What are dormouse animals? Hazel Dormouse or Mustard

At night, the dormouse silently moves among the dense foliage of trees and bushes in search of food. Why was this lively animal called dormouse? Because in winter the animal falls into a long hibernation, which lasts seven, and in cold regions - all eight months.

REPRODUCTION

The mating period for dormouse begins in June and ends in July. The female generally bears offspring once a year.

The male dormouse courtes the female in a unique way. He pursues his chosen one, emitting a loud squeak. Three weeks after mating, the female gives birth to 4 to 6 cubs, for which she builds a nest of leaves and moss in a hollow tree or in an empty bird's nest.

Dormouse babies are born blind, naked and completely helpless; they are completely dependent on their mother. After three weeks, their eyes open and fur grows. The mother takes care of her offspring for quite a long time; she has to get food, often moving a considerable distance from the nest.

LIFESTYLE

Sonya the regiment first lived in deciduous forests. Today it is also found in high mountain forests and gardens if fruit trees and shrubs grow there. These animals are active at night. They search for food in trees and bushes, deftly climbing trunks and jumping from branch to branch. If the intended fruit falls down, the dormouse flies after it, keeping its limbs and tail parallel to the ground. Animals usually do not move far from the nest. They return to their home with the first rays of the sun. The dormouse's nest is covered with dry leaves and twigs and is usually located in a hollow tree, in a gap between stones, under the roof of a house or in an empty bird house. Sonya the Shelf can simultaneously use several living spaces, which are located a short distance from each other. IN winter shelter Sonya spends 7-8 months.

WHAT DOES IT EAT?

The dormouse is a herbivore that only occasionally eats insects, bird eggs or chicks. The diet of the dormouse is usually dominated by nuts, acorns, and chestnuts. At the end of summer, she prepares for winter by accumulating fat reserves. At this time, the dormouse raids warehouses, storage facilities, and cellars, where she finds plenty of apples and other delicacies.

SONYA-SHELF AND MAN

The ancient Romans specially bred and fattened polchki, the dishes from which were considered one of the most delicious at feasts. Since dormouse eat almost exclusively plant foods, their meat is very tender. In some European countries The dormouse is called the “edible mouse.” Nowadays, people continue to hunt the dormouse. This animal is considered garden pest, because it damages the trunks and branches of young trees with its sharp claws and teeth.

WATCHING SONNYA

Watch the dormouse who leads night image life is really not a simple matter. Sonya can be found in his tent by a climber or a tourist who, having stopped to spend the night in the park, is located on the lawn under a chestnut or oak tree. Sometimes she rustles in the pantry and leaves “material evidence” of her presence in the bird feeder - piles of excrement, and gnaws on the bark, branches and buds of trees. In the fall, the dormouse sneaks into the pantries where apples are stored. To get a closer look at the dormouse, you can resort to to this trick: hang a jar of a small amount jam on the bottom. Sonya will probably want to try the treats and will go down in the jar, from which she, of course, needs to be released the next day.

INTERESTING FACTS. DID YOU KNOW THAT...

One pet owner said that in 10 weeks three animals ate 272 cherries, 92 pears, 64 apples, 42 apricots, 25 grapes, 58 plums, 526 gooseberries and several hundred pumpkin seeds.
The ancient Romans prepared gourmet dishes from the dormouse regiments. To do this, they raised animals in special gliraria cages, and obtained especially tender meat for the holiday by feeding the dormice with acorns and chestnuts.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF SONYA-WOLF. DESCRIPTION

Head: Dormouse has large round ears and a pink, hairless nose. Eyes with black border.

Meal: The dormouse eats while sitting on its hind legs and holds food in its front legs, while its tail lies on the ground - unlike a squirrel's, which is pressed to its back.

Limbs: claws and soft pads on the paws are adapted for climbing trees.

Wool: short and soft, brown-gray or smoky gray with a silver tint on the back, white on the belly.

Tail: length equal to body length, fluffy, covered with long hair. This is a vulnerable part of the body - dormice without a tail are often found.

- Habitat of the dormouse

WHERE DOES HE LIVE?

Dormouse lives in most of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. In 1902 it was acclimatized in Great Britain.

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION

The common dormouse in Europe is found only in isolated areas of its range. To preserve the species, it is necessary to prevent the cutting down of old deciduous forests, as well as bushes.

