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Mouse Facts: Habits, Habitat & Types of Mice
By Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor | June 26, 2014 03:34pm ET
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Mouse Facts: Habits, Habitat & Types of Mice
A mouse with a window surgically implanted in its belly. Though the tiny window,
scientists could watch cancer cells grow and spread in real-time.
Credit: Laila Ritsma and Dr. Jacco van Rheenen.
A mouse is a small rodent with a pointed nose, furry round body, large ears and
a long, often hairless, tail. There are hundreds of types of mice, divided into
subfamilies of either Old World or New World species. Common varieties include d
eer mouse, house mouse, field mouse, wood mouse, dormouse, spiny mouse and zebra
mouse.
Though some people talk about mice and rats as if they were the same thing, they
are actually different types of animals in the rodent family. Rats generally ar
e larger than mice, and they can be bald, scaly and cylinder-shaped.
People can become infected with hantavirus by exposure to rodent droppings, part
icularly those of the deer mouse.
People can become infected with hantavirus by exposure to rodent droppings, part
icularly those of the deer mouse.
Credit: Steven Russell Smith Photos ShutterStock
Size
Mice come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Some common mice colors are whi
te, brown and grey. Some are very tiny and others are around the size of a baked
potato.
Mice typically grow from 1 to 7 inches (2.54 to 18 centimeters) in length and we
igh between 0.5 and 1 ounce (.23 to .028 kilograms). The African pygmy is the sm
allest known mouse on the planet. It measures 1.2 - 3.1 inches (3.04 to 7.874 cm

) and can weigh less than .35 ounces (.01 kg). These measurements do not include
tail length. Some mice have tails that are as long as their bodies.
Where do mice live?
Mice are hardy creatures that are found in nearly every country and type of terr
ain. They can live in forests, grasslands and manmade structures easily. Mice ty
pically make a burrow underground if they live out in the wild. Their burrow hel
ps protect them from predators. Their natural predators are cats, birds, wild do
gs and foxes.
Mice are nocturnal, meaning they like to sleep during the day. This is why pet m
ice or house mice can be heard playing or foraging during the night. Most wild m
ice are timid toward humans and other animals, but they are very social with oth
er mice. Domestic mice are very friendly toward humans and can make good pets fo
r older children and adults.
According to the RSPCA, mice are very territorial. Even domestic mice like to ha
ve a large area that they can claim as their own.
What do mice eat?
If you believe what you see in cartoons, you would think
ctually, they like to eat fruits, seeds and grains. They
eans they eat both plants and meat, and the common house
t anything it can find. In fact, if food is scarce, mice
r.

that mice eat cheese. A

are omnivorous, which m
mice will eat just abou
will even eat each othe

Mice have voracious appetites. They eat around 15 to 20 times per day, so they b
uild their homes nearby places that have readily accessible food sources.
Baby mice
When homes are infested with mice, humans will often find chewed up wires, books
, papers and insulation around their home. Mice aren't eating these items, they
are chewing them into pieces that they can use to make their nests. This is beca
use mice nests are made from whatever the female mouse can find.
At around 4 to seven weeks old, a female mouse will mate and have young. She wil
l carry her young for 19 to 21 days and give birth to four to a dozen babies, ac
cording to the University of Florida. Mice can have a new litter of babies every
three weeks.
Mice have unusual names. Females are does, males are bucks and babies are called
pinkies because of their bright pink color. Baby mice are also called pups.
Pet mice can live up to six years, while wild mice usually only live around 1 to
2.5 years.
Classification/taxonomy
According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the taxonomy of
mice is:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Myomorpha
Family: Muridae
Subfamilies: Murinae (Old World rats and mice), Sigmodontinae (New World rat
s and mice)

Genera & species: Hundreds, including Mus musculus (house mouse), Apodemus f
lavicollis (yellow-necked field mouse), Apodemus sylvaticus (wood mouse), Peromy
scus maniculatus (deer mouse), Micromys minutus (Eurasian harvest mouse) and Mus
cardinus avellanarius (hazel dormouse)
Conservation status:
Mice trained to fear a specific scent
grandbabies through changes to their
Mice trained to fear a specific scent
grandbabies through changes to their
Credit: Floris Slooff, Shutterstock

pass on that knowledge to their babies and

DNA.
pass on that knowledge to their babies and
DNA.

Most mice have healthy populations, though there are a few species that are enda
ngered, such as the Alabama beach mouse. Massive hurricanes in past years have n
early wiped out their natural habitat. New Mexico's jumping mouse is also endang
ered due to wildfires, drought and other threats.
Other facts
Mice are much like humans in how their bodies and minds work. This is why labora
tories use mice as test subjects for medicines and other items that may be used
on humans. Nearly all modern medicine is tested on mice before they go to human
medical trials.
Mice are tough little creatures when they have their minds set on a crunchy scor
pion snack. They can withstand multiple scorpion bites.
Mice can feel temperature changes and alterations in ground terrain through thei
r whiskers.
While communicating with each other, mice make ultrasonic as well as regular sou
nds.
Most mice are very good jumpers. They can jump nearly 18 inches (46 cm) in the a
ir. They also are talented climbers and swimmers.
A mouse's heart can beat 632 beats per minute. A human heart only beats 60 to 10
0 beats per minute.
A wood mouse will shed its tail if the tail is caught by a predator.
Nina Sen contributed to this article.
Other resources:
Humane Society of the United States - Mouse
BBC Nature - Mouse
Orkin- Mouse Facts
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Author Bio
Alina Bradford
Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor
Alina Bradford is a contributing writer for Live Science. Over the past 16 y
ears, Alina has covered everything from Ebola to androids while writing health,
science and tech articles for major publications. She has multiple health, safet
y and lifesaving certifications from Oklahoma State University. Alina's goal in
life is to try as many experiences as possible. To date, she has been a voluntee
r firefighter, a dispatcher, substitute teacher, artist, janitor, children's boo
k author, pizza maker, event coordinator and much more.
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