standing on their back feet.
• Mice use their two front feet to grip onto food such as seeds and berries, so that the mice can eat their food with ease.
• The mouse has very small and flexible feet but it can easily get its feet stuck in areas that are too small, like if the bars on a mouse cage are too close together.
• Like hamsters, the foot structure of mice enables them to run backwards into their burrows when wanting to escape from predators.

Mouse Teeth Facts

• An adult mouse has 16 teeth which it uses for holding onto and chewing its food.
• Mice have one upper pair and one lower pair of incisors at the front of their mouths which mice use to grip onto and bite their food.
• Mice have between two and five cheek teeth which mice use for gnawing, but when mice use their cheek teeth the incisors at the front of their mouths stop moving.
• The incisors at the front of the mouth of mice grow continuously to keep them sharp and strong, and mice must gnaw them down regularly to stop them front getting too long.
• Mice tend to eat food that is hard so they can gnaw their teeth whilst eating meaning that although mice will eat cheese if they come across it, the myth about mice loving cheese is not entirely true.

View all 35 animals that start with M

Sources:
1. David Burnie, Dorling Kindersley (2011) Animal, The Definitive Visual Guide To The World's Wildlife
2. Tom Jackson, Lorenz Books (2007) The World Encyclopedia Of Animals
3. David Burnie, Kingfisher (2011) The Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia
4. Richard Mackay, University of California Press (2009) The Atlas Of Endangered Species
5. David Burnie, Dorling Kindersley (2008) Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Animals
6. Dorling Kindersley (2006) Dorling Kindersley Encyclopedia Of Animals
7. David W. Macdonald, Oxford University Press (2010) The Encyclopedia Of Mammals