Dormouse / Glis glis. Video (00:02:08)

We met him in the hunter's house Caucasus mountains, he was peacefully but very noisily gnawing on a one-year-old piece of bread. This funny animal wasn’t even scared when I started filming it by shining a flashlight on it!

Dormouse / Edible dormouse. Video (00:00:23)

This funny little animal, so similar to either a squirrel or a hamster, is called the hazel dormouse (lat. Muscardinus avellanarius). She became “Hazelnut” because she lives where there are a lot of different nuts, and she was nicknamed “Sonya” because she likes to take a nap during the day.

This is one of the smallest representatives of the dormouse family. The body length of an adult animal is only 7-9 cm with a weight of 27 g. The tail with a tassel is long, almost equal to the length of the body (6-7.7 cm). It is evenly covered with short, soft hair. The hazel dormouse has a blunt muzzle with very large vibrissae, the length of which sometimes reaches 40% of the body length. The ears are small and rounded.

The head, back and tail of the animal are buffy-red, sometimes with a reddish tint. The belly and the inside of the legs are yellowish, the chest and lower part of the body are often decorated with white spots. Large and almost round black eyes.

The hazel dormouse lives in Europe and northern Turkey, and can also be seen in southern Sweden and the UK. In general, this cute rodent is quite common for southern Europe, only in hot Spain it is not. In Russia, the little dormouse is extremely rare. If you're lucky, you can spot it in broadleaf and mixed forests middle lane.

The main condition for the hazel dormouse to live is the presence of a dense undergrowth of hazel, rowan, rosehip, viburnum, bird cherry and other trees and shrubs capable of producing crops in different times year. In addition, the timid animal loves it when there are many shelters around in which it can hide from terrible predators.

flickr/kleinsaeuger.at

The hazel dormouse builds several residential nests, placing them in tree hollows or simply on branches at a height of 1-2 meters. On occasion, he willingly occupies birdhouses, nest boxes or titmice, without particularly worrying whether someone already lives there or not. It is mainly small birds that suffer from the tricks of the impudent animal, which are not able to fight back.

The dormouse is a territorial animal, and the personal areas of the females never intersect with each other, while the male's area always passes through several areas of the females.

During daylight hours, the dormouse sleeps in one of its nests. When darkness falls, she goes out in search of food. Interestingly, the animal does not immediately leave the shelter. First, he sticks his muzzle out and quickly moves his whiskers, checking to see if there is anyone suspicious nearby. Then the dormouse goes out to the nearest branch and begins to do her toilet.

Having cleaned himself thoroughly, the hazel dormouse goes to full of dangers night travel. A few hours before dawn, well-fed and satisfied, she returns home. The animal feeds on linden nuts, acorns, nuts, beech and other seeds broadleaf species. In addition, she willingly eats berries, fruits, young spring buds and shoots. Sometimes her diet includes bird eggs.

In winter, the hazel dormouse hibernates. To do this, she makes herself a warm and reliable nest on the ground or underground, using intertwined roots, burrows of other rodents, and sometimes even old tires or cans. Of course, the animal insulates them with tufts of dry grass, feathers, wool and simply chewed leaves. Life expectancy of hazel dormouse in wildlife 2-3 years.

Rodent dormouse divided into two types - arboreal and terrestrial. Terrestrial ones look like small mice, while arboreal ones resemble squirrels. But today we will talk about the forest dormouse, about where it lives and how to keep it at home, and we will start the article with characteristics.

Description of the forest dormouse

Sonya stands out for its small size. She has an elongated body, brilliant fur and big black ones eyes. Ears The rodents are quite large, the shell is open, the tips are rounded. Vibrises – long sensitive mustache located on the muzzle. Movements are made by contracting the subcutaneous muscles, and for the dormouse it is an organ of touch, which allows it to sense its surroundings. Paws small and thin, with four toes on each and five on the hind limbs. Wool the animal has a thick, but very thin, and color of the forest dormouse brown-gray-white: the brown-gray tint occurs on the head, back and part of the tail, and the muzzle, sides and belly are white . Body length Sony is about 20 cm, and body weight 100 gr. Lifespan 3-5 years.

