Mickey Mouse may be the most popular rodent in Florida, but there’s another species that’s much less pleasant. Our Panama City, Florida, pest control experts share facts you should know about the native Florida mouse.
Physical Characteristics
Young Florida mice start out with gray coloring. Adults are brown on top and white underneath, with touches of orange on their cheeks, shoulders, and lower sides. Ears and hind feet are large, while the tail is relatively short, generally 80 percent of their body length. Their most unpleasant feature is a distinctively musky, skunk-like odor.
Habits and Habitat
As denoted by its name, the Florida mouse is found only in this state, limited to the central peninsula and a small section of the panhandle. Other names by which the species is known include big-eared deermouse and gopher mouse.
Florida mice prefer dry, hot areas such as sandhills, flatlands, and coastal scrub. They are nocturnal but tend to stay put during particularly cold nights. Home is usually a burrow shared with the gopher tortoise, but Florida mice will dig their own burrows if necessary.
The omnivorous diet of the Florida mouse consists primarily of acorns, insects, seeds, nuts, and fungi. Breeding season peaks during the second half of the year and reaches a lull during April and May.
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