House Mouse

ID

• Long tail, prominent ears, no line of demarcation between dorsal and ventral colorations
• Grayish brown to brown upper parts shading to lighter gray or brown on the belly
• Scaly tail nearly lacking in hairs
• Distinctive odor (Whitaker)

Distribution

Most of North America.

Reproduction

• Breeding occurs from early spring until late fall without pause, but stops during colder months
• Males sense female pheromone cues, which cause them to release male pheromones, which in turn cause females to release more pheromones in a positive feedback loop
• Litter size is generally 5 to 7 young, but it is not unusual to see litters of 10 or 11 young
• Gestation lasts 19 to 21 days, or somewhat longer if the female is still nursing a previous litter (Whitaker)

Behavior

• Mainly nocturnal
• Can swim, climb, jump, and burrow
• Can sense sugars, salts, and other chemicals at low concentrations
• Extremely adaptable
• Nomadic (Whitaker)

Food Habits

• Governed by availability
• Grasses, seeds, butterfly larvae, corn, beetle larvae, fungi, available human food, and sometimes soap (Whitaker)

Size/Life Cycle

• Average measurements: 148-205 mm (total length), 14-24 g (total weight) (Whitaker)

Predators

• Most mammalian and avian predators, as well as snakes (Whitaker)

Habitat

• Human houses, corn, wheat, soybean, and sorghum fields where there is good herbaceous groundcover, sand dunes (Whitaker)
• Uncommon only in undisturbed or natural habitats (Audubon)