Habitat of the forest dormouse

Dormouse most often lives on trees, in earthen holes, in hollows. On the ground, she digs a hole under stones, under tree roots, in rock crevices. During the daytime, the rodent sleeps sweetly, and in the evening, it gets out of its house. It is for this reason that the animal got its name. And with the onset of the first frosts, sleepyhead hibernates, can sleep all winter, at this moment, body temperature drops, metabolism slows down. But a rodent can wake up to feed on its reserves during the thaw period, and some do not store reserves at all and survive only due to their accumulated fat. Dormice populate northern Africa, Altai, China, Japan, Asia Minor.

FOOD AND MAINTENANCE OF THE FOREST DORMONE AT HOME

What to feed the sleepyhead

Sonya's diet:

Tree fruits

Seeds

Nuts

Insects

Fruits

Vegetables

Bread once a week

Herbs once a week

per day, Sonya It is enough to consume 40 grams of food, but you definitely need fresh water in the sippy cup. By the way, this rodent is not prone to overeating, and is easy to keep.

Of course, it is better to bring into your home not a wild animal, which will never become tame, but to purchase it in specialized stores, a nursery or from a breeder. The first thing you need to do before buying a rodent is to buy a cage, which should not be round. The approximate size is 100x200x50, so that there is enough space to install ladders, ropes, houses and other toys, like a squirrel wheel. Because sleepyhead An active animal, she needs a lot of space and space, and at first, she will be scared of everything, any sound or rustle, so during this period, it is better to get by only by feeding the pet and a clean cage, which will have to be done often, because the dormouse has specific odors. You shouldn’t let it wander freely around your house, there is a chance that you won’t catch the animal, or it will crawl through some crevice and escape. And of course, you have to clean the cage two or more times a week, because the dormouse is not known for its cleanliness.

VIDEO: ABOUT FOREST DREAM

IN THIS VIDEO YOU WILL SEE WHAT A FOREST SONYA LOOKS LIKE

The hazel dormouse is a small rodent similar to a mouse, but with a more attractive, bushy tail. This animal lives in wild conditions, but in lately They increasingly began to keep him at home. How to care for such an animal? What do you need to know about him?

Animal dormouse: characteristics of a rodent

In nature, there are two types of these rodents - ground and arboreal dormouse. The terrestrial one is more reminiscent of a familiar mouse, while the arboreal one is more like a squirrel. Both of them get along well next to a person if the most comfortable living conditions are created for them. It is very important to remember about cleanliness in the cage: dormice, despite the fact that they are very small animals, very quickly pollute their home, and this, in turn, leads to unpleasant smell indoors.

Now a little about appearance this animal:

The dormouse is a nocturnal animal, so it will sleep most of the day. Such animals do not live long - from 3 to 5 years.

It is very interesting to watch the dormouse’s movements along tree branches, because this small rodent is very dexterous and is able to jump a distance of 10 m.

Where to buy such an animal

Hazel Dormouse- is not such an exotic animal, so it can be bought at any pet store, as well as at the poultry market or even directly from breeders. On the Internet you can often find advertisements from individuals for the sale of this rodent.

By the way, when buying a dormouse from someone else, you need to be careful: it is possible that this particular individual was caught in the forest, and accordingly, there is a risk that it may bite its owner and give him some kind of infection.

But if the baby is very timid and not at all aggressive This means that he was already born in captivity, and this one can continue to be taught to handle.

On average, you will need to pay about 1000 rubles for a sleepyhead.

Before buying the animal itself, you need to take care of its future home in advance. A cage measuring 100x200x50 cm with many ladders, shelves and houses inside it is perfect for a dormouse. Also, you can install ropes in the cage so that the animal can climb them, and a running wheel, which is liked by all rodents without exception.

Round cages are not suitable for these animals at all.. Sonya is best kept in a standard square or rectangular cage. It is important that it be spacious and with many attributes for the active life of the animal.

At first, the hazel dormouse will show maximum caution towards its new home, and this is normal, so you should not get upset and think that there is something wrong with the animal. Over time, it will adapt to the cage, explore all the ladders, take a closer look at the houses and the wheel, after which it will begin its usual active lifestyle. The hazel dormouse is very active by nature, so very soon she will begin to climb ropes, go down the installed ladders, then climb up, and this will be her main hobby.

Attention: You should not let the animal out of the cage and let it run around the apartment or house. These are very agile rodents, so it will be very difficult to catch them, and there is also a high risk that the dormouse can get stuck somewhere, chew something, or be caught by other pets (for example, a cat).

