
Add Real Content and real photo The Florida mouse is the State’s only endemic mammal. This mouse is a microhabitat specialist, centering its activities on gopher tortoise burrows in sand pine scrub or long leaf pine-turkey oak habitats. Florida mice construct their own burrows within the larger burrow of the gopher tortoise. Each adult female mouse uses about two tortoise burrows, alternating her residency with successive litters. Home range size averages 2,600 square meters.
Females begin to breed when they reach a weight of approximately 27 grams. Litter size is 3 and the young mature quite slowly, reaching 10 grams at about 3 weeks of age and 20 grams by 6 weeks. Occasionally two adult females will use the same tortoise burrow. Their diet consists of crickets, ticks, fruit, seeds, and berries.
top of page | back to mammals
|