Talk:Mouse/Archive 1

Disambiguation page
According to WIkipedia naming conventions, the page is supposed to be named for the most common thing that the word reference. I came here looking for a computer mouse. Given the prevalence of the internet and computers today, I'd say its at least as likely that someone is looking for computer mouse when they come to this page, therefore I think we should either redirect directly to mouse or a disambiguation page with both on it.

This suggestion has been here a while and I see no objections so why don't we carry it out?


 * I disagree; I think people looking up "mouse" in an encyclopedia are more likely to expect to see an article about the animal, so I think the disambiguation line at the top is plenty. That's just my intuition, though.  --Allen 04:50, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree. People looking for a computer mouse will expect to get the animal. --Aranae 17:23, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Great -- can someone carry this out? I don't know how


 * When I hear of mice I think of cheese. Drutt 22:41, 17 March 2007 (UTC)


 * that is because you live on a very unhealthy diet of stereotypes.

124.197.50.143 20:26, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

HERE, HERE!!! i totally agree with u

--> It's "hear hear yap yap yap".


 * I came here to look for the real mouse and its genology. So there is no issue per se. However A clarification / direction element could be added to point people to computer mice and other topics. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.62.61.43 (talk) 07:57, August 29, 2007 (UTC)


 * Given the popularity of computers and the internet these days, I would tend to think that the computer mouse is the more looked for term. One person can't just come along and say "oh I was looking for a mouse so there's no issue". What about just landing on the disambiguation page? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.160.142.3 (talk) 08:09, 29 May 2012 (UTC)

Intelligence
The new front picture for the mouse is soo cute! Mice (or Mouse's) were once believed to be the most intellegent form of life in the universe. The technology the possesed would shame our own. They travelled on the back of great beasts called 'cats'. They may have possibly hunted the noble mole rat, allthough historical records from this time are vauge. The leader of the mouse's (or mice) was a great mice (or mouse) called Gerreld. He wore a cardigan and through the technological miracle of 'musical time displacemnt' decided to sacrifice any that liked 'Lady in Red' by Chris Du Burggggg(sic).

Well, according to some users on the talk page of the Velociraptor, they have a pretty big brain-body ratio.

The Western House Mouse, Mus domesticus, from Western Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Pacific has now been considered a species separate from the Eastern House Mouse from eastern Europe and Asia (see Mitchell-Jones et al. (1999), The Atlas of European Mammals.
 * With as fast as murines speciate these two forms probably do represent phylogenetic species. I know some good genetic work regarding that has come out of the Suzuki lab and others lately.  I don't know what the conclusions have been regarding this.  The M. domesticus issue has gone back and forth.  I think a number of people are hesitant to be the one to make the change considering how many research labs would have to start changing what they call these.  I'd suggest waiting the few months to see what Musser and Carleton say in the new Wilson and Reeder Mammal Species of the World before we change things. --Aranae 09:21, 14 March 2005 (UTC)

They're pretty smart, all right. Dora Nichov 03:39, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

Essential, yet missing data
Here are some simple questions I would expect to be covered by an encyclopedia.

1. Their maximum length and weight (wild specimens).
 * HB: 45-125 mm, TL: 28- about 130 mm, WT: 2.5- >34 g (Novak, 1999). Size varies considerably by species.   --Aranae 20:53, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

2. Type of family grouping or parental care that can be observed.

3. Natural habitat.
 * forests, savannahs, grasslands, rocky habitat (Novak, 2005). In Africa they tend to particularly like forest edge, derived savannah, and of course agricultural areas. --Aranae 20:53, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

4. Pathogens and parasites carried.

5. Accurate identification of important species, such as a comparison of ear shapes, colours, droppings, scent, sounds, &c.
 * Cranial characters, size of certain features, aspects of tooth morphology. Measurements combined with geography are the principal way of getting there. --Aranae 20:53, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

6. Common examples of property damage.

7. Coverage of their hibernation and nesting practices.
 * M. minutoides nests in shallow burrows. M. caroli and M. cervicolor burrow.  M. shortridgei and M. pahari nest aboveground.  Most species will construct nests of grass, fibers, and shredded material. (Novak, 1997) --Aranae 20:53, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

All in all, the current article is disappointing.

