Dream Interpretation Udilova 

Types of computer mice. Animals

Funny smart animals and at the same time malicious "biters" of everything and everyone. They are often undeservedly confused with their closest sisters - house mice. However, the inhabitants of the free fields bring no less anxiety and harm to the rural and household. Animals loved by cats and so not loved by women and farmers are part of the natural diversity.

The world is big enough for all species, you just need to coexist intelligently. Let's learn more about the field mouse, its habits, possible dangers and methods of control.

Field mouse description

The field mouse has many varieties. Among her close relatives are:

  • ordinary - the most common type;
  • red - an inhabitant of the predominantly hot steppes of Asia;
  • forest, preferring the forest-steppe zones of the Eurasian and North American continents;
  • underground - a resident of urban communications and adjacent territories.

Despite the diversity, they all belong to the genus of voles, to the family of hamsters, the order of rodents and the class of mammals.

The appearance of a field mouse

All types of voles have an elongated pointed muzzle, dark beady eyes (black or deep brown), pointed ears and a long tail, leaving about ¾ of the body length. This is a miniature rodent up to a maximum length of 13 cm, more often up to 10 cm, not counting the tail. The weight of a vole is about 15 g. On high cheekbones, mice have pterygoid plates, which makes it seem as if they have dimples on their cheeks. The paws are small, with feet about 1.5 - 2 cm long. The claws are short, blunted from constant digging.

The coat of the animal on the back is painted in a brownish-buffy color. It is not soft, but somewhat rough, short, in old individuals it even turns into “soft needles”, like in hedgehogs. Distinctive feature voles - a dark stripe along the spine. On the abdomen, the coat is light gray.

It is interesting! Color intensity is related to the age of the mouse. More respectable individuals are lighter than young counterparts, among the hairs there are even gray ones.

The male vole is practically indistinguishable from the female. In order not to confuse the field mouse with its relative brownie, pay attention to their differences.

house mouse Harvest mouse
Small, up to 10 cm Slightly larger, up to 13 cm
The back is gray-black, dark The back is brown with a stripe in the middle
Abdomen almost white Abdomen light gray
The muzzle is shortened The muzzle is pointed
Ears large, rounded Ears small, triangular
Tail up to 60% of the body Tail up to 70% of the body

Field mice may well live in the house and in the garden, and domestic mice in the wild.

Vole lifestyle

Field mice in their way of life somewhat resemble mini-moles: they dig holes close to the surface of the earth and move along them. When digging, mice throw out the earth to their side, so the mound turns out to be gentle on one side, and the “entrance” into it is not from above, like a mole, but from the side. In winter, they move under the snow cover.

Important! Voles do not have a period of winter suspended animation, even in cold weather they need to actively move and look for food. At the same time, mice use supplies prepared in the summer in nests-pantries.

They live in minks or suitable shelters: under branches, stacks of straw, in sheds, etc. If a mouse builds a hole for itself, it makes it vast and branched. At a depth of 5 to 35 cm, there is a labyrinth from 4 to 25 m long with several storage rooms and a sleeping nest, as well as several emergency exits, one of which leads to a source of drinking water.

In the daytime field mice prefer to hide underground and sleep, and during the day they become active. They crawl out to the surface and look for food, gnawing almost everything that they meet on the way: plant roots, flower bulbs, tubers, bark at the bottom of trees. In search of suitable feeding, they can make real migrations.

Mice run fast, moving with a "jumping" gait. They know how to swim, but they prefer to avoid it. They often settle in colonies, often numerous: 1 or several female relatives and several generations of their offspring.

How long does a vole live

Average lifespan of a vole mouse in the wild natural environment 1-2 years as they have many natural enemies and dangers. If everything goes especially well in the life of a mouse, it can live up to 7-12 years.

Range, habitats

This rodent can be found almost all over the world, except for the hottest corners:

  • on the European continent, including Finland and Denmark;
  • in Siberia and the Urals;
  • in North American forest-steppe zones(to the latitudes of Guatemala);
  • they are found in Asia - China, Mongolia, Taiwan;
  • from the south, their range is limited to Libya ( North Africa) and northern India;

Despite the name, voles rarely settle directly on the fields. For them it is preferable a large number of grass, so they choose meadows, forest edges, clearings, as well as places near human habitation: cellars, greenhouses, sheds, comfortable shelters in the garden and vegetable garden. Voles can even climb into the house and settle under the roof, under the wall sheathing, in the ventilation, in the insulation layer.

It is interesting! If the area is damp and swampy, a smart rodent will not build a hole, but will build a grass ball nest, which will be located on a high branch of a bush.

During floods, during periods of prolonged downpours, winter thaws, the minks of animals are flooded with water, and many mice die.

Field mouse diet

The vole is a herbivorous rodent. Since she belongs to the hamster family, her teeth grow throughout her life, so the instinct provides for their constant grinding. This explains the fact that mice almost constantly gnaw something. During the day, an adult vole must eat an amount of food equal to its own weight.

