Mice are one of the most numerous orders of mammals. Science knows more than seven hundred rodents belonging to the mouse genus. The animals have spread throughout the world due to their high ability to adapt to environmental conditions. High fertility and unpretentiousness to food help them survive. Therefore, it is definitely impossible to answer the question of where mice live, since they can be found almost everywhere.
About the appearance of mice
It's hard to find a person who doesn't know what a mouse looks like. The length of an inconspicuous mammal can reach up to 10 cm. The mobile, resourceful body is covered with thick short hair, which is usually gray or black, less often red or brown (depending on the place where the mice live). The tail of different subspecies has different lengths (usually it does not exceed 1/3 of the body size).
Depending on the species, the rodent may have a blunt or, on the contrary, pointed muzzle, small ears and black expressive eyes. Thanks to its small, very short and fairly tenacious legs, the animal is able to develop higher speed. Consider external features mice can be seen in the photo.
Most often in nature, mice live in nests, burrows or hollows of trees. Some species prefer to settle near bodies of water, while others tend to choose dry areas. Despite the fact that the animals are capable of swimming well, they try not to get into the water.
You can also meet a mouse in a vegetable garden, garden or field. It is difficult to find a corner to which nimble rodents would not be adapted to the living conditions. Mice live in nature:
- in the ground, building entire labyrinths in underground layers - there they spend most days, reproducing and caring for the younger generation;
- in the mountains and rocks, building nests under stones, in caves and on slopes;
- on trees, living in hollows built and then abandoned by other animals;
- Rodents are even able to build nests from moss and branches that are very reminiscent of birds; mice often destroy the nests of small birds, winning them for themselves.
The lifestyle of mice is not much different from rats or other rodents. Active activity they manifest themselves at night. The animals go in search of food, which they feed to their young offspring. In addition, mice are engaged in collecting supplies, since if there is a shortage of food, they will be forced to go in search of it during the daytime.
Mammals are very shy and cautious, agile and nimble. When danger arises, they quickly run to shelter.
Interesting!
But if the babies are in danger, then the female is capable of fighting an offender even larger than herself. Paternal feelings in males are rarely manifested, and then only in the absence of other rivals nearby.
House mice
The habitat of mice extends to human possessions. Pests especially try to penetrate it with the arrival of cold weather. More than one basement, garage, house, barn or barn goes unnoticed by a rodent. There are frequent cases of mice entering multi-storey buildings.
Having entered a room, mice prefer to settle under the floor, in various gaps and cracks. Most often, they hide in basements and attics, constructing nests from various sticks, fragments of foam plastic, bird feathers, pieces of fabric and hair.
Mice build burrows and nests near food supplies. Therefore, they can often be found in food warehouses, barns or pantries.
Interesting!
Rodents lead night look life, trying to avoid meeting people. However, with an excessive number of gray pests in the house, the process of struggle for survival is inevitable, which very often forces rodents to go in search of food during the daytime.
The life of mice living in a cage is slightly different from the lifestyle of mammals living in nature. Their daily routine is close to that of a human. And sometimes, in the presence of artificial lighting, they remain active throughout the day, dividing all this time into periods of wakefulness (one such period does not exceed 1.5 hours).
In addition, mice living in a human house do not need to look for the food necessary for their existence. Rodents living in nature are forced to search for food regularly. After all, in the absence of food, a mouse can live no more than three days.
For growth and development, the rodent body needs various cereals, grains, roots and succulent parts of plants. Bark and young shoots of trees are also a favorite treat for mice. Mice can even satisfy their hunger with vegetables, fruits or berries. They will not refuse bird eggs, various beetles and worms, which replenish the animal’s body with proteins. Despite the fact that the mouse is not a predatory animal, if there is a lack of food, the animal is even capable of attacking its relatives or chicks.
