From Disease Spreader and Garden Destroyer To Adorable Pets - An Intro To Types of Mice
There are several families of mice, and within them are types of mice, including European mice of the Muridae family, African mice, field and house mice (also Muridae).
The Cricetidae family includes in part, the So. American field mice, harvest mice of America, and deer mice, voles, rats, lemmings, and gerbils.
Rodents, which are similar to squirrels, are in the Sciuromorpha family, including kangaroo rats and pocket mice.
Best known of the various types of mice are house mice - found all over the world, living most often in places and buildings where humans reside. They are brownish grey in color and have big, somewhat round ears.
The house mice have pointy faces and a rough skinned tail. These animals eat anything available including meats, vegetables, bugs, etc. and can spread diseases.
Field mice are the 2nd most common types of mice. They live in fields, or in wild areas. Field mice are in the group called Apodemus, and are a close relative of house mice. They stay in their burrows at night. Fields are vegetarian and although wilderness based, will sometimes eat plants in humans’ gardens. The vole mentioned above is called the North American field mouse. It is wild, except in the case of the genus Akodon, which can live in buildings where humans live.
Pet mice, including the types of mice that are shown, in a venue similar to a dog or cat show, can be related to field mice or house mice. They come in a vast array of colors, and in 4 fur textures: normal, satin, long, and astrex. Satin looks almost metallic and is very shiny, and astrex is somewhat wavy fur. Any of the coat colors and markings can be in any of the 4 textures.
The colors and markings are broken down as follows:
Self mice- all one color; they may be white, black, fawn, lilac, blue, champagne and several other colors
Tan- these can be any of the self types, but have the feature of a tan belly. You may have a black tan, lilac tan, etc. The belly is more of a fawn although the name is tan. The 2 tones give the mouse a very cute look and they are prized for that.
Marked- these have markings that may be anywhere on the body, or their fur has a pattern. Marked mice include Dutch, broken marked and variegated. They are the most common pets, usually with white fur marked with black.
Other- these do not fit in the above categories, and include, brindle, which is much like a brindle dogs fur, and Siamese, which has the dark area on the face like a Siamese cat. Others in a category of their own include but are not limited to: chinchilla, agouti (either silver or tan/brown with black flecks), and argente, which is a pale cream color with a bluish undercoat (very pretty).
Mice are an interesting species to study. The types above are only a few of the huge varieties they come in. The exotic colors and patterns make them quite beautiful and they are a very personable animal.