The hazel rodent thrives alone, but can also be kept in pairs. It should be remembered that such animals within the same cage can live either in pairs or as one family. Planting two pairs or even two families of rodents in one territory is fraught with danger: hazel dormouse will not tolerate competition and will endlessly fight among themselves.

These rodents are very prolific, so when you get a mate with them, you need to be prepared for a constant litter. If there is no goal of breeding hazel dormouse, then all individuals should be kept separately from each other.

Sonya are not the cleanest animals, therefore, in addition to daily cleaning of the bedding, it will be necessary to carry out regular weekly cleaning of the entire cage, which involves washing the bottom, feeders, and rods.

What do dormice eat?

Sony food is almost no different from the diet of any other rodent; it consists of the following products:

It is very important that the animal always has clean and fresh water, so the drinking bowl should be cleaned and refilled every day.

Every day it is enough for a dormouse to eat about 40 grams of food, so these animals are not at all prone to gluttony and weight gain.

You can treat this animal with special treats a couple of times a week., For example:

ground gray loves ordinary bread and herbs;
Tree redheads will like regular eggs.

A few words about rodent reproduction

These animals reach puberty very quickly, and already at 1 month of age they can be brought together. They produce offspring only once a year, and this usually happens in the spring. The female's pregnancy lasts exactly one month, after which approximately 10 babies are born. Since the dormouse is a mammal, the young will be fed on their mother's milk. The feeding period is 3 weeks, after which the stronger babies begin to feed themselves. In just a week self-catering the babies become adults and can bear offspring themselves.

It is interesting that such rodents take a very responsible approach to raising their offspring, in which not only the mother, but also the father participates. So, such a family can be considered complete in all respects.

In winter, animals hibernate, which is why the cages should contain a small, warm house with sawdust and rags inside. Also, the cage itself should be moved to a warm room during the cold season. Thus, the rodents will sleep for about 3-4 months, and then, in the spring, they will definitely bear offspring.

In the period before hibernation and after it you should pay more attention to the animal’s nutrition: it should be more nutritious and balanced.

Dormice or dormice belong to the family of mammals, the order of rodents. This mammal is very similar in appearance to a mouse and a squirrel at the same time; it has a long fluffy tail, reminiscent of a squirrel.

They got their name for a reason. The first reason can be called the nocturnal lifestyle of the animal; and the second reason will be a long period of hibernation in the cold. Some species spend 7 months a year in hibernation.

They are very small in size and fit perfectly in the palm of a person.

Description

All representatives of the family of these animals have a similar body structure and organs . They all have large dark eyes, long mustache and round ears. The fur is just fluffy and soft, and the tail is long and squirrel-like.

Trees are considered the habitat of dormouse. If they are absent, then the rodent can be found in the branches of the bush. Some species are on the ground almost all the time.

Three types of dormouse are known that live in Russia and are listed in the Red Book:

hazel;
garden;
forest

These rodents are very interesting to watch, besides the fact that they are small, they are very funny and funny. Compared to other rodents, they live a long time and cause virtually no harm.

Buy a sleepyhead as pet– there is no point. And all because they activity in nature begins at night. This is due to their lifestyle. Not every animal lover will be interested in watching this little rodent at night instead of sleeping soundly. They are extremely rare on sale. It is known that in captivity, while in a cage, they can change their lifestyle, adapting to the life rhythm of their owners. But few people know about this fact.

Despite the fact that the rodent is active nightlife, in the daytime he sees no worse. The mammal has a special skeleton, which can be compressed in the vertical direction. This allows the rodent to crawl into the narrowest crevices that exist on tree trunks. This is how they find the safest place to rest and build a future nest. Thanks to this important quality, the animal still lives and reproduces.

Coming out of his hiding place in search of food despite good eyesight, Sonya relies on her unique hearing. The role of locators is played by small, round ears that can change their position on her head. The movements of the ears are asynchronous and independent of each other. The most big ears has a garden rodent; slightly smaller in size - hazel; Well, the third place is occupied by forest. Photos of these wonderful and unpretentious animals can be found on the Internet.

When eating solid foods, Dormouse can be compared to a squirrel. It holds its prey with its front paws and spins it quickly. Thanks to such actions and her sharp incisors, she can easily open the hard shell of nuts and various seeds.

