White-footed mouse


The white-footed mouse is a rodent native to North America from Ontario, Quebec, Labrador, and the Maritime Provinces to the southwest United States and Mexico. In the Maritimes, its only location is a disjunct population in southern Nova Scotia. It is also known as the woodmouse, particularly in Texas.

Description

Adults are in length, not counting the tail, which can add another. A young adult weighs. While their maximum lifespan is 96 months, the mean life expectancy for the species is 45.5 months for females and 47.5 for males. In northern climates, the average life expectancy is 12–24 months.

Behavior and diet

White-footed mice are omnivorous, and eat seeds and insects. It is timid and generally avoids humans, but they occasionally take up residence in ground-floor walls of homes and apartments, where they build nests and store food.

Similar species

This species is similar to Peromyscus maniculatus. Like the deer mouse, it may carry hantaviruses, which cause severe illness in humans.

Connection to Lyme disease

It has also been found to be a competent reservoir for the Lyme disease–causing spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi.

Interactions with humans

The white-footed mouse is one of the most common mice species used as laboratory mice, after the house mouse, and their domesticated version is called Peromyscus leucopus linville. These domesticated ones also made for decent pets. They have been bred to have many different colors.

Parasites

The white-footed mouse is the favored host for the parasitic botfly Cuterebra fontinella.