House mouse (Mus musculus)Phase specific vocalizations of male mice at the initial encounter during the courtship sequence
A mouse (pl.: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). Mice are also popular as pets. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are locally common. They are known to invade homes for food and shelter.
Mice are typically distinguished from rats by their size. Generally, when a muroid rodent is discovered, its common name includes the term mouse if it is smaller, or rat if it is larger. The common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. Typical mice are classified in the genus Mus, but the term mouse is not confined to members of Mus and can also apply to species from other genera such as the deer mouse (Peromyscus).
Domestic mice sold as pets often differ substantially in size from the common house mouse. This is attributable to breeding and different conditions in the wild. The best-known strain of mouse is the white lab mouse. It has more uniform traits that are appropriate to its use in research.
Cats, wild dogs, foxes, birds of prey, snakes and certain kinds of arthropods have been known to prey upon mice. Despite this, mice populations remain plentiful. Due to its remarkable adaptability to almost any environment, the mouse is one of the most successful mammalian genera living on Earth today.
In certain contexts, mice can be considered vermin. Vermin are a major source of crop damage,[1] as they are known to cause structural damage and spread disease. Mice spread disease through their feces and are often carriers of parasites.[2] In North America, breathing dust that has come in contact with mouse excrement has been linked to hantavirus, which may lead to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).
Primarily nocturnal[3] animals, mice compensate for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing. They depend on their sense of smell to locate food and avoid predators.[4]
In the wild, mice are known to build intricate burrows. These burrows have long entrances and are equipped with escape tunnels. In at least one species, the architectural design of a burrow is a genetic trait.[5]
Types of animals known as mice
The most common mice are murines, in the same clade as common rats. They are murids, along with gerbils and other close relatives.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology have confirmed that mice have a range of facial expressions. They used machine vision to spot familiar human emotions like pleasure, disgust, nausea, pain, and fear.[6][7][8]
Diet
In nature, mice are largely herbivores, consuming any kind of fruit or grain from plants.[9] However, mice adapt well to urban areas and are known for eating almost all types of food scraps. In captivity, mice are commonly fed commercial pelleted mouse diet. These diets are nutritionally complete, but they still need a large variety of vegetables.
Despite popular belief, most mice do not have a special appetite for cheese. They will only eat cheese for lack of better options.[10][11]
Reasons for common selection of mice are that they are small and inexpensive, have a widely varied diet, are easily maintained, and can reproduce quickly. Several generations of mice can be observed in a relatively short time. Mice are generally very docile if raised from birth and given sufficient human contact. However, certain strains have been known to be quite temperamental.
Many people buy mice as companion pets. They can be playful, loving and can grow used to being handled. Like pet rats, pet mice should not be left unsupervised outside as they have many natural predators, including (but not limited to) birds, snakes, lizards, cats, and dogs. Male mice tend to have a stronger odor than the females. However, mice are careful groomers and as pets they never need bathing. Well looked-after mice can make ideal pets. Some common mouse care products are:
Cage – Usually a hamster or gerbilcage, but a variety of special mouse cages are now available. Most should have a secure door.[13]
Food – Special pelleted and seed-based food is available. Mice can generally eat most rodent food (for rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, etc.)
Bedding – Usually made of hardwood pulp, such as aspen, sometimes from shredded, uninkedpaper or recycled virgin wood pulp. Using corn husk bedding is avoided because it promotes Aspergillusfungus, and can grow mold once it gets wet, which is rough on their feet.
Mice are a staple in the diet of many small carnivores. In various countries mice are used as feed[14] for pets such as snakes, lizards, frogs, tarantulas, and birds of prey, and many pet stores carry mice for this purpose. Such mice are sold in various sizes and with various amounts of fur. Mice without fur are easier for the animal to consume; however, mice with fur may be more convincing as animal feed.[citation needed]
As food
Humans have eaten mice since prehistoric times. In Victorian Britain, fried mice were still given to children as a folk remedy for bed-wetting;[15] while Jared Diamond reports creamed mice being used in England as a dietary supplement during Second World War rationing.[16] Mice are a delicacy throughout eastern Zambia and northern Malawi,[17] where they are a seasonal source of protein. Field rat is a popular food in Vietnam and neighboring countries.[18] In many countries, however, mouse is no longer a food item.
Prescribed cures in Ancient Egypt included mice as medicine.[19] In Ancient Egypt, when infants were ill, mice were eaten as treatment by their mothers.[20][21] It was believed that mouse eating by the mother would help heal the baby who was ill.[22][23][24][25][26]
The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.
The domestication of small mammals to keep as pets is a relatively recent development, arising only after large-scale industrialization. Historically, Western society was more agrarian than today, with rodents as a whole seen as vermin that were carriers for disease and a threat to crops. Animals that hunted such pests, such as terriers and cats, were prized.
A fancy mouse is a domesticated form of the house mouse, one of many species of mice, usually kept as a type of pocket pet. Fancy mice have also been specially bred for exhibiting, with shows being held internationally. A pet mouse is inexpensive compared to larger pets, and even many other pet rodents, but mice are comparatively short-lived: typically only 2 to 3 years.
The term spiny mouse refers to any species of rodent within the genus Acomys. Similar in appearance to mice of the genus Mus, spiny mice are small mammals with bare tails which contain osteoderms, a rare feature in mammals. Their coats are endowed with unusually stiff guard hairs similar to the spines of a hedgehog; this trait is the source of the common name, spiny mouse.
The cactus mouse or cactus deermouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus Peromyscus, a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice". They are native to desert areas of western North America.
Rodents are mammals of the order Rodentia, which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity.
↑ Behney, W. H. (1 January 1936). "Nocturnal Explorations of the Forest Deer-Mouse". Journal of Mammalogy. 17 (3): 225–230. doi:10.2307/1374418. JSTOR1374418.
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