The mouse eats almost everything it can find from vegetation:

  • herbs and their seeds;
  • berries;
  • nuts, including cones;
  • grain;
  • tubers, roots, bulbs, root crops;
  • buds and flowers of various bushes;
  • soft bark of young trees.

Winter stocks in the pantries of field mice can reach a mass of 3 kg.

Reproduction and offspring

With the onset spring warmth and until the very autumn cold, mice-voles actively breed. Pregnancy in mice lasts 21-23 days. During the season, the female is able to give up to 8 litters, more often 3-4, in each of which bring 5-6 cubs. This means that if initially 5 pairs of voles settled on the site, by the end of the warm season the number of mice can reach 8-9 thousand.

Mice are born completely helpless, their eyes are blind. But their development is extremely fast:

  • vision appears on the 12-14th day;
  • after 20 days they can already survive without a mother;
  • after 3 months and even earlier they are able to bear offspring themselves.

It is interesting! Cases are known when female voles become pregnant on the 13th day of their life and bring viable offspring at 33 days of age.

natural enemies

Such fertility is due to the fact that in nature mice have many enemies that limit their population. The most important vole hunters - predator birds: owls, hawks, falcons, etc. One owl can eat more than 1000 mice in a year. For some animals - weasels, polecats - mice are the main, almost exclusive food. A ferret will catch and eat 10-12 mice per day.

Weasel is also dangerous for rodents because it has a flexible and narrow body, with which it is easy for her to penetrate the nests and eat the cubs there. With pleasure, a hedgehog, a snake and, of course, a cat will eat a vole.

Population and species status

Vole mice are extremely diverse. Scientists have found that there are more than 60 species and subspecies of them. Outwardly, it is difficult to distinguish them; only the method of gene analysis is suitable for identification.

It is interesting! The mice themselves perfectly distinguish relatives from another population and never mate with them. How they reveal interspecies differences has not yet been clarified.

The genome of the vole mouse is a scientific mystery: the genetic material is arranged without apparent logic, and most of the information is concentrated in the sex chromosomes. The number of chromosomes is from 17 to 64, and in males and females they either coincide or differ, that is, there is no sexual dependence. In one litter, all mice are genetic clones.

Another unique property populations of field mice - "self-transplantation" of genes into the nucleus from other organs of the cell (mitochondria). Scientists are still struggling in vain over gene transplantation in humans, while in voles it has been working for more than one thousand years. The only explanation scientists have is a sharp evolutionary jump in the population of field mice over the past million years.

Since the mouse is a prolific animal, its number is highly dependent on the year and season.. We noticed that growth spurts and "demographic pit" in voles alternate after about 3-5 years. The maximum noted number of animals in the population was approximately 2000 mice per 1 hectare of area, and the smallest - 100 individuals per hectare. The family of rodents, in addition to mice, includes lemmings and muskrats.

Vole mouse and man

People have long considered this small, nimble animal to be their enemy. Choosing a place to live near human dwellings, storehouses and arable land, field mice cause damage to stocks and plantations, and besides, they are carriers of many infectious diseases.

Storm gardens, fields and orchards

In the years when reproduction is most active, the harm that the vole causes to plants is very noticeable:

  • gnaws underground parts, causing the death of the plant on the vine;
  • spoils root crops and gourds;
  • sharpens stocks of grain and seeds;
  • gnaws the bark of young shrubs and trees.

Voles eat vegetable farm products not only on the ground, but also in storage facilities, on elevators, in stacks and haystacks, cellars.

Important! It is not difficult to understand that a family of voles has settled on your site: the colony will be given out by the so-called "airstrips" - traces left on the surface from digging underground burrows.

Dangerous carrier

The vole mouse can be a carrier of extremely serious diseases, many of the pathogens of which can cause in humans death. Cute and funny animals, especially in the mass, can cause:

  • leptospirosis;
  • tularemia;
  • erysipelas;
  • toxoplasmosis;
  • salmonellosis, etc.

They have gained notoriety due to the fact that they are practically the only natural carrier of the plague in the Transcaucasian region.

How to deal with a vole

Due to the danger to agriculture, as well as to human health and life, one should strive to limit the number of field mice. There are two areas of struggle for this:

  • passive-preventive - scaring away mice from places of residence of people and agricultural objects;
  • active - measures aimed at the direct destruction of rodents.

Repel field mice

As part of scaring away, it is effective to use plants for planting and unfolding, the smell of which mice do not like. Among them are garlic, black root, calendula, mint, wormwood, tansy and other strongly smelling herbs and fruits. You can use not the plants themselves, but essential oils, laying out the pieces of cotton wool soaked in them near the intended place of the settlement of mice. Sometimes kerosene, ammonia are used for the same purpose. Mice avoid spilled ash.

Another humane scare option is ultrasonic or vibration devices, which create uncomfortable conditions for mice to stay in the area of ​​action. They can be purchased in stores. The "home" version of such a repeller is an inclined bottle dug into the ground, which will hum and vibrate in windy weather. Similarly, tin cans on poles around the perimeter of the site and even “wind music” hung on trees (ringing sticks or bells) will act similarly. A colony of mice is unlikely to settle on the site and in the house, which is “patrolled” by the natural mouse enemy - the cat.