--I second the request for Coverage of their hibernation and nesting practices. How do mice survive subzero winters? Do they group together like snakes? Thanks. --Demonesque 19:18, 16 December 2005 (UTC)


 * I've added in a few answers to these questions. The answers are exclusively for Mus.  Perhaps the info can be integrated.  --Aranae 20:53, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

They don't hibernate. They can also survive in any virtually habitat. Dora Nichov 03:39, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

8. Natural foods, 'Nutrition' section is on how to feed domestic or lab mice. --Nate1481(t/c) 17:03, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Song of the deer mouse
The song of the deer mouse is a great external link, but is more appropriate at Peromyscus and has been moved there. This page deals primarily with Mus and a few other Old World mice. --Aranae 16:40, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Pinkies
sometimes new-born mice are called pinkies... see if [] deserves to be incorporated in the article --Melaen 17:06, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

Mice in fiction
This debate is far from resolved, see Talk:Vole, Talk:Hamster, Talk:Guinea pig, Talk:Capybara, Talk:Kangaroo mouse, Chipmunk, and Rat. I would argue that the mice in fiction section is among the best example of a "[rodent] in fiction" section. --Aranae 22:27, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Resolved, eh? Okay, I won't pursue it.  Run! 22:30, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Where are Mickey Mouse, Minnie, Ratatouille (from Disney and Pixar movies) and Jerry Mouse from the Tom and Jerry cartoons? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.196.80.60 (talk) 03:07, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Mice and cheese
Do mice really eat cheese? Where did this belief come from?


 * Yup, they eat cheese!  But it isn't usually the main component of their diet.  Justforasecond 00:28, 23 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Not always, I had a slight mouse problem a couple of weeks ago and I just found what they were snacking on: the cheese pouches from my Easy Mac stash! -Dandaman32 19:25, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

I thought cheese poisoned them, actually.

They eat cheese, but it's not really their favorite food. They like seeds more. But they'll eat anything, even soap and candles. Dora Nichov 03:37, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

They really like sweets. Marcipan makes a much better mouse trap bait than cheese. --Klausok 10:41, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

I find peanut butter to be a very, very efficent bait for my trap. my trap is a wire box with a metal floor, The bait is placed on the metal floor, The mouse climbs in through a hole at the top, and once in the trap cannot escape.

I work for a pest controll cmpany and the favorite food of mice is bird seed. Dec 21,2007 (Nick S)

Lol when i bait a mouse trap i make it long complicated and completely waste of space its fun to make i get a meat cleaver tie it to a cucumber slice then when the mouse eats it a rock sitting on top of the slice as a counterweight falls off making the meat cleaver fall and cut the mouse in half then my cats eat it. XD 74.84.9.226 (talk) 13:35, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

That's pretty twisted. I use Bird Seeds as mentioned above. It's really the only thing that will get them out of their holes. -Enrgy 16:35, 29 December 2008

74.84.9.226 makes a lot of vandalism, I don't think he was being serious. 71.161.48.175 (talk) 03:29, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

I just finished explaining to my kids that mice don't really love cheese. But then this article said they do. They don't, do they? :-) I took it out, unless someone has a ref to the contrary.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Asbruckman (talk • contribs) 22:58, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Mus musculus species do like Emmentaler like cheese (used to trap them in country houses !), but other field species maybe dont. --Salixen (talk) 01:49, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

Hazelnut-choclate-cream did the trick with the first few. I try raw peanuts and hamster food now. To no avail as of now. They generally like dry foods, dried fruits and even edible oil. Never tried fresh fruit though. What kind of bird seed did you use? --Jangirke (talk) 21:26, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Living
Where does mice live?Underground?


 * I think mice live in your house--Taida 00:32, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Anywhere they can make a living. As long as it's comfortable and dark, it should be fine for them. Dora Nichov 03:38, 3 September 2006 (UTC)

They've lived in apartments I've lived in. I'm surprised this article doesn't mention human environments and adaptability. --Oakshade 06:51, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Mice will live in ur house, apts, vehicles, etc. They like insulation and papper products for nesting. They will live underground usualy near a heat source if possible. Dec 21,2007 (Nick S)

'''Hello ; we have found that peanut butter and pumpkin seeds are very efficient for catching mice, our home has been infested with mice since its been getting colder; any suggestions on other food sources i can use to catch mice ??. thanx.'''

Reverted addition to "Knockout mice"
I've just reverted the following addition (in bold) to the Knockout mice section:
 * Knockout mice are mice which have had a specific gene or genes inactivated, either through deletion or disruption of the portion of the genome containing the gene in question. This enables the study of the function of that gene and more rare bloodtypes (that can react with respiratory failures in smaller species of the common melifialicous house "mice") and genes interacting with it.

