They stop taking milk from their mother at 17 to 21 days. Young voles are on their own at the age of one month. Females can mate when four to six weeks old. Males must wait until the following spring before they can mate. Females have two or three litters a year between May and September.
Most heather voles survive for only a year.
A few live for two or even three years. Heather voles eat heath plants. These include dwarf birch, blueberries, cranberries, soapberries, bearberries, mushrooms, and herbs. The herbs include fireweed, baked apple, and cinquefoil. Mountain and heath plants are not well known, so students should look them up in a book.