Destruction of voles

"In war" all means are good. When crops and plantings are threatened with irreparable harm, extreme measures may be justified. Arsenal of folk and industrial ways offers the following options for fighting voles for life and death:

  • "Gypsum thrombus" - mix salted wheat flour with lime or gypsum. A rodent that has eaten such a bait will die from a blood clot in the stomach.
  • Poison baits - in specialized stores you can buy ready-made poisons for rodents in the form of wax tablets or granules. When laying out, you can not take them with bare hands, otherwise smart mice won't touch them. Some types of poisons have a delayed effect, and poisoned rodents have time to infect their fellows.

Important! You should not use this method if dead mice a cat or a dog can eat - this can be fatal to the life of a pet.

  • Physical destroyers- all kinds of mousetraps. Not effective if the mouse population is large.
  • Traps - farmers come up with various options, from a jar placed on a coin, which the mouse drops when under it, to a bottle dug into the ground with a small amount of sunflower oil. Ready-made traps are also on sale. Another option is a board with special glue applied to it, on which the mouse will stick securely.

According to the latest data, it is not traditional cheese that is more attractive as bait for voles, but nuts, chocolate, a piece of meat, bread with sunflower oil. Another unpleasant moment associated with all punitive methods is that you have to regularly clean up and dispose of dead mice.

Why You Shouldn't Exterminate Voles Completely

Like any species on our planet, voles take their place in ecological niche. By eating grass seeds, they limit the growth of grass cover, which prevents young trees from breaking through to the light, thereby preserving forests. In addition, their role in the food chain is very important for the population of birds of prey and many fur-bearing animals. In those years when few mice are born, the number of foxes, owls and other animals that feed on voles decreases. Some types of voles are rare and endangered and are protected:

  • Evronian;
  • Muya;
  • Balukhistan;
  • mexican;
  • Japanese red;
  • Taiwanese;
  • central Kashmiri.

Prevention measures

To reduce the likelihood of voles settling in your area, you can:

  • get a cat or a dog;
  • do not drive away the natural enemies of mice, especially owls;
  • prevent littering the site with inventory, firewood, faulty furniture, etc.;
  • constantly loosen the ground, destroying the "grooves" of field mice;
  • promptly dispose of cut branches, leaves, weeds and other garden debris.

To combat voles, it is necessary to apply an integrated approach that combines prevention, creating an uncomfortable environment for rodents and physical destruction.

Among all animals on Earth, the group of rodents is one of the most numerous. It includes hamsters, rats, voles and - an animal mouse.

There are almost 400 species of mice in the order of rodents. They all have similar appearance and lead almost the same lifestyle.

What mice look like

The body size of the mouse is so small - up to 10 cm, that you want to affectionately call it a mouse. Moreover, half of this value is occupied by a thin, long tail. It is almost naked, only occasionally there are hairs. But the body is all covered with wool of the same color: either brown, or brown, or gray. There are mice with stripes on their backs. In two species, the Elliot mouse and needle mouse instead of wool on the back of the needle-thorn.


The neck is inconspicuous, the legs are short, with fingers that mice deftly cling to any surface.

Mice hear perfectly with their round ears. A small sharp muzzle is crowned with antennae - vibrissae. This is a very sensitive organ that helps mice stay oriented even in pitch darkness. These rodents do not have cheek pouches.


The smallest is considered to be a mouse, which is called so - a baby, because its size is only 5 cm.

Mouse lifestyle

There is no place on Earth where mice do not live. They have adapted to the conditions of life in all natural zones.

Only near human habitation does the Cairo and house mouse live. All species live on the ground, although thanks to their tenacious paws they can climb up the grass stalk, and along the branches of shrubs, and along the wall of buildings.


Mice living near water bodies are good swimmers. Mice prefer to live alone. Only one of the species of the house mouse - the Kurganchik form - live in 20 individuals different ages in one hole. Together they stock up for the winter and make nests.

They usually live in one, permanent place. Only in case natural disasters moving to another area long distance.


Different burrows are built - from very simple to complex, with numerous passages. Kangaroo mice are so named because they occupy other people's holes - rat kangaroos.

Mice don't sleep in winter. They are active mainly at night, as they are cautious and shy. They come out of the holes during the day, but only in the case when hunger drives them - to look for food.


What do mice eat

In winter, mice are not visible, but even under the snow they look for food. The stocks that these animals make in summer and autumn are not enough.

Their main food is the seeds and fruits of almost any plant. Field, meadow and steppe mice eat a lot of grains of cereals than apply big damage harvest.


Rodents living near water bodies love to eat juicy greens, root crops and insects. forest mice they eat nuts and seeds of deciduous trees.

In general, mice are unpretentious and can easily switch to human food. Mice climb into pantries, sheds and spoil grain, cheeses and many other products, even gnaw on sausage and dried fish.