If anyone can figure out what that's supposed to mean, feel free to clarify and restore it. —Ilmari Karonen (talk) 22:08, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Bedding
The bedding discussion about corn cob bedding is confusing. -65.217.42.131 10:17, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Question? (Mice & Rats)
What is the difference between mouse and rat in biology? How to tell the difference by looking? -65.217.42.131 10:17, 13 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Have you visited our Rat page? They are different species (sort of like the difference between a horse and a zebra). - However, they are close enough together, and "confusable" enough, that a section/page on the difference between mice and rats might be a good idea. -- 20:30, 18 February 2007 (UTC) (P.S. I split your question into separate topics.)

Feeder mice
Are there any legal issues with feeding live mice to snakes and reptiles? Drutt 21:37, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Also, it's unclear if the exceptions to the "don't feed live vertebrates to carnivores" rule's exception for snakes is an exception to the general principal only, or German law as well. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.175.49.68 (talk) 03:45, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
 * I am German, I have read the law and it is not outlawed here to feed live mice at all. It is outlawed however "to expose animals to unnecessary cruelty." Cruelty doesn't include perfectly natural processes (such as carnivores eating their natural prey). What is meant here is for example to neglect mice and let them bite each other to death, or to let them starve, or to experiment on them with knifes or something. However, there are much tighter regulations for commercial usage of animals (pet stores, zoos), to ensure their wellbeing. This is all written down in the Tierschutzgesetz (animal protection law) and no other law exists. For reference: in Austria, feeding live animals (mammals) is explicitly outlawed. Please change the article accordingly. 109.91.32.90 (talk) 23:40, 16 May 2015 (UTC)

This doesnt seem to make much sense- "The RSPCA also claimed it was bad for the predator to eat alive mice as they contain too much fat which can cause the predator diseases. So the citizens of the UK must feed their animal with frozen mice and rats." How would killing and freezing the mouse or rat make any difference to it's fat content? I've done some searching on Google and found references to vitamin and mineral loss, but nothing suggesting any change in fat content caused by freezing. 92.251.255.18 (talk) 12:50, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Not necessarily a commensal relationship
Currently the article states: "These species of mice live commensally with humans." (referring to both house and deer mice); however it is possible to take issue with this stance because often deer mice are known to carry the Hantavirus which can prove fatal to humans, which goes against the definition of a commensal relationship with humans. For example,

Excerpt: ''In  Washington   State  , the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) is the main carrier of hantavirus. About 1- 5 hantavirus cases are reported each year in  Washington   State   and about one third of the cases have been fatal.'' 

I think the Wiki should not necessarily infer that mice are harmless. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.49.57.137 (talk) 15:36, 5 April 2007 (UTC).

I had a mouse in my house, It left black droppings everywhere, uranated in two bags of puffed rice cerial, nibbled tomatoes, bread, and other fruit, and ended up in trasparent container as a "television" for the cats, rushing around the trap as the cats watched it, chased it, clawed at it, and sat on it's wire box. This is not a commensual relationship.

-

Well, a neighbor's dog can be a similar nuissance. But that doesn't matter :) The relation is commensalism because generally speaking, we don't eat mice, they don't eat us. They really don't compete for food from us either. Most live outside, and the few that don't... I mean come on, it's a small rodent. It would take years for a mouse to eat you out of house and home. Whether you like sharing food with them is another matter :)

Re: hantavirus, that should be in the hantavirus article. Saying that mice are carriers of viruses is kinda like saying people are carriers of AIDS. That does not make mice inherently more harmful to humans. 72.193.219.212

Re: "It will take years for mice to eat u out of house and home", not always true, dont forget that u can have a large amount of mice living in ur home, in that case they can eat u out of house and home. I have been to homes where the problem is reallly bad and have seen that happen. Anything is possible if given a chance. Dec 21,2007 (Nick S) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.14.108.210 (talk) 21:06, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Re: by that way of thinking, there's no commensal relationships anywhere, since everything can become a problem if you overdo it. The fact is animals like mice, ants, and crickets cohabit just fine with humans. Commensalism As long as they stay in the house exterior, we generally do not compete for the same food source or prey on each other. Sure, sometimes the animals will come inside and eat your food; but we all know what happens to those. The vast majority of these animals however live off scraps and crumbs, garbage, and other throw-away food they can find outside. Also in some ways they are actually living in Mutualism, since these animals occupy the same function that benign bacteria does in your body. That is to say, they prevent invasion by organisms which are truly parasitic and harmful.

