Mice are a popular tiny and cute animal.Mice have pointed snouts with rounded ears, scaly tails as long as their body length, and a very high breeding rate. Mice, as you may know, are smaller than rats.A mouse is commonly found in every house. They are well known to invade homes for better shelter and ample food. Do you know why most rhymes and the Disney famous character, Michael Theodore Mouse, also known as Mickey mouse, are common house mice? Because mice are cute and very commonly found mammals, so every kid can easily relate.Do you wonder why a mouse lives in a human house? Is it time to check if you have mice in your home too? Well, the answer is simple, although house mice are tiny with small stomachs, they have a big appetite. Mice may eat nearly 15-20 times a day; hence, they prefer to live near food sources.The average lifespan of mice in the wild (outdoors) is only five months due to their vulnerability to natural predators like cats, foxes, and snakes. However, common house mice live up to two years indoors where they have well-provided conditions without any threats. Mice are good gymnasts, and their tiny bodies make it easy to jump on and off the kitchen counters, pantry shelves, or food storage for a quick snack. It is best to store food in a hard lid-tight sealed plastic container to keep mice out.If you find this article interesting and you want to learn more, then why not read about how many legs does a spider have? And how are mirrors made? Here on Kidadl, just for you.How often do mice reproduce?Mice are notorious breeding machines.Females attain sexual maturity as early as six weeks from birth. The mouse gestation period is very short, from 19-21 days. You can see a new litter within 25 days. A female mouse can become pregnant 5-10 times each year, and produce many babies, possibly 32-52 baby mice a year. The litter size of the mouse is typically around 3-14 pups.To get a better understanding, let’s talk about numbers to create a clearer picture. Just two mice can produce 60 mice per year. Within this litter, 21 to 30 female babies will attain sexual maturity in 45 days, producing offspring. Theoretically, a noted mathematician remarked, how many babies mice have. The largest number could go up to 5 million mice per year under ideal conditions.The phrase ‘multiply like rabbits’ should be ‘multiply like mice’ as it would be more apt and suitable based on how many babies mice produce. Time to sharpen your counting skills, as these tiny rodents can attain sexual maturity at 4-6 weeks old from the time they are born. With the shortest gestational period of 21 days, can you imagine how in a few months, they can increase their population in vast numbers? Female mice mate immediately after giving birth and can reproduce another set of litter within the next month. Do you know a single female can give birth to 5-10 baby mice litters per year?Just wonder how these rodents with immense breeding capabilities and a short maturation rate, placed in a limited space, seize the chance to give birth year-round. However outdoors, rodent struggle for good food sources and protection from predators, because of that those mice live for only five months; hence, they only breed in spring, winter, and fall. However, not all weather conditions, especially harsh winter, are suitable for newborn babies. Looking at the multiplication rate of this rodent, it can not only create havoc but also spread disease by contact extremely quickly.The Life Cycle Of A MouseThis tiny rodent breed is such a common pest with a very simple life cycle.However simple the life cycle seems, they are notorious breeders. Every three weeks, a new set of litters are born from one female house mouse, its offspring reproduce, and the population is thus again multiplied. In just a year, one mouse can produce 25-60 young pups, on average. Even if you see a couple of mice in the daytime, we can no longer disregard it as a mouse problem at this rate, but we need to consider it as a mouse infestation.Among mice, females’ life cycle begins, and shortly after they mature sexually. Next, the mice then start breeding, with a gestation period of 19-21 days, finally giving birth to baby mice. These pups then, in turn, do not stay young for very long. Baby mice are pups that are born naked without fur; eyes, and ears develop within two weeks and grow almost to that of adult mice.Although mother mice nurse their babies for 21 days, once these babies start weaning they search for food sources and gnaw things along the way. These baby mice attain sexual maturity as early as 4-6 weeks and begin to breed. A female mouse can become fertile and mate soon after giving birth and produce another litter within 25 days. This cycle continues until its death.How fast do mice multiply?Imagine you saw small house mice darting across the room before you can see their faces properly. You ignore it as it is just a couple of house mice, or you might even mistake it as a single house mouse.Think twice before adopting it as an unnamed pet or as just a guest to steal and eat tiny food morsels. Even pet mice can have ten pups on average. You might think it’s impossible that there are hundreds of mice in your house. Let’s do the math, to be sure.The high rate of reproduction and multiplication of offspring here is unbelievable! Mice become mature within a month, and each female mouse can give birth to (on average) around 12 pups; before these pups can grow, the female can become pregnant again in the next 24 hours and give birth to another set of litter; by then, the first set of pups are ready for three weeks of conception.Each mouse could produce 15 litters a year, so within just three months, a pair of six mice can multiply into 60 mice i.e., their reproduction rate is ten times a month. Before we can calculate for one year, it’s better to pack, move out, and hand it over to the pest control department.How to prevent a mice infestation?Mice in the wild have a very short life span of five months due to many predators that often feed on them—however, it’s different indoors. In a small, confined living space with a resourceful environment, mice can create havoc.A mouse might gnaw on electrical wires, furniture, building interiors, walls, damage buildings, and can spread harmful bacteria and viruses. The best sign to check out mouse infestations is to look for open cracks on walls, droppings, or gnawed wires, clothes, and furniture.Do you know the common white-footed deer mouse causes the deadly hantavirus? After knowing the possible spread of disease with just any bit of contact, is our kitchen safe? Is our food storage safe enough to store edibles? Is our kitchen counter germ-free? If you suspect a mice infestation, you can always call a pest control professional to deal with the situation.Thankfully, there are several proactive measures that we can take to prevent rodent infestation in the first place. Firstly, always close your doors and windows to prevent the entry of any rodents. Cover or seal all gaps, and cracks, and repair screens that are damaged; install screen vents for openings like chimneys, ventilators, utility pipes, and the like. Secondly, restrict food resources, the best way to save food is in closed air-tight containers and dispose of unwanted or waste food immediately. Scare the mice with traps near their access points. Finally, keep your attics and basement clean, ventilated, and bright. If you still face mouse troubles, you could adopt a cat, but that won’t guarantee help. It’s always better to call professionals.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how many mice are in a litter? Then why not take a look at how do clouds float? Or house rat facts?
Mice are a popular tiny and cute animal.