Mice are unusually prolific and bring offspring 3-4 times a year. Brownies are generally capable of breeding up to 6 times.

And if we take into account that there are up to 10 mice in one offspring, and they become sexually mature as early as 2–3 months, then one can imagine how many offspring one female gives.

Are mice harmful or helpful?

Of course, mice do damage and agriculture, and spoil food in dwellings. In winter, they damage the bark of many fruit trees.


Rodents are carriers of infectious diseases, in particular, tularemia.

At the same time, it is on mice that various medications, cosmetic and food products.


White mice, striped and baby mice are kept as pets. They are unpretentious, breed well and bring a lot of joy to their owners with their behavior.

The mouse family or mice are small animals of the mammal class belonging to the order of rodents, which has not been finally classified. The huge family includes 4 subfamilies, which includes 147 genera and 701 species. Animals are found everywhere, especially for a species of mice called. The attitude of people towards these representatives of the fauna is ambiguous. Someone is fighting them, trying to rid their house of uninvited "guests", while others specially breed and tame small rodents.

General characteristics of mouse representatives

A large family of mice is not fully understood. On the territory of Russia, there are 13 species of animals from the order of rodents, which are representatives of 5 genera. All of them have a similar appearance, and lead almost the same lifestyle. Possessing a unique ability to adapt to any living conditions, mice feel great in all natural areas. The exceptions are the regions of the Far North and Antarctica. The ubiquitous distribution of various rodent species allows us to speak of the numerical dominance of their representatives among other mammals.

Interesting!

The familiar word "mouse" in translation from the Indo-European language means "thief", which is fully justified by the habits of a nimble animal.

Appearance:

  • The mammal has a small elongated body. Its dimensions, depending on the species of the individual, range from 5 to 20 cm. This parameter is doubled due to the tail.
  • The body of the mouse is covered with short hair, the color palette of which is presented in gray, brown, red or brown. In nature, there are striped and variegated individuals, as well as snow-white albino rodents.
  • The average weight of a mouse is 20-50 grams.
  • Animals have short necks.
  • On a pointed, triangular-shaped muzzle, there are small black beady eyes and semicircular ears, providing good sound perception.
  • Due to sensitive thin whiskers - vibrissae, growing around the nose of the mouse, it is able to perfectly navigate the environment.
  • Short paws are equipped with 5 tenacious fingers, allowing to overcome significant obstacles and dig holes.

To get acquainted with representatives of the rodent order, it is advisable to carefully study the photos of the mouse posted on the site.


The animals, like other representatives of this family, have two pairs of large incisors located on the upper and lower jaws. They are very sharp and constantly growing - up to 1 mm per day, therefore they are subject to mandatory grinding. The inability to carry out this procedure can lead to the death of the mouse if the length of the organs reaches 2 cm.

Rodents are highly fertile. At the age of 3 months, the female is capable of conception and childbearing. Wild mouse living in natural conditions, in warm time years, animals living in heated rooms - all year round. The pregnancy lasts approximately 20-24 days and, after this time, from 3 to 12 cubs are born.

Mice are born absolutely helpless - blind, toothless, naked. The mouse feeds from about a month with milk. By day 10, the offspring is completely covered with wool, and after 3 weeks it becomes independent and settles. Under favorable conditions, the population is growing rapidly. The average is calculated 1-1.5 years. Genetically, they are able to exist for 5 years, but how long the animal lives depends on the specific circumstances.

On a note!

Bats do not belong to the mouse family. They are representatives of the order of bats, which is the second largest after rodents.

Lifestyle

The mouse is capable of causing great harm to humans. The rodent by its nature and food habits is a predator. But the pest mainly consumes plant foods and therefore its diet consists of seeds, fruits of trees or shrubs and cereals. Mice living in swampy areas, in wet or flooded meadows, feed on buds, foliage or flowers of various plants.


The herbivorous creature eats helpless chicks with appetite, drags eggs from nests, feasts on worms, various insects, replenishing the body's protein supply. Settling in a human dwelling or near it, mice are happy to destroy potatoes, sausages and bakery products, eggs and other food products that are easy to get to. They do not disdain soap, candles, toilet paper, books, polyethylene.

Interesting!

The strong smell of cheese can scare away a rodent.

Various breeds of mice, having settled almost all over the planet, equipping their habitat, can make nests from grass stalks, occupy abandoned burrows, old hollows, or dig complex underground systems with many passages. Once in a person's house, rodents settle under the floor, in attics, between walls. Unlike representatives that live in swamps and near water bodies, steppe, mountain and swim poorly.

The active life of animals coincides with the evening or night time of the day, but they try not to move a long distance from their home. The mouse has many enemies, these include birds of prey, reptiles, mongooses, foxes, cats, crows and other representatives of the fauna.

Mouse make huge stocks for the winter, but do not hibernate.

Mostly voracious and ubiquitous rodents are harmful, but there is one area of ​​\u200b\u200bscience in which the omnivorous mouse is useful and irreplaceable. These are special laboratories of scientific and medical profile, where animals become guinea pigs. Thanks to these small animals, many important discoveries were made in genetics, pharmacology, physiology and other sciences. Surprising is the fact that 80% of the genes that a living mouse is endowed with are similar to human structures.

The diversity of the family of mice


Animals are adapted to any conditions of existence the best way. Dexterous, agile in movements, rodents can run fast, jump, climb, penetrate the narrowest holes, and if there is an obstacle in front of them, then they use sharp teeth. The description of the mouse would not be complete without mentioning that they are quite smart and cautious, but at the same time shameless, cunning and courageous. With excellent sense of smell and hearing, they are able to quickly respond to danger.

The names of mice, which are often associated with the habitat, like their varieties, are very diverse. Most often in nature there are such types of rodents:

  • African;
  • baby mice;
  • mountain;
  • brownies;
  • forest;
  • herbal;
  • striped;
  • spiny and other individuals.

On the territory of Russia, the most common are such 3 types of mice - house, forest and field.

Interesting!

Most mice live in packs. Relations are subject to a strict hierarchical system, headed by a male and several "privileged" females. Each mouse is assigned a certain territory where they can get food. The offspring are brought up together, but upon reaching the "age of majority" they are amicably expelled from the family for independent living.

The species of mice that exist in nature differ in size, color, and habitat. Let us consider in more detail some representatives of the order of rodents.

African mice


This subgroup includes 5 varieties of animals. Average length adult the mouse is within 10 cm. The color of the back is chestnut, and the belly is most often presented in white. Mouse with long tail, whose length is 1.5 times the body, settles on trees and makes a nest in old hollows. The rodent feeds only on plant foods. The lifestyle of the mouse is nocturnal.

grass mice

Mostly representatives of this genus live in Africa, in the eastern part of the continent. The rodent mouse settles in thickets of bushes, occupies other people's minks or digs them on its own, but can penetrate into people's houses. Animals are among the largest and can reach 19 cm in length (with a tail, this parameter is 35 cm), with a weight of more than 100 g. The fur of the back and sides of the mouse is painted in dark gray or grayish-brown tones. Individual stiff bristles are darker in color.

On a note!

The herbivorous mouse lives in large colonies, making devastating raids on farmland.

forest dweller

The animal lives in natural conditions, equipping its dwelling in bushes, on forest edges, in floodplains of rivers. The main habitats of mice are mixed and broad-leaved forests of the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Altai, and Eastern Europe. The body length is 10-11 cm, the tail is 7 cm, and the weight is approximately 20 g. The mouse with large round ears, which is its main difference from relatives, is characterized by a sharp muzzle, two-color colors. The upper part of the body and tail are painted in red-brown or even black tones, and the tummy, legs and fingers are white.

The mouse hibernates in burrows located at a depth of 2 m and comes out with the onset of a thaw. The main food is grain, seeds, young tree seedlings, but rodents do not refuse insects.

yellow-throated mouse


These rodents are listed in the Red Book of the Moscow Region. Main salient feature animals - an unusual grayish-red color of mice, and around the neck they have a yellow stripe. The body size of an adult is in the range of 10-13 cm with the same tail length. The mass of the mouse is about 50 g. The wide area of ​​settlement includes the forests of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Altai, and the northern provinces of China. The yellow mouse eats plant and animal food. Causes great damage to gardens, destroying young shoots of fruit trees

Gerbil

The mouse came to the territory of the Russian Federation from the USA. She was brought for laboratory research, but quickly settled as a pet. The mouse is characterized by an unpleasant odor, although it looks like a very sweet, friendly creature. There are more than 100 subspecies of the gerbil in the world, of which the pygmy and Mongolian mice breeds live with us. The tummy of the animal is almost white, and the brown-red back is decorated with a bright black strip along the entire body. The rodent has neat little ears, a pink nose, a blunt muzzle and large beady eyes. A mouse with a tassel on its tail can be found quite often among lovers of exotic animals.

Harvest mouse

Outwardly, the mouse is very similar to the gerbil, and in everyday life it can be called a vole. Under natural conditions, it lives in fields, meadows and harms agriculture. In flood-prone areas, it may nest in bushes. The dark, reddish-brown color of the upper body with black stripes contrasts sharply with the white belly and paws of the mouse. The body length varies from 7 to 12 cm, the tail of the animal is not very large.

Mice are active at night, since during the day they have to hide from numerous predatory animals, which include such a reptile as a snake. The diet of rodents consists mainly of plant foods, but they can feast on various insects. High fecundity allows maintaining the population of field mice. They feel great in Europe, Siberia, Primorye, Mongolia and other places. The mouse in the photo posted on the site will allow you to carefully examine the small animal.

House mouse

The most common type of rodent. Grey mouse, making its way into people's apartments, brings a lot of problems, spoils food, gnaws on furniture, electrical wiring, walls, things and other interior items. The habitat of pests is all landscape and natural zones, with the exception of the Far North and Antarctica. The gray-humped mouse (another name for a mammal) digs holes on its own, but can also occupy abandoned dwellings.

