The origin of the dormouse, the known species and their features, advice on keeping and feeding a rodent at home, the correct purchase of a dormouse and the price. In the event that you decide to get yourself a smaller friend and lean towards small rodents, turn your attention to such a creation of nature as a dormouse. This little mouse has not only a very pretty appearance, but also a funny, playful character.
It is a pleasure to keep such a pet, it is easy to tame, even goes into your hands. By bringing such a pet into the house, you can be sure that he will never make you bored or sad. With its activity and perky disposition, dormouse sometimes simply infects and, looking at this little "motor", I want to live and work.
But before you run to a pet store in a neighboring area in search of such a fluffy companion, it is better to get to know him better, after all, he is a native of the wild and he is not very used to home conditions.
The origin of the dormouse and its native habitats
Sonya is a pretty tiny living creature that is a representative of the large animal kingdom. In the process of studying these tailed animals, scientists have classified them into the class of mammals, the order of rodents and the family of sleepyheads.
The natural distribution area is quite wide and depends on the specific type of dormouse, but if you have such a desire to visit this rodent, then you will not have to travel far, these animals are found almost throughout Europe and Asia.
Description of the varieties of dormouse and their characteristic features
According to some scientific sources in the world there are about 25-30 species of the most diverse representatives of the carotid family, including several species, which, unfortunately, did not survive to the era of our modern times. We present to your attention several species that live near us and that are best suited as pets.
Forest dormouse
This descendant of the forest dormouse of the same name, lives in Europe and, as far as is known, settles near oak plantations. But on the territory of the Caucasus and Asia, this animal is associated with a variety of trees and shrubs. It seems possible to see a miniature rodent throughout the Balkan Peninsula, in Greece, on the lands of the Apennine Peninsula, where this animal lives mainly in the Calabrian mountains. As for the eastern part of the European continent, such a small animal is found there almost everywhere, it bypassed only the northern part of Poland and the Ukrainian lands, near the Black Sea. Large populations of dormouse inhabit the lands of Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Turkmenistan and many more countries of Asia Minor.
On the territory of Russia, this forest rodent lives in the Tver region and in the western part of the Kirov region. On the lands of the Caucasus, these animals are distributed almost everywhere.
For their comfortable living, small mammals prefer deciduous forests with rather dense undergrowth, and occasionally they can settle in mixed forests, dense gardens and in an area rich in shrub thickets. As their personal living space, forest sleepyheads choose hollows, made in advance by other inhabitants of the forests, abandoned bird nests, and if she has time and inspiration, then sometimes she can design a nest for herself with her little paws.
These tiny animals almost never have problems with food, they can be content with both plant-based feed and live food. The forest dormouse loves to feed itself with fruits and seeds of plants, for example, acorns, a variety of nuts, apple seeds and even juicy fruits, if they are lucky enough to get them. As for the products of animal origin, they eat various insects with joy and great pleasure, in difficult times they can afford to devour bird eggs and even small chicks without remorse.
If we talk about the external appearance of this animal, then this is a rather small animal. The length of its miniature body reaches approximately 10–12 cm, the caudal process grows to 9–10 cm, and its body weight varies from 30 to 45 grams.
The forest dormouse, of course, is not at all a chameleon, but its color tends to change, depending on the territories in which the animal lives. Most often, the coat of these mammals is presented in grayish tones. But in some areas, dormouse can be painted in slightly brownish colors, there are locations where animals of yellowish-gray shades live, moreover, on their bodies, you can easily notice the border between the color of the upper part of the body and the lower one. If this forest animal settles in a mountainous area, then usually their fur is painted with a white-gray color scheme.
The caudal process is usually very fluffy, its color is most often represented by dark shades of gray. The dormouse's tail has a very good blood supply, for this reason, if the animal finds itself in some kind of unpleasant situation, the hair on the tail rises strongly, and blood rushes into the tail vascular network, then you can see how gradually this part of the carotid body transforms and becomes reddish.
On the cute face of the animal, there is a stripe of dark shades, which is located from the nose to the auditory organs. These animals have very well developed vibrissae and, moreover, they are quite long, their length is approximately equal to the total body length.
Dormouse
This representative of the world fauna differs from all its relatives in its dimensions - this is the largest dormouse. The body of an adult animal grows in length from 15 to 20 cm, the mass of their bodies ranges from 150 to 200 grams. The length of the tail is approximately 10–13 cm. If you do not look very closely at this furry, then you can suspect it in the closest family ties with squirrels and they really are somewhat similar to each other. Only the ears of small regiments are devoid of peculiar tassels.
The body of this mammal is wrapped in a rather thick lush layer of fur, but the coat is relatively short. Compared to its forest relative, the color of this animal is constantly the same and is not influenced by either geographic or climatic conditions. Usually the dormouse is painted in grayish-brown shades with a slight smoky tint. The area of the abdominal cavity is usually lighter than the back area and is traditionally painted in white-yellowish tones. On the cute face of this living creature, its "natural accessories" are immediately striking in the form of dark rings around the eyes, which are somewhat reminiscent of sunglasses, but in some representatives of their kind they are hardly noticeable.
For the first time, this medium-sized rodent was described in the UK, although the natural distribution area is quite extensive and extends far beyond Asia. These oddballs with bushy tails can be seen while traveling in France, Italy, Spain and even in the coastal Mediterranean regions.
For the reason that by nature these beautiful animals are the strictest vegetarians, they choose wooded areas for their living, where a large number of fruit trees grow, they cannot eat acorns and nuts all their lives, they do not mind eating some juicy the fruit. The regiments can settle near agricultural holdings such as vineyards or orchards. The animal does not eat so much, so it will not bring a significant loss to the crop, but it will remain well-fed and satisfied. He is very fond of apples, pears, dogwood, plums, cherries and even raspberries and blackberries. Before taking a meal, the animal must first make sure that its food is ripe, it will never eat if its lunch is not ripe enough.