In mouse-like animals, a male usually mates with several females. The beginning of mating is determined mainly by the animals’ fatness and weather, and the success of reproduction is determined by the availability and quality of food. IN different parts range, mating does not occur at the same time - in the north later than in more southern areas. In mice and rats, mating occurs immediately after birth or after a short period of time. They have 3-4 broods per year.
The duration of pregnancy in mouse-like animals is 18 - 24 days. Before giving birth, females prepare a nest for future offspring. They line it with soft bedding, sometimes digging a new hole for this purpose. Some females store food in the nest to provide themselves with food during a difficult period of life. After all, nursing females initially do not leave the nest to feed after giving birth. The number of cubs in a brood varies, depending on the availability of food and the age of the female. For example, a gray rat has an average of 8 - 9 cubs, but sometimes up to 15. One-day-old cubs of rats and mice are completely helpless, blind, their bodies are naked, with closed ear openings, and with imperfect thermoregulation. In this regard, the female constantly warms them with her body and feeds them with milk. They are not even able to defecate on their own, and she, licking their body, massages the stomach, stimulating the intestines.
In rats and mice, the rate of growth and development is much slower than in voles and hamsters. The body of the cubs quickly becomes overgrown with fur; in mice, the cubs begin to see and hear already on the 7th - 8th day. The incisors erupt on the 6th -9th day. Vibrissae develop early, two days harvest mouse already has vibrissae 4 mm long; at three weeks of age they crawl out of the nest and begin to feed on their own. At the age of one month they leave the nest and begin an independent life. The larger yellow-necked mouse has a faster growth rate than smaller mouse species. Stabilization of body weight begins at approximately 6 -7 months. In a white mouse, growth ends by 6 - 7 months, sometimes even earlier - by 5 months. White rats grow no longer - 11 - 12 months.
IN favorable conditions rats and mice are able to reproduce throughout the year, but, of course, in natural conditions they reproduce only during the warm period, when there is enough food.
Puberty in rats and mice occurs long before the end of growth and development of the young; specific dates will be indicated in the section on breeding these rodents at home. With a lack of vitamins and other substances necessary for proper development and reproduction, sexual maturity occurs later in animals. Moreover, females are ready for childbearing earlier than the maturation of young males.
The house mouse is a very fertile animal and can reproduce at home all year round, unlike mice living in nature (these breeding peaks are in autumn and spring). In a year, a mouse can bring up to 14 offspring (average - 5-10).
Mice reach puberty quite quickly - 28-50 days after birth, but can fully reproduce at the age of 60-90 days. However, it is important that a female ripe for pregnancy is well developed physically. Otherwise, pregnancy can damage the young mouse, not to mention the high likelihood that very frail or even dead mice will be born.
Sexual cycle
mice - from 2 to 9 days. It is at these intervals that the female enters estrus (heat period), which usually occurs between 22.00 and 1.00 and lasts approximately 12 hours. The estrus phase can be determined by the behavior of the female - she becomes nervous, in the presence of a male she arches her back, lifts back bodies. In turn, males emit ultrasonic calls in the range of 30-110 kHz to attract females. Interestingly, after giving birth, the female again enters estrus within 14-28 hours, during which she can be re-fertilized. During feeding of the newborn offspring, the mouse does not have estrus, but resumes 2-4 days after the pups are separated, that is, about 3-4 weeks after birth.
After fertilization, the female develops a so-called vaginal or inguinal “plug” - an external sign of successful copulation. The “plug” is a mixture of seeds and scales from the inguinal whip; it closes the vagina for 15-24 hours after fertilization, after which it dissolves. The “plug” is a specific evidence of paternity; it is needed to protect the mouse from being fertilized by another male.
Pregnancy
The life of a mouse lasts from 17 to 24 days, during this time (especially active - from the second half of the term) the female gains weight, the body of the mouse is rounded, and the nipples noticeably increase. It is important that during this period the female and male have enough materials to build nests or arranging an artificial house. To do this, there must be enough soft material in the cage (paper, fabric, soft hay). In addition, you need to increase the portion of food for a pregnant mouse: in the first half of pregnancy by a third, in the second - by half.
Childbirth
last approximately 2 hours, usually between 24.00 and 4.00 or 16.00 and 20.00. During contractions, you don’t have to separate the male, as he will help the mouse - straighten the nest, lick the newborns, and cover them. The squeaks of newborns testify to the birth that has taken place; in this regard, they are quite noisy. A mouse litter can contain from 1 to 14 mice, but on average the number of newborns is 5-8. Mice are born naked and blind, the shells of their ears are closed; weigh about 1.5 g.
Little mice are developing
quickly: after 2-4 days, fluff appears on the body, in 3 days the ear canals open, after 4-6 days the ears come off the head, after 8 days the lower incisors erupt, after 13 days the eyes open. Within 14-16 days, mice are able to move independently and take regular food. After 3-4 weeks, the pups can be separated from their mother. After approximately 25 days, the new offspring need to be separated by sex and placed in separate cages. For subsequent reproduction, mice at the age of 6-8 weeks must be paired, and the mouse pair should not be related by blood.
In nature, most mice live no more than 18 months. However, such a long period for small animals allows the mouse to go through several life stages. The development of the cub after emergence occurs within 3 weeks, when they feed on milk and gradually acquire hair, which they initially did not have.
Up to 1.5 months of age, the pups feed partly on supplies brought by their mother, and partly on independent “forays”. By this time they already have fur and their eyes open. They mainly use smell and ultrasound.
At the age of 1.5-2 months, the pups become independent and leave the nest, going in search of their own nesting place. During this time, they use the trails that their parents left for them and create their own.
Mice move along the same routes, thanks to the persistent odors of pheromones released along with urine. This property, in turn, makes it easier to find and destroy mice. Urine also serves as a kind of signaling device. When a mouse experiences fear, the smell becomes different and other mice, approaching the place of danger, will most likely avoid it.
On the paws of each individual there are also special glands with which they “mark” the territory. The smell of these glands is transmitted to any object they touch.
In nature, mice are active all year round, but in winter they try to find a secluded place in the form of a haystack, a deep burrow up to 60 cm, etc. Low temperatures are destructive to mice, so they look for warm place With big amount nearby food. The same reason forces mice to seek proximity to humans in their homes and households. buildings. A large number of mice live in stables and sheds with livestock.
Mice usually live in human homes only in winter, and not summer period move to burrows in the adjacent territory, continuing raids on supplies of cereals and cereals.
In a house or warehouse, a mouse primarily identifies food sources. Most often, she chooses the most static and richest reserves that will allow her to eat for a long time. These are jars and bags of grains, cereals, and crackers. Cereals are especially interesting for mice. In the absence of such food, the mouse switches to soap, candles, cable braiding in household appliances, wiring, root vegetables, dried vegetables and fruits, nuts, etc. Mice can eat almost anything to maintain a fast-acting metabolism.
In human dwellings, mice breed all year round and live for 2-3 years. A female that bears an average of 10 litters per year gives birth to great amount mice. In terms of reproduction rate, these mammals are among the most productive. This determines the use of mice in modern scientific research.
Mice easily fall into various traps and baits. Mousetraps are enough effective way control their population if it is not too large. When a room is massively infested with mice, the effectiveness of such control is significantly reduced. Poisoned baits come to the fore, which mice actively eat.
The period of activity of mice in nature is the dark time of day. In autumn, mice often run out of their holes during daylight. Rodents living next to humans often remain active throughout the day and even under artificial light. Mice are able to communicate using ultrasonic waves that are inaudible to the human ear. This is how males attract females for mating.
Mouse hearing is very sensitive to sounds and can distinguish frequencies up to 100 kHz. This figure is 5 times higher than that of humans. The sense of smell of mice perfectly helps them navigate in space and choose the direction of movement. Vision in animals is poorly developed and is focused on searching for distant objects. Nearby, mice are practically blind, but they are well oriented in space thanks to smells and sounds.
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