  • The dimensions of the animal do not exceed 9.5 cm, taking into account the tail, its total length is 15 cm.
  • The weight of the mouse varies from 12 to 30 grams.
  • The main food products are seeds and juicy greens, however, once in a human house, the mouse becomes an omnivore.

One of the varieties of animals is the black mouse.

People are ambivalent about rodents. As a result of this, quite often at home you can find unusual mice that are real favorites of family members. Manual pets can be trained, perform simple tricks with small objects. A large detachment of rodents can not only cause damage, but also give joy.

It is unlikely that there is a person in the world who would not be familiar with mice. Despite their cute funny look, they are far from sympathetic for the majority of the world's population. And yet, there are people who would like to know a little more about mice.

Features and habitat of mice

Mouse is an animal mammal, rodent order and mouse suborder. Rats, by the way, are very similar to mice and belong to the same suborder. The order of rodents is one of the most numerous.

There is no place on earth that these small animals would not master. They are "too tough" any natural area, do not frighten either arid areas or snowy places. They adapt so quickly to new living conditions that they cannot be frightened by any discomfort.

Most often, rodents live in burrows, but they find food for themselves on the surface of the earth. Mice, for example, lead only a terrestrial lifestyle, although they have their own minks.

Pictured is a mouse mink in the grass


The body size of an ordinary mouse is small - its length does not exceed 10 cm, and its weight is only 30 g, its muzzle is small, but its ears and eyes are large. This is understandable - mice constantly need to listen and look closely - if there is any danger.

The tail is not the most beautiful part of the body of this animal. The wool on it is very rare, and the length reaches half the length of the body. Moreover, if you look closely, you can see ring scales.

But the mouse itself is not too worried about its beauty, because its entire body is adapted to survive in any conditions, and this is much more important.

The skeleton is strong, reliable and elastic, the color is gray with different shades, that is, exactly the one that hides the animal from a quick glance, the movements are fast, nimble, dexterous, each part of the body is clearly honed by time for its specific functions and copes with them perfectly , otherwise the animal would not have survived to this day since the Paleocene.

Highly interesting feature organism of this rodent is the structure of the dental system. Mice have molars and two large pairs of incisors that have no roots, and because of this they constantly grow at 1 mm per day. So that such teeth do not grow to terrible sizes and, elementarily, fit in the mouth, mice are forced to grind them down constantly.

Mice have very interesting eyesight. It is well developed, because they need to see the danger at a distance. But the whites mice, that is, those who live as pet as pets, their eyesight is much weaker for the simple reason that they don't have to hide from danger.

It is curious that many mice have color vision, but complete colors they don't perceive. For example, these rodents perfectly see yellow and red colors, but they do not distinguish between blue and green.

Pictured is a white mouse


The nature and lifestyle of mice

Since mice live in areas with different climates, they need to adapt to different living conditions, and mice have not one, but several ways to adapt:

    Activity throughout the year. These animals all year round stock up for a rainy day.

    But they can do without stocks if their place of residence is shops, residential buildings or grocery stores;

    Seasonal migrations - closer to winter, mice migrate from their natural habitat to places that are located near human habitation, and move back in the spring;

Everything depends on body temperature life cycle this rodent. If the mouse does not move in winter, it will freeze, and if it does not move in the summer, during the hot season, the body will produce excess heat that can kill the animal.

Therefore, the entire life activity of a mouse consists in the fact that it moves - it gets food for itself, eats, mating games and raise offspring.

The main movement in mice begins with the onset of darkness. It was then that they begin to look for food, arrange their dwelling, that is, they dig holes, and protect their site from fellow tribesmen.

Do not think that a tiny mouse is a cowardly creature. In the process of guarding her home, she can attack an animal that is much larger than the mouse itself.

If the mouse lives in a place where there is constant twilight, then it is in greater activity, and it has to rest less and in periods.

But if people are constantly in the habitat of mice, then the mice are not too “shy” - when it is quiet in the room, they can go out in search of food in the daytime. However, if the mouse is kept as a pet, then it has to adapt to the owner's regimen.

These animals live groups, because a single individual will not be able to make large enough supplies, find food and detect danger in time. True, life in a mouse family is not always cloudless - there are also serious conflicts, which, as a rule, flare up due to a lack of food. Females are much calmer than males, they even very often breed offspring together and take care of their upbringing together.

The mouse is a wild animal and obeys the laws of his family. From what place in this family a certain animal occupies, its activity also depends. It is the leader who determines the periods of wakefulness and rest for his subordinates.

In addition, weaker mice try to dig holes and get their own food at a time when the head of the family is resting so as not to catch his eye once again.

Mouse nutrition

Usually these animals that live in the natural environment feed on cereals, cereal stalks, seeds. They like any plant food - the fruits of trees, grass seeds and everything that can be obtained from a plant.

