Mice

• Female mice can give birth when they are two months old and are able to have babies 6 to 10 times per year.
• Mice have to build their homes near sources of food because they like to eat 15 to 20 times per day.
• Mice can live in a lab for up to two years, but usually only live for about 5 months in the wild, mostly because of predators, such as cats, snakes and foxes.
• Mice are good jumpers, climbers and swimmers.
• House mice, like other rodents, do not vomit.

Physical Characteristics

• Mice have tails that are as long as their bodies.
• Mice see best in dim light. Their eyesight is weak, but their other senses are acute.
• Their whiskers are used to sense smooth and rough surfaces, temperature changes and breezes.
• Like all rodents, mice have teeth that never stop growing. Mice teeth can grow up to 5 inches a year.
• The average mouse has a life expectancy of just 2 years.
• When they are full grown they weigh between 1/2 and 1 ounce.
• Colonies of mice have been found thriving in the supplies used on polar expeditions.
• Mouse tails have scales that help with climbing.

Behavior

• Mice squeak at very high frequencies, often above the range of human hearing.
• Mice can jump down 12 feet without injury; they also have a 12-inch vertical jump.
• Mice can scale rough vertical surfaces and walk along thin ropes and wires.
• Mice constantly leave droppings in the areas they frequent.
• Fresh mouse droppings are dark, soft, approximately 1/8 to 1/4 inch in length and pointed at both ends.
• Mice prefer to travel adjacent to walls and other edges.
• They forage only for short distances from their nest, usually not more than 10 to 25 feet.
• Mice explore their territory daily, showing no aversion to new objects (neophobia).
• The average mouse consumes 3-4g per day, preferring cereal grains and seeds.
• Mice may make 20 to 30 visits to different food sites each night taking as little as 0.15g at each site.
• Mice can chew through anything softer than their teeth, including electrical wiring - a fire hazard.
• Mice produce 6 - 10 litters of 5 -10 pups per year. They begin breeding at two months of age.
• Mice can transmit salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning) when food is contaminated with infected mouse feces.
• Mice also transmit hantavirus.