African Pygmy Mouse

## About

An African pygmy mouse compared to a human hand.

The African pygmy mouse ***(Mus minutoides)*** is a tiny species of rodent native to regions of sub-Saharan Africa and a very popular pet worldwide. African pygmy mice are light tan to dark gold in colour and even sometimes vary even more drastically in fur colour being red or even greyish blue. Typically they have pink or brown limbs and tails and the underbelly of the mouse is typically white or cream coloured. African pygmy mice have short soft fur as well as rounded ears and dark eyes. They usually have pink noses, characteristic of most rodent species. Ranging from 4.4cm (1.7in) in length and weighing only 3.5g (0.1oz), the African pygmy mouse is tied for the smallest rodent species with the Baluchistan pygmy jerboa ***(Salpingotulus michaelis)***.

## Diet

African pygmy mice are omnivorous in the wild, usually feeding on grains, fruits and other plant matter as well as occasional insects. Captive mice are usually fed a similar yet altered diet, consuming the same grains and fruits but also eating bird seed mixes and sometimes even small portions of dog kibble.

## Conservation Status

Though the African pygmy mouse has been assessed by the IUCN as least concern, no proper page exists for the animal on the IUCN website. African pygmy mice are well spread throughout their range and are speculated to be in stable numbers. African pygmy mice are not particularly threatened by human activity in their wild range.

## Range and Population

Due to the absence of the African pygmy mouse on the IUCN website, there is no official distribution map available for the species. The mice are known to inhabit the drier regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, from central Africa to the east African coast all the way down to the southern African country of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). In these places, the African pygmy mouse typically lives in dry grasslands or arid wooded forests. They can also be found in sparse shrublands and are a common pest on many rural farms in their range.

## Behaviour

African pygmy mice are very sociable rodents, living in large groups and nesting together in underground chambered burrows. Like all mice species, African pygmy mice are great and efficient breeders, mating and breeding at early ages. Because of this prolific breeding, it is recommended that African pygmy mice owners should own only the same sex mice in the same enclosure. African pygmy mice are very social as mentioned previously and this means that those who wish to keep this species should have at least three of the mice, in order to accompany each other.

### Relationship with Humans

African pygmy mice may be very interesting and exotic pets however, handling of the rodents is not especially recommended by owners. This is mainly because of the African pygmy mouse being extremely fragile due to its size. Mismanaged handling of the mice can lead to serious fatal injury or death for them, as their internal structure is easily damaged. Other than this, African pygmy mice should also not be handled roughly, as they have a tendency to jump out of their owners hands when startled.

## In Captivity

No zoos currently exhibit African pygmy mice, mostly due to their low conservational value however, exotic pet owners worldwide own these mice. African pygmy mice make for low stakes exotic pets that are very easy to take care of for new pet owners, this has lead to them becoming very popular pets internationally.

## Sources

* African Pygmy Mouse | Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African\_pygmy\_mouse
* African Pygmy Mouse | Earlham Institute - https://www.earlham.ac.uk/african-pygmy-mouse
* African Pygmy Mouse | Pets on Mom - https://animals.mom.com/basic-needs-dwarf-mice-4882.html