If this rodent lives near human habitation, then its menu is much more diverse. Here, bread, vegetables, and sausage are already used for food - the mouse is not capricious in its choice.

It also happens that mice eat their weak counterparts, but this happens if the mice are locked together in a cage and there is nowhere else to get food. So do rats.

If succeeded buy a mouse as a pet, you can feed it with cereals, bread, cheese, vegetables, as well as any plant food, but it is better to stick to a diet that is close to the natural nutrition of these animals. Feed pet follows once a day, overfeeding for these crumbs is fraught with diseases.

Reproduction and lifespan of the mouse

The mating of mice occurs without long and lengthy preludes. As a rule, the male smells the female by smell, finds her and mates. After some time, the female brings from 3 to 10 mice.

Mice are born blind and naked, but they develop too rapidly. Already at 30 days, a small female becomes sexually mature, and the male reaches sexual maturity at 45 days.

This is easily explained by the fact that the life of this rodent is not at all long, only 2-3 years. But, since the female can bring offspring 3-4 times a year, the population is restored in excess.


House mice are rodents that live in people's homes. In the photo, the house mouse looks like ordinary mice. Is there a difference between them?

Since house mice have adapted so well to living with humans, they have been able to spread throughout the world, thus becoming one of the most common mammals. Mice are also pets and model organisms for laboratory research.

The appearance of the house mouse

The house mouse is a long-tailed small rodent with a body length of 6.5 to 9.5 cm. In relation to the length of the body, the tail is less than 60%.

From above, the tail is covered with ring-shaped horny scales and short sparse hairs. The weight of an adult is from 12 to 30 grams. The ears are small and rounded. The skin has a brownish-gray or dark color. The color of the abdomen is from white to ash-gray. Desert mice have a light yellowish-sand color and a white belly.

Domesticated mice are variegated, gray-blue, yellow, black or white. Females have five pairs of nipples. The house mouse has no sexual dimorphism.

Distribution of the house mouse and its subspecies

The house mouse is a cosmopolitan species and lives almost everywhere. It is absent only high in the mountains, Antarctica and on Far North. The main factors that limit the spread of house mice are high humidity and low temperatures. On the territory of Russia, the house mouse is not found in the mountain tundra, in the interfluve of the Lena and Yenisei, in Taimyr, in most of northeastern Siberia.

Presumably, the birthplace of the house mouse is North Africa, Western Asia or North India. In Western Asia, the house mouse is known in fossil form. Throughout the world, the house mouse has spread along with humans.


Currently, about one hundred and thirty subspecies of the house mouse have been described. They are grouped into four main subspecies.
1. M.m. castaneus - lives in South-East Asia;
2. M.m. bactrianus - lives in Asia with the exception of the South-East region;
3. M.m. domestic - common in Australia, America, Europe and most of Africa;
4. M.m. musculus - lives in Eastern Europe starting from the territory of Poland and further eastward, occupying most of Russia.

For a long time it was believed that the Japanese subspecies M.m. molossinus is the fifth "major" subspecies, however according to recent studies it is a hybrid between M.m. castaneus and M.m musculus.
Interestingly, in Ancient Rome mice and rats were considered the same species, so rats were simply called the big mouse.

House mouse lifestyle

House mice live in a variety of biotopes and landscapes, including anthropogenic ones. In general, it can be argued that house mice are very closely related to humans and are a synanthropic species. The house mouse often settles in outbuildings and residential buildings. In the north of their range, mice make seasonal migrations. In the end summer period or at the beginning of autumn, animals begin to massively migrate to the so-called "feeding places", which include warehouses, grain and vegetable stores, as well as residential buildings. AT autumn time the range of migrations can reach up to five kilometers. Often, house mice hibernate in stacks, haystacks and forest belts.


In the spring, house mice leave their wintering grounds and return to natural environment habitats, gardens, orchards and fields. In the south of the range, in semi-deserts and deserts, they often live outside human habitation throughout the year. Under such conditions, house mice gravitate towards various water bodies and oases.

In their natural habitat, the house mouse prefers soft, not too dry soils. In them they dig small burrows with simple device. The length of the hole reaches one meter, and the nesting chamber is located at a depth of 20-30 centimeters and has from one to three entrances. AT winter period mice often deepen burrows up to 50-60 centimeters. The diameter of the nesting chamber is from ten to twenty-five centimeters. Inside the chamber, the animals arrange bedding using soft plant rags. Often, house mice occupy burrows belonging to other rodents: gerbils, mole rats, voles. Cracks in the ground and natural voids are also used for housing.

House mice settled next to people equip their homes in the most protected and secluded places. Most often they live in attics, in household waste, heaps of garbage and under the floor. To arrange nests, house mice use any available material: artificial fibers, feathers, scraps of fabric, paper.

Under natural conditions, house mice are nocturnal and twilight. But living next to a person, they adjust the daily regimen depending on the nature of human activity. Under artificial lighting, a house mouse can maintain round-the-clock activity, reducing it only during those periods when people are active themselves. The activity of the house mouse in this case has a polyphasic character: within one day there can be fifteen to twenty periods of wakefulness lasting from twenty-five minutes to one and a half hours. Like many other members of the mouse family, house mice gravitate towards constant routes when moving.

