Mice
House mice are gray or brown rodents with relatively large ears and
small eyes.
An adult weighs about 1/2 ounce and is about 5 1/2 to 7 1/2
inches long, including the 3 to 4 inch tail.
Although house mice usually feed on cereal grains, they will eat many
kinds of food. They eat often, nibbling bits of food here and there.
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Mice have keen senses of
taste, hearing, smell and touch. They are excellent climbers and can
run up any rough vertical surface. They will run horizontally
along wire cables or ropes and can jump up 13 inches from the floor onto
a flat surface. They can slip through a crack that a pencil will fit
into (slightly larger than 1/4 inch in diameter).
In a single year, a female
may have five to 10 litters of usually five or six young each. Young
are born 19 to 21 days after mating, and they are mature in six to 10
weeks. The life span of a mouse is about nine to 12 months. |
