Ask Me Everything1

How smali is a mouse?

Mice include some of the smallest mammals.

Their minutę bodies have tiny skeletons, so they can squeeze through tiny holes—some as smali as 0.3 in (1 cm.) If the head can fit through, then the body can too. Mice, rats, and their relatives are all rodents, part of a group that also includes squirrels and beavers. They live all over the world except for the polar regions.

Do mice like cheese?

Scientists have discovered that mice wrinkle up their noses at the strong smell and rich taste of cheese. Their main diet is grains and fruit. Mice prefer sugary foods, especially muesli, and do not like cheese.

How to: hlbernate If you're a don

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Tell me morę: house mouse

W ■ ■ Start eating a lot. You need to be double your usual weight HLI before you hibernate. Hfljj

w mm m Find a pile of leaves on the ground and weave a cozy nest out of grasses.

03 ■ When the

weather gets colder, curl up into a tight bali in your nest and fali asleep. BI

Types of nests

◦ Most mice can adapt to nest just about anywhere, but some are choosier.

Teeth: Grow continually and are used for gnawing

Long claws:

Help grip when climbing

■ Mice may live together in large colonies, digging out a burrow system of interconnecting tunnels.

◦ Some mice move into the abandoned nests of other animals, such as birds or rats.

Tan: Is the same length as the body and covered with smali scales

■ Harvest mice weave intricate ball-shaped nests from grass

◦ House mice move in with people, living behind walls under floors, and inside sofas.

fer-sley. ĄH Rights^j ftegerved'.