I like how the article has made mice more sinister since last I was here >:) (fyi: everything can be a carrier of disease) And yet the article is missing the most basic information: evolutionary history of mice, their physical attributes, various habitats, etc. 72.193.179.126 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 22:35, 26 September 2010 (UTC).

Effects of caloric restriction?
Does this really belong in its own headline, let alone the second headline of the article? It seems somewhat obscure. Brianga 04:43, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Agreed; remove or kick to the bottom. I read it three times and still can't make snout or tail out of it. 81.240.94.152 22:03, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
 * I went ahead and removed it. It seems like its already covered in Estrogen receptor anyway.  Brianga 06:35, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

It'd be nice when removing whole sections that you 1) check to see that the most recent edits aren't vandalism and undo them if they are, 2) put an edit comment explaining what you are doing so it doesn't look like random blanking and 3) remove the correct section and not the laboratory mice section. I reverted the vandalism and the blanking of two sections, but if there's actually discussion to get rid of the one, OK, fine, no harm done, but a little more care in editing would prevent this kind of confusion. DreamGuy 08:23, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Speech recognition?
I heard from a source (my mother, of asian descent) that mice/rats may be able to recognise your speech. Which is why she refers to them by the Chinese word, or by saying: that small thing with four legs. I forget why she is so afraid of them knowing of our knowledge of their presence.

But is their any proof at all they could do this, or is this completely false?

ANOTHER USER: it is false, mice will not know when you are referring to them, just another tall tale


 * Scientists controlled a mouse with voice commands. Jecowa 21:30, 13 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Mice of course will not understand words unless specifically trained to do so. For instance, pet mice can come when called and do other simple commands, but unless they are taught these words, they will only hear them as a string of sounds, much like dogs have no idea what you're saying unless you teach them. La Bicyclette 05:23, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

Contradiction tag
I removed this tag, as the talk page does not contain any relevant discussion about the article contradicting itself. If the alleged contradiction is the issue of the mouse's commensal relationship with humans, then there's no argument until someone comes up with a citation that explains how occasionally acting as a disease vector (a large number of mammals do, and so do other humans) or eating minuscule amounts of our food constitutes some other type of relationship. Unigolyn 11:06, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Picture
I've uploaded a much better picture of baby mice just a day old, it's my own picture and it's much clearer then the one already there. I don't know how to link, but it's called Babymice2. I can't edit the page even though I'm logged in, so if someone else would change it, that'd be great :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by ShwSie (talk • contribs) 11:15, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Why is the first sentence about rats?
Really, the whole first sentence seems anomalous. Is there a reason to include it?CarlFink 11:51, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

It was a really stupid act of vandalism that has been reverted. If a vandal was trying to do something funny, they failed. Midtempo-abg 14:25, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Low importance?
OK, I'm not a biologist, but surely the mouse should be considered higher than "low importance". This assessment was not applied by a member of the project. Could a project member perhaps re-assess this. Thanks, Walkerma (talk) 06:35, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I would also like to see a member of the project re- @#!*% the consideration that the mouse is of “low importance.” --DavidD4scnrt (talk) 08:12, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

I have a question about mice that I can't find the answer to
We like to hike on a popular trail around a local lake in Washington State. The other day we went there to hike and when we got about 3/4 the way around the lake we began to see several dead mice along about 1/4 mile stretch of the trail. I talked to a friend of mine who does a lot of hiking and hikes that particular trail everyday. She said that she had been sweeping them off the trail for the last couple of days. She also said that she had noticed that on other trails as well and that it seemed to only happen at certain times of the year. Is there a reason for this mass death? Is there something poisonous that they may be feeding on that only grows at certain times of the year? I know mice are related to lemmings but I read that the mass suicide legend is just a myth. Any ideas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ktgyrl (talk • contribs) 16:54, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

I also do. I recently got 2 female mice, and they are both(Pepper & Salt) looking pregnant. Pepper is bigger, and very lazy compared to Salt. Pepper is also extremely sensitive to her Uterus/Stomach area, while Salt is not. I've been searching the internet for "Signs of Pregnancy in Mice", and this is closest. I still don't know. Pepper squeaks only when I touch her belly, so I believe the group she was in, a mouse was sexed wrong, and thrown in with the female group. Are those natural signs? Are they signs of pregnancy? Please if you can, tell me! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.6.150.23 (talk) 18:56, 14 July 2008 (UTC)


 * for the mass deaths, do you live in a city? or are there homes nearby? while it could be anything really, my first thought is that these mice forage for food in nearby dwellings that are using pesticides.  another thought is that your township sprays for mosquitoes and other pests on a regular basis and this might be killing the mice as well.  of course it could be organic, if a non-native species of plant was recently introduced.
 * in regards to pregnancy, gestation is about 20 days, so you'll know for sure by mid-august. If you'd like to be really sure you can always go to the vet, but it isn't always clearcut.  Petstores often accidentally mix-up and you wouldn't be the first person who got a little bonus. --&#65279;ΖαππερΝαππερ BabelAlexandria 02:19, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Condensed "as pets" and "more as pets"
Wow was that some bad writing. And there totally dosn't need to be two sections. Pare, consolidate, done.

