Kinds Of Mice And Where They Live:
Mice are probably the most well known rodents of all because they live almost everywhere in the world. Some kinds of mice are the North African striped grass mouse, house mouse, African climbing mouse, common door mouse, harvest mouse, striped field mouse, Australian hopping mouse, leaf-eared mouse, African house mouse, meadow jumping mouse, grass hopping mouse, and Mexican volcano mouse. House mice are one of the most common animals. They can live almost anywhere a human can live. They are the highest populated mammal other than humans and the one that can live in the most places. Mice often live in abandoned bird nests, crevices, houses, buildings, and barns. You could probably think of somewhere and mice could live there. House mice are old world mice. Old world field mice live naturally only in the Eastern Hemisphere. The greatest number of them are in Southeast Asia. They are common in Eurasia and Africa, and on the island of Indonesia and in Australia. The only place that old world field mice are not found is on the island of Madagascar.
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Breeding: Female mice can give birth when they are only 45 days old. There may be 4 to 7 young in a litter. Baby mice start with no fur, small limbs, and are blind. On the second day they develop a tail and get ear flaps. On the third day their toes have developed. On the sixth day they start to get fur. On the tenth day their eyes open and their body is covered with fur. When they are two weeks old the nest is too small and they start exploring.
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Predators:
Mice that live in the fields have these animals for enemies: kestrels, buzzards, owls, other mice, weasels, foxes, and humans. Mice that live in barns have these enemies: owls, weasels, other mice, cats, humans, traps, poisons, and rats.
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Feeding Habits: Mice that live in the fields eat seeds, roots, nuts, berries, and insects. Mice that live in barns eat grain and cattle food. Mice teeth never stop growing until they die. Their teeth are strong enough to chew through wood. If they don't chew on things their teeth can grow so long that they wrap around their mouths and they can't eat, or the teeth will curve up under the mouth and actually go inside the head and into the brain. Interesting Facts: These are some of the interesting facts about mice:
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- The grasshopper mouse can eat many kinds of insects, other small mammals, and even scorpions.
- North African grass mice are active during the day.
- House mice are probably the most well known mice of all and can be found everywhere.
- African climbing mice are active at night and eat grains and insects.
- The common door mouse is known for its long hibernations.
- Striped field mice can be found in fairly large groups.
- Big hind feet let Australian hopping mice take long leaps.
- Leaf-eared mice live in South America and they are named that because of their wide and thin ears.
- Meadow jumping mice can be found in North American prairies.
- Mexican volcano mice can live on very high slopes and have very, very dense fur.
- There are some very smart mice. This is one true story about some smart mice:
A True Story:
Two mice had to do a little obstacle course to get to some food. First they had to climb a ladder. Then they had to pull it up. They tested it to see if it was strong enough and then one of them climbed on the back of the ladder to keep it there. After that the last one had to go across a bridge. The bridge is the kind that has to be pulled back to you before you can cross. The mouse finally crossed and got to the food. He went back down to help the other mouse get some food.
The red areas on the map show where mice live.
