A mouse is a very small animal
Lots are wild but some are pets.
Mice have long tails.
They have pointy faces and big ears.
Pet mice are different colours.
Mice are very small mammals. ©Getty Images
What is a mouse?
A mouse is a very small mammal. The word for more than one mouse is mice.
Mice belong to the animal group called rodents (say r-oh-dents). Rodents have a pair of front teeth (incisors) on both the upper and lower jaws that grow continuously. The animal must gnaw steadily at hard things to keep the teeth from growing too big.
Rodents include guinea pigs, beavers, squirrels, porcupines, hamsters and rats. Rabbits, hares and pikas are not rodents, although they also have continuously growing teeth.
Wild field mouse ©Getty Images
There are a number of different species (kinds) of mouse. The best known species is the house mouse. There are a few kinds of mouse that do come into houses but there are other kinds that live in the wild and do not. The house mouse is found in almost every country. House mice have been bred as pets and are popular.
Body and behaviours
Mice are small animals. They have pointy faces and large ears, and have a long tail. Their eyesight is not good, but they have very keen senses of smell and hearing.
European harvest mice are wild mice. ©Getty
Mice are excellent climbers, and can jump straight up in leaps of about 30 centimetres. They can squeeze themselves through tiny openings as small as 6 millimetres.
Because of their continuously growing front teeth, mice gnaw to keep them a reasonable size. This means mice can make holes in cardboard, wood, storage containers, books, furniture and things like electrical wires.
They are very silent, and are nocturnal, or active at night. This means they are rarely seen in a house, and their droppings and the damage they do are generally the only clues that they are there. They are most likely to invade houses in winter, otherwise they make burrows outdoors.
Mice cause a great deal of damage in grain storage places as well as in buildings. ©Getty
Mice are thought of as pests. They can do a great deal of damage, and can spread disease. When they get into wheat or other grain storage on farms, they can ruin the whole lot: not just what they eat, but they contaminate the rest by leaving droppings.
Wild mice are brown or grey but mice bred as pets come in other colours as well, especially white.
Life Cycle
Mice can breed all year round. Females are ready to mate every four or five weeks.
Newborn mice in a nest ©Getty Images
The baby mice are born about 21 days after a female mates with a male. They are born in a nest prepared by the female. There are usually five to ten mice in a litter. The young are born without hair or teeth and are blind and deaf. After a week the hair begins to grow, and after ten days the baby mice can see and hear. Like all mammals, newborn mice drink milk from their mother's body for a time. Baby mice feed on milk for about three weeks. From about two weeks teeth begin to grow and the young mice can begin to nibble at solid food.
While they are little, the young mice are cared for by their mother. She cleans and feeds them and keeps them safe. After they are four weeks old they can look after themselves. Pet mice can live for about 3 years.
Mice as pets
A pet mouse ©Getty Images
Mice are friendly animals and make good pets. A good start is to get two or three females. They get along well, and it means you won't have baby mice being born every few weeks. Male mice are better kept alone as they can fight each other fiercely. Pet shops buy their mice from breeders. Choose mice with bright eyes and clean fur that does not have bald patches. Do not buy a mouse that is timid and scared.
Always handle your pets carefully, and make sure you wash your hands afterwards.
A plastic or glass aquarium tank made into a mouse house. ©Getty Images
Housing your pet mice
Mice can be kept in a big metal cage with a plastic floor that comes up the sides for a few centimetres, or in a glass or plastic aquarium tank with a fly wire lid. Ventilation is important.
Ideally, about 30cm tall and wide is a good size.
There should be a shelter because they need a dark place to sleep, which should have soft paper (without inks) to nest in: tissues are ideal. Wood shavings or kitty litter on the floor of the cage will soak up the mice urine (pee).
The mouse house must be cleaned frequently to keep the pets healthy.
Small animals like mice are active because it is hard for them to keep warm. Mice will exercise on a wheel in their house.
An exercise wheel is an important addition to a mouse house ©Getty Image
Feeding your pet mice
Mice can be fed dried oats, canary seed, fresh fruit such as apples and bananas, and vegetables such as carrots broccoli and peas.
Pet shops sell special food pellets for mice.
Mice should have a constant supply of fresh water.
Responsible pet ownership
Pet mice depend on their owners for food, protection and shelter. Before becoming a pet owner think carefully about all the things you will have to do to care for your pet responsibly.
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read about the mouse family
https://www.animalfunfacts.net/rodents/113-mouse.html