ZoundsPadang (talk) 23:46, 18 April 2008 (UTC) zoundsPadang

Un-Wikipedian language
There is too much usage of the word "you" in the "Mice as Pets" section. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, not a mice care tutorial, so it shouldn't act as if the section was talking to you. I would apreciate if somebody fixed this. Thank you. Thegargoylevine (talk) 23:32, 12 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Oh lighten up XD —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.84.9.226 (talk) 13:38, 14 May 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree with Thegargoylevine and would encourage anyone who wants to to bring the section up to wikipedia standards. --Aranae (talk) 15:49, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Apodemus sylvaticus
Please note that the page is about the genus Mus but the image is an Apodemus sylvaticus. Doloco (talk) 19:45, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Pups or kittens
The article states that the young of mice are called pups. As far as I know they are called kittens. Mjroots (talk) 20:46, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

Removed: Fur Colour
Discussion of colours would be more appropriate under a new section varieties for the article fancy mouse. Also, references need more than just (name, year). Finally, the genetic info given is a) mostly wrong and b) unnecessary for a mouse article- if any terms are necessary to mention, it is better to link them to the actual genetic articles.

I'm not going to go through this passage point by point, just going to give a few examples of the many problematic claims: There are more known genes that affect mouse fur color traits than any other trait in mice. are out of date and incorrect (a quick search of the mouse phenotype database at JaxLabs gives 600 pigment genes and for example, 2752 for nervous system ones.

Eye color genes are usually related to the fur color genes and are therefore called linked genes. This is not what a linked gene is!

it is rare to find full color mice with pink eyes or white mice with black eyes. Its quite common and easy to do. A black eyed mouse can be created with excessive spotting, or with the extreme dilute allele split with albino, or combining red(yellow) and chinchilla mutations; many mouse varieties have pink eyes but are not white- such as pink eyed red/yellow/gold, argente, dove, and silver!

--6th Happiness (talk) 05:12, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Survival of four months?
Any substantiation? Does this include pup mortality? I would think that many of young pups die, which would lower the average life span. Four months is an adult mouse. That would imply that on average a mouse lives to be an adult and can breed. -- Bubbachuck (talk) 20:15, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

WikiProject Rodents
This is a notice to inform interested editors of a new WikiProject being proposed at WikiProject Council/Proposals/Rodents --﻿ΖαππερΝαππερ BabelAlexandria 02:05, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Not the right mice
"The American white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) also sometimes live in houses."

These mice are both members of the Cricetidae family not Muridae and thus inappropriate for an article about Muridae mice.

-- 72.204.3.74 (talk) 19:06, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Mice as food section
Could do with some clean-up and reduction of slightly huffy language (specifically on 'citizens of the UK' not being allowed to feed live mice to carnivores). I would, but the article's semi-protected. 86.144.144.110 (talk) 19:43, 26 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I just had a go at it. I cut back quite a bit; it could use a little prudent well-worded re-expansion but at least it reads much more like an encyclopedia now. Baccyak4H (Yak!) 17:06, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

That's so cruel how they feed live baby mice to stupid reptiles. I saw a video of a guy who fed a pinkie to his @#!*%  iguana and it was still alive come time to it going down the throat. Why can't people just stick to feeding their caged pets insects or vegetibles? Could you imagine being a pinkie fed to a tarantuala? Abandon by your parents and left to be eaten by that eight legged fugly monster!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Alieneater1239 (talk • contribs) 16:12, 3 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree with the last statment here. It is very true that is cruel. Same with grown mice, pinkey rats, and grown rats. It is totaly wrong! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.174.13.150 (talk) 03:27, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

This page is to discuss edits, not whine about mouse ethics. Salaxoraxas (talk) 00:18, 21 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Speaking of edits, 'citing ethical concerns regarding both predator and prey.' could be said more clearly, because it almost makes it sound as if the predator itself has an ethical concern. Of course, the predator doesn't particularly care about our ethics. 58.179.3.102 (talk) 23:21, 11 December 2014 (UTC)

