Pygmy mouse

The dwarf mouse is not named in vain: weighing just five to ten grams, it is one of the smallest rodents. Its body shape is perfectly adapted to its climbing lifestyle, and its body-length tail is used as a kind of fifth limb for holding on. In general, the dwarf mouse loves habitats characterised by tall grasses. The “forest” of meadows and fields offers these tiny climbing mice everything they need in the warm season: here they find food in the form of grass, cereal and herb seeds, insects and their larvae. This is also where they build their homes, so-called “high nests”: elaborate spherical structures with one or two openings in which the young are reared. In the cold season, when tall grasses have disappeared, the dwarf mouse seeks out the ground or moves into buildings to survive the winter. As they do not hibernate, they now shelter in ground nests. In order to protect themselves from predators, pygmy mice adopt an immobile “camouflage position” or suddenly drop to the ground in the event of great danger. Pygmy mice are predominantly nocturnal, and less active during the day.