These mammals cannot be called fertile. Firstly, they ripen quite late; secondly, they never have more than 5 cubs. The third reason is the number of matings per year - there are only two. Well, the main reason is their love for sleep and its duration.

If we talk about all these reasons at the same time, then the dormouse species would have ceased to exist long ago. But in reality everything is different. The maternal instinct, which is very strongly developed in females, allows them to care for each baby with special tenderness and care. Here we should add good health and a long life span. The result is a stable population whose safety is not threatened.

How to draw a sleepyhead? Photos from the Internet will help with this.

At home, such a rodent should only be kept in a metal cage with a fairly strong metal tray. This is no more difficult than keeping other, more famous rodents at home.

Cage requirements the ones that come out are quite serious, since the dormouse will very quickly deal with wood and even plastic. Therefore, the cage should only be metal. You can buy it at a pet store, order it strictly according to your size, or make it yourself. While the cage is being manufactured, the rodent can be kept in a regular terrarium, the main thing is that such a room is well ventilated.

Mammal cage must be equipped with a feeder and nipple drinker. The material for their manufacture must be the same metal.

There should always be food in the feeder and water in the drinking bowl. While awake, they eat and drink a lot.

As bedding Sawdust or wood pellets can be used in the cage. It needs to be changed regularly to keep it from getting wet. You need to arrange a secluded corner in the cage where the dormouse could hide. Only in a secluded place can she sleep.

For temporary shelter, a wooden house or a house made with your own hands from a cardboard box is suitable. The shelter will indeed be temporary, since the rodent will quickly destroy it. But you can experiment with a cardboard box as a house, and make it better and more beautiful each time.

In a cage for a rodent, you need to create all the conditions as in nature. He must have a ladder, a shelf, a tree along which he can run. This must be done to ensure good health. The thing is that the animal does not control its appetite, and its special metabolism contributes to the accumulation of fat reserves. He just needs to move more.

Since rodents are very clean, their “house” must be kept clean at all times. Wash the drinker and feeder regularly, and change the bedding in the cage every 2-3 days. Rodents pay great attention to their soft and smooth fur - they clean it several times a day.

Where the cage is, there should be no drafts. There should be enough sunlight, and the height of its location should be at human eye level.

Varieties of Dormouse

Let's look at three types of rodents that are found in our country. Each individual species can be kept at home, but you need to familiarize yourself with them in more detail.

This type of rodent is endowed with the smallest size. They reach no more than 10 cm in length. They are found in nature in bushes:

hazel;
cotoneaster;
hawthorn.

Rodents build strong nests for their offspring from leaves and grass, and they are located on the branches of bushes.

This type of rodent can also be found on trees, if suddenly there is an empty, unoccupied hollow. Sonya can also live in a birdhouse, if only it is free.

Trees and shrubs are used by the animal only in the warm season, and for winter they choose places that are safer and warmer. This, as usual, is a small, cozy hole, which is located at the roots of trees.

At home This species must be kept in high cages. This is because the dormouse loves to climb trees, and in a low cage she will not have this opportunity. In a high cage, you can arrange not one, but several cardboard houses for her, which will significantly increase her comfort of life.

A grain mixture will be suitable as food, and nuts and sweets will be a treat.

Several reasons why this type difficult to maintain at home:

The animal is small and very fast. If it accidentally escapes from the cage, it will be almost impossible to catch it in the apartment. The furniture and all things will just begin to suffer.
This type of animal has a specific smell, so the cage will have to be cleaned much more often. The smell in the apartment will still remain, so if there are people with allergies in the house, then it is better to refuse such an animal.
they need special feeding - they need insects.

She's the most beautiful. The fur coat is dark red in color and shimmers in the sun; there is an interesting “mask” on the face, which provides a mysterious and cunning image. Almost all of them have a snow-white belly; at the end of the ponytail there is a tassel; on the cunning face there are large eyes and ears. Not everyone can draw such a beautiful animal.

The animal is very mobile, moves quickly through trees, bushes and on the ground. Its main diet is insects. It can also consume plant food, but gives preference to animal food.

If such an animal is placed at home, then you need a special cage, or better yet a terrarium. The preferred food is insect larvae and mealworms. Boiled egg Suitable as complementary food.

Garden Dormouse Red Book is a unique specimen.

Forest Dormouse

This is the sister of the garden animal, that's just the habitat must be deserted. Experts do not recommend keeping it at home. There are several reasons for this: