rats

Rats & Mice

*Bushy-tailed woodrat*	*Deer mouse*	*Great basin pocket mouse*	*House mouse*	*Montane vole*
*Muskrat*	*Northern grasshopper mouse*	*Norway rat*	*Sagebrush vole*	Western harvest mouse

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Rats & Mice

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Squirrels

	Common name: Bushy- tailed woodrat
	Species: Neotoma cinerea
	Description: Woodrats are small, brown, furry, bush- tailed, with big ears
Habitat: They live in rocky and sandstone outcroppings. They build stick houses in crevices oe old building. A cup-shped nest can be found inside the stick house.	Food: They prefer green vegitation, but will eat twigs, pine needles, seeds and shrubs, and little bugs.
Range: British Columbia south through the western United States from the Pacific coast to the Dakotas.	Reproduction: During warm months, 1 or 2 litters cosisting of 3-4 young are born.
Other: This animal is a pack rat. It likes to collect shiny objects and will drop whatever it is carrying to pick up somethind shiny.	More information:

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	Common name: Deer mouse
	Species: Peromyscus Maniculatus
	Description: Sometimes called white-footed mice, measure 6 to 8 inches long. Their tails are 2 to 4 inches long. The fur on their upper parts is gray or brown, and the belly fur is white.
Habitat: Widespread in grasslands and open areas.	Food: They eat nuts, berries, grains, and seeds.
Range: Western United States	Reproduction: A female deer mouse gives birth to one to nine young at a time,during the spring. She carries them in her body for 21 to 27 days before birth. The young live in the nest for three to six weeks, and then leave to build nests of their own.
Other: Deer mice usually rest during the day and look for food at night. They eat berries, fruits, leaves, nuts, seeds, and insects.	More information : Deer mouse: Deer hunter: Deer mouse(informathions)

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	Common name: Great Basin Pocket Mouse
	Species: Perognathus parvus
	Description: Medium sized pocket mouse with soft fur. Different shades of gray, brown and buff; darker on top and light below.
Habitat: Arid, sparsely vegetated plains and shrub and grassland communities of sagebrush and greasewood.	Food: Grasses, seeds, shrubs, green vegetation, and insects. It collects seeds from Russian thisle, pigweed, wild mustard, and bitterbrush to store in its burrow for winter.It doesn't need to drink because it get water from its food.
Alcance: Great Basin from southern British Columbia (Canada) south to eastern California and east to southeast Wyoming and northwest Arizona	Reproducción: Breeds in spring and summer. Litters are 2-8 young, usually born in May and another litter in August.
Otros: It digs a deep tunnel for winter hibernation.	Más Información: eNature: mice and rats

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	Common name: House mouse
	Species: Mus musculus
	Description: The house mouse is gray-brown above; nearly as dark below. Tail is dark. This animal is nearly hairless. It is 5 1/8-7 3/4'' long.
Habitat: Buildings, areas with good ground cover, especially cultivated fields. Uncommon in undisturbed or natural habitats.	Food: They eat weed seeds, with foxtail grass a favorite, along with caterpillars and other insects.
Range: Pacific coast south from southwest Canada and throughout all of the continental U.S.	Reproduction: Gestation is 18-21 days; several litters per year, each of 3-16 young; reproduces spring through fall in the north, year-round in the south.
Other:	More information : eNature: mice and rats

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	Common name: Montane vole
	Species: Micritus Montanus
	Description: Grizzled brown to black above; white to gray below.
Habitat: High mountain meadows vally's associated with dry grass areas.	Food: Feeds on succulent steams and leaves of a wide variety of grasses, sedges, and rushes. Forages on the ground surface and underground. Cropping of grasses by voles may occur under some conditions.
Range: Western United States and Canada. Reported densities fluctuate considerably from year to year. The montane vole is found in many forest habitats as well as sagebrush, bitterbrush grassland, and cropland habitats.	Reproduction: Mating may occur yearlong but is usually restricted to March - November at high elevations. Mated pairs do not share a nest. Gestations is 21 days. Litter sizes are usually 5-6 ranging from 1-10. There may be 1-5 or more litters per year.The young wean at about 3 weeks and females may be sexually mature soon after weaning.
Other: Seek cover in dense herbacious growth. Constructrs runways in grass. Underground burrows are constructed in soil in winter.	More information:

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	Common name: Muskrat
	Species: Ondatra zibethicus
	Description: Medium-sized mammal has short front legs with small feet, stronger hind legs with large feet, and a vertically flattened, scaly tail which is slightly shorter. Adults are 16-25 1/4 inches long and weigh from 11/2-4 pounds.
Habitat: Muskrats are semi-aquatic, living in marshes, sloughs, stream, rivers, ponds and lakes. Here they dig homes in a stream or pond bank or build large houses out of vegetation in the shallow water.	Food: In marshy areas, muskrats eat rootstalks and stems of cattail and rushes, and the seeds of lotus. In other areas, white clover, corn and bluegrass are preferred foods. Muskrats living along streams feed upon freshwater clams, snails, cray, fish, frogs and aquatic plants.
Range: They live throughout Canada and U.S., except for the Arctic.	Reproduction: The breeding season begins in late winter and extends to the middle of September. Three peaks of mating occur: the last of March, the last of April and the last of May. Pregnancy averages 28 days. From one to five litters may be produced annually by a female, but two or three are the most common. The litters usually contain between four and seven young.
Other: There is no practical way to keep muskrats out of ponds, but ponds can be constructed to minimize damage to dams by borrowing rats.	More information: eNature: mammals: larger rodents

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	Common name: Northern Grasshopper mouse
	Species:
	Description: They are small with big tails. The animals are white in color.
Habitat:	Food: They eat insects, small mammals, grasses, and seeds.
Range: The usually large home range is associated with is predatory life style.	Reproduction: Male-female pairs excavate nest burrows, which typically are 14 centimeters or 5.5 inches below surface, and are u-shaped with an average length of 48 centimeters to 19 inches.
Other:	More information:

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	Common name: Norway rat
	Species: Rattus norvegicus
	Description: Brown-gray with a long tail, small eyes and big ears. It is about 12- 18 inches long.
Habitat: Lives in tunnels as much as 1-2 feet deep and 6 feet long, with several entrances and escape routes. There different chambers for nesting or feedng.	Food: It eats meat, insects, seeds, grain, and plants.
Range: Unite State and Canada, north to Alaska.	Reproduction: Females can produce 12 litters a year when there is a lot of food. When food id scarce they stop reproducing.
Other: Also called, Brown Rat, Common Rat, or Sewer Rat.	More Information:

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	Nombre Común: Sagebrush vole
	Especie: Lemmiscus curtatus
	Descripción: This species is found only in sagebrush scrubland.
Habitat: Their habitat is among bushes of sage that are several feet apart and are of uniform height of about 2.5 feet. Plants are usually of uniform age and have lower branches near ground.	Comida: Eats almost any green plant material, including grass (but not ripe seeds). Also eats leaves, flowers, and stalks of buckwheat, and some sagebrush leaves. In Idaho, paintbrush and lupine are most common foods in June and August.
Alcance: Central Washington, southren Alberta, and southwest Manitoba, south through eastern Oregon to Nevada, Utah, and northeast Colorado.	Reproducción: This species appears to breed year-round, except in its northern range, where it may not breed in winter. Most breeding occurs from March to May and again from October to December. A female produces up to 3 litters per season. Gestation averages 25 days, and average litter size is 4 to 6 young. The young are weaned at about 3 weeks and are sexually mature at one to two months.
Other:	More information: eNature: mammals: voles

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	Common name: Western Harvest Mouse
	Species: Reithrodontomys megalotis
	Description: A medium-sized harvest mouse; tail about as long as head and body; the dark back and light side stripes are about equal in width; ears are pale flesh color, upperparts brown to buff, darkest in middle of back; underparts are white.
Habitat: They utilize the runways and underground burrows of other rodents and frequently take over vacated burrows of pocket gophers. The nest usually is placed on the ground or slightly above it under some protective cover such as a board, a clump of lodged grass, or a tangle of weeds.	Food: Prefers seeds and grasses, but also eats beetles, and leaves of sagebrush.
Range: Western United States and Canada.	Reproduction: They breed year-round, but mostly in early spring to late autumn. Gestation lasts 23 to 24 days. Litter size varies from 1 to 6 young (average 4). May produce multiple litters annualy. Young are weaned in slightly less than 3 weeks, and reach sexual maturity in 2 to 4 months.
Other:	More information:

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