Revision of taxonomy necessary
The classification list at the top insinuates that all mice belong to the  genus Mus, but there are many genera of mice. Chaetodipus, Zapus, Napaeozapus, Onychomys,  Baiomys, Ochrotomys,  Peromyscus, Reithrodontomys,  Oryzomys, Liomys,  Micrdipodops and Perognathus  all live in the United States alone (Whitaker 1991). I couldn't even guess how many genera there must be in total. Mus only accounts for a miniscule portion of the richness and diversity of  the animals we call mice. It should be noted as well that mice are a polyphyletic grouping since some mice are more related to some rats, for  instance than they are to other mice. --citation--


 * There are many genera that are called "mice" (among U.S. mammals, you seem to have missed Podomys, for example). "Mouse" is an ambiguous and imprecise term, and our article about animals called "mice" should be split from our article on the genus Mus, but that remains to be done. Ucucha 18:59, 23 February 2010 (UTC)
 * In the French Wikipedia we have created special pages for usual animal or plant names with a global concept such as "mouse". Those pages are in between desambiguation pages and taxonomic pages, and they are organised to explain the diferent and common points in biology and to introduce cultural aspects not linked with real species. Look at : Fr Souris (homonymie) (all kind of "mouse" words), Souris (all kind of rodents called "mouse" in French) and Mus (genre) (the genus). Could be of some help to solve your problem ? --Salixen (talk) 01:42, 8 May 2010 (UTC)

As Food
Mice are the staple diet of small raptors such as the Black-shouldered Kite - this page includes an image of a bird with a mouse in its talons. Marj (talk) 00:25, 10 May 2010 (UTC)

Baby mice photograph
I want to contribute this picture of two day-old mice that I found in my back yard to the page.--John Bessa (talk) 18:11, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * What species is it? (First step: where was the picture taken? Second step: what do the parents look like?) Ucucha 18:30, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * They are mice--oh, which species of mouse. These are called "field mice" and are gray with a white belly and a medium-length tail.  They are the only kind in this area, which is rural NW Connecticut in the US Northeast.  I attempted to rescue them, but, as the rehab specialist who took them from me said, their mouths are too small for eye-dropper feeding until they are 3-4 days old.--John Bessa (talk) 18:55, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Perhaps a deermouse (Peromyscus leucopus or Peromyscus maniculatus, difficult to tell apart from each other and both occur in New England), although those are usually brownish, not gray. Our field mouse dab page says "field mouse" is also used for small voles like the meadow vole, but they don't have white underparts and the tail is short. Ucucha 19:10, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Confession: I am partly colorblind, so it is entirely possible that it is brownish. With respect to the name, I am only repeating local vernacular, which of course, usually only has local accuracy!  I will ask my better half what color they are.  There is a funny story surrounding this mouse: my cat, having lost a taste for meat in favor of fish, keeps catching and releasing it.  The mouse has learned to hang on to the cat to prevent being batted around, and the mouse has hung on to me and climbed into my hair.  I cannot confirm that the same mouse is the mother since I found the babies abandoned, but as I mentioned this is the only kind of mouse.  I think the picture is interesting as it clearly shows that closed eyes, and how the babies "embrace" each other.--John Bessa (talk) 20:43, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Update: definitely not the vole. These have big "beady" eyes.  I also did behavioral work with a similar mouse about ten miles from here that I inserted into thesis on empathy.  The mouse description has since become part of curricula for a like-minded Northwest US biology professor.
 * Another update: From my girlfriend, these mice are gray-brown possibly with a white belly, and very beady, black eyes.  I will call the rehab specialist to see if she knows the proper American name.--John Bessa (talk) 18:09, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. According to my field guide, Peromyscus leucopus can also be grayish brown, so that wouldn't be inconsistent. Peromyscus maniculatus usually has a bicolored tail (white below and dark above), whereas that of P. leucopus is unicolored, but it seems that that distinction may not hold in the Northeast. In any case, I think it'd be fine to add the image to our article on Peromyscus. Ucucha 18:19, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks to you too. It is definitely the maniculatus deer mouse, which I have seen described as "deceptively cute," though I have never been deceived by one!--John Bessa (talk) 20:44, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request on 14 December 2011
24.186.136.204 (talk) 23:13, 14 December 2011 (UTC)
 * No request made--Jac 16888 Talk 