Such routes are easy to follow due to the conspicuous piles of dust and droppings that are held together by urine.


The house mouse is a very nimble, mobile animal. They run fast enough, reaching speeds of up to 13 km / h, jump well, climb and are good swimmers. However, they rarely leave their nest. Under natural conditions, each mouse has its own individual site. In males, it reaches 1200 sq.m, and in females - up to 900 sq.m. However, if the population is dense enough, mice prefer to settle in family groups that consist of one dominant male, as well as several females with their offspring, or small colonies.

Relations within the colony are hierarchical. In relation to each other, adult males are quite aggressive. In contrast, females show aggression much less frequently. Skirmishes are rare within the family group, and as a rule they come down to expelling the grown offspring.

House mouse food

Under natural habitat conditions, the house mouse is a typical seed-eater. It feeds on the seeds of cultivated and wild plants. Preference is given to seeds of Compositae, legumes and cereals.


The diet of the house mouse also includes carrion, insects and their larvae. The green parts of plants are also eaten, which, depending on how accessible drinking water is, can account for up to a third of the food consumed. Every day, a house mouse consumes up to three milliliters of water. If a relative humidity air was about thirty percent, and the food was exceptionally dry, then during the experiment, laboratory mice died from dehydration on days 15-16.

With great hunting, mice eat dairy products, chocolate, meat or grain. Under natural conditions, under the condition of an excess of food, stocks are made.

Reproduction of the house mouse

The house mouse is extremely fertile. If conditions are favorable (for example, in stacks and heated rooms), then it can breed throughout the year. Under natural conditions, the breeding season lasts from March to November. Re-entry into estrus is observed in females already 12-18 hours after the birth of offspring. During the year, a house mouse can bring from five to fourteen offspring. Each litter has three to twelve cubs.

The duration of pregnancy is about twenty days (19-21). Cubs are born naked and blind. After about ten days, their bodies are completely covered with hair. After two weeks of life, their eyes open, and at the age of three weeks they become independent and capable of settling. The house mouse reaches puberty at the fifth to seventh week of life.


It should be noted that males, trying to attract a female, emit ultrasonic cries of 30-110 kHz. In their complexity, these cries are comparable to the singing of birds. The house mouse easily interbreeds with the mound mouse, which lives, for example, in the Black Sea region.

The offspring from such crosses is quite normal and viable. A number of zoologists consider the mound mouse to be a subspecies of the house mouse.

House mouse enemies

The house mouse has many enemies, primarily predators. These are birds of prey, snakes, large lizards, mongoose, small representatives families of marten, foxes, cats, crows and even.

Serious competition for house mice is that they often kill and even partially eat their small relatives.


At the same time, mice can themselves act as predators, which is generally unusual for them.

Once upon a time, mice were accidentally brought to the island of Gof, located in the South Atlantic, and they took root there. Since they had no natural enemies on the island, they multiplied very quickly and now their population is estimated at 0.7 million individuals. It should also be noted that these island mice are three times larger than their mainland counterparts. They form groups and attack with them. bird nests by eating chicks.

It must be said that Gough Island is the most important colony of sea birds, among which we can mention such birds as Schlegel's typhoon and. These birds do not nest anywhere else. However, despite the fact that albatross chicks can reach a height of one meter and weigh 250 times more than the mice of this island, they practically do not move and are unable to protect themselves.


As a result, the mice literally gnaw through the bodies of the chicks and inflict deep wounds on them. According to scientists, mice destroy over a million chicks on this island every year.

house mouse lifespan

Under natural conditions, the life expectancy of these rodents is a year and a half. However, in captivity, they can live up to three years. The life expectancy record is almost five years (1819 days).

Sense organs of the house mouse

The sense organs of these rodents are very well developed. True, the eyesight of a house mouse is quite weak.


Like most other rodents, they are farsighted. They also have very acute hearing. The range of frequencies perceived by them is very wide - up to 100 kHz. For comparison, the upper human threshold is 20 kHz. In low light, the house mouse is perfectly oriented with the help of vibrissae. The role of smell is extremely high in the life of mice, which is necessary both for searching for food and for recognizing relatives.

Each mouse has sweat glands on its paws, with which they automatically mark the territory. If the mouse is very frightened, then a substance is released into the urine that causes fear and flight in other animals. Moreover, the smell is quite stable, and lasts up to a quarter of a day, informing other mice about the insecurity of this place.

Moreover, if the signal substance was left by the male, then all individuals react to it, while only females react to the female's mark, while males ignore it.

House mouse and man

House mice are pests and carriers of a number of dangerous infections, such as plague, etc. At the same time, mice perform very important role as laboratory animals. On July 1, 2013, a monument to a laboratory mouse was even erected in Novosibirsk for its contribution to experimental medicine and genetics.

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