|
Life expectancy The life expectancy of the average mouse in the wild is generally short and can be calculated in weeks or months. Pet mice, however, can live up to 3 or 5 years. They have in-built homing instincts but are almost certainly colour-blind, viewing their world only in black and white. Water Requirements Like most rodents, mice need to take in little water. They produce almost all they require under normal circumstances by "burning" the carbohydrates in the food they eat and using the water that is released in their bodies as a by-product of the "burning". This metabolic water is produced by larger animals, including man. But to these larger animals, it is a minor source of water as their relatively massive bodies demand far more water than such an internal spring can provide. Desert species, such as the spiny mouse, can survive happily without any external source of water. As an extra water conservation measure, such species produce only limited amounts of droppings and a highly concentrated urine. Some spiny mice can live purely on tiny quantities of sea-water and even your ordinary house mouse can get by almost indefinitely without liquids. This does not mean that you should ever leave your tame mice without a source of fresh, clean water! They are domesticated varieties which may not be as hardy as their wild cousins.
| ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
 |
|
| |