The period of activity for these pussies falls at night, with the onset of dusk on the ground, these agile animals leave their small cozy houses and start looking for a variety of goodies. They spend most of their time in trees, and land walks are extremely rare. But they are not active at all for a long time, since already from the middle of September they begin to lie in winter sleep. It is very interesting that mature males are the first to go on winter holidays, and then by seniority. For wintering, the regiments usually dig deep holes, which reach approximately 180-200 cm in length. But if they have no desire to engage in construction, and there are human settlements nearby, then these sly ones can winter in the hayloft and even under the attics of houses. They never make reserves for the winter, for this reason, during the cold weather, a large number of animals die that did not have time to feed themselves properly over the summer, because if their sleep is disturbed, they immediately wake up, and they have nothing to eat in winter.
Garden dormouse
This is a medium-sized rodent, its muzzle has a slight pointedness, large rounded ears taper noticeably near the base. The caudal process is also remarkable - it is covered with rather thick fur throughout its entire length, and ends with a wide fluffy tassel. The dorsal part of the body of the garden dormouse is painted in gray-brown colors, but the neck, abdomen, chest, limbs and ears are usually white. Several stripes are drawn from the visual organs to the ears, which are painted in dark shades.
On the territory of Russia, this mammal is widespread not only in dense wooded areas, but also at different forest edges, in orchards and even city recreation parks.
By nature, it is an omnivorous animal, it can satisfy an attack of hunger with a variety of seeds, nuts, fruits, but still his favorite dishes are animal products, for example, dung beetles, beetles, clickers and other insects. With pleasure, this fluffy sly man devours even small defenseless chicks.
If they are very lucky in life and people live near their place of residence, then garden dormouse can sneak into their premises. Of course, they do not climb onto the bed and do not turn on the TV, but they can afford to treat themselves to various products. Bread, milk, sour cream are some of the favorite delicacies of little thieves.
These cunning representatives of the sleepyhead family are not at all afraid to die during the fierce winter cold, since they are the most voracious among all their relatives, so their fat reserves are quite enough for the entire winter period, some individuals even practically do not lose weight during hibernation.
Spectacled, South African dormouse
This species is widespread far beyond the borders of our homeland, they mainly inhabit rocky locations, located in the western part of the hot African continent.
The African dormouse is a small animal, the length of its miniature body does not exceed 15 cm, and its weight is approximately 25–45 grams. The coat of this eccentric from Africa is very pleasant in texture, soft, painted in smoky grayish shades. The projection of the tummy of this mammal is painted in white color, occasionally with a slight ash tint. In some individuals, against this background, it is possible to notice a certain pattern formed by small specks of a brownish-reddish color. The same patterns can be on the face of an animal.
Unlike their domestic relatives, this African rodent does not tolerate loneliness at all, for this reason, in the wild, they usually live in rather numerical social groups.
Keeping a dormouse rodent at home
Bringing such a pet as a dormouse mouse into the house, first of all, you need to take care of his personal roof over his head. A nickel-plated cage is perfect as a house for such a comrade, it is desirable that it be spacious enough. As for the area of the dwelling, these cute animals do not put forward special requirements, they feel great in modest conditions, but the larger their personal apartment, the more active your pupil will be. And since movement is life, physical activity will not only cheer up your furry friend, but also strengthen his health.
At first, you may experience some inconvenience associated with the night activity of this rodent, in order to avoid lack of sleep, it is best to take the cage with sleepyheads to the place farthest from the bedroom at night. In the event that you give your friend enough attention, he will easily change his usual schedule for you. And if you also spoil him with goodies throughout the day, you can be sure that your rest will not be disturbed by a well-fed and happy pet.
Usually sleepyheads quickly get used to a person and, after some time after the start of living together, they gladly make contact with their owners, especially if they have prepared something tasty for them.
In the animal's house, it is necessary to put a feeder, a container with drinking water, and also make a place for rest, preferably in the form of a shelter. This little tenant also sometimes wants to retire.
Cleaning in his home must be done regularly, not only to avoid unpleasant odors, but also in order to prevent various diseases of your friend.
In the event that you are late at work for a long time, think about your furry friend, he will also miss, if you cannot allow this, then make sure that your pet has something to do in his free time. As entertainment, you can install a running wheel in the cage, believe me, your sleepyhead will drive like crazy in it. In addition, it is advisable to build a place designed for climbing from different branches and trunks. It is recommended to put a little straw or dry foliage for the animal, suddenly it will have a desire to build itself a place to sleep with its own paws.
The diet of a domestic rodent should be as similar as possible to the diet of an animal in the wild. When it comes to such an animal as dormouse, it is quite easy to recreate a natural menu. Her daily list of foods should include nuts, various berries and fruits, and acorns. You can have your friend from time to time have a feast and treat him to insects, it is better to buy them in the market, since live food caught in the garden can bring with it many problems, such as parasites or infectious diseases for your pet. In the summer, you can bring shoots of young plants into the dormouse cage, they will be happy to gnaw them.
It should be remembered that these cunning people never refuse another delicacy, so it is very easy to overfeed them. And obesity in a rodent is fraught with serious health problems. If you decide that you want to buy another dormouse, then you can do it without fear, animals usually get along well with each other, and even bring offspring.
The purchase and price of a dormouse animal
Of course, you can try to save money and try to catch a dormouse somewhere in the forest, but you should not do this, since rodents are often carriers of many diseases. It is better to buy a pet at a pet store, the price for one individual of this exotic ranges from 2,000 to 8,000 rubles.
What a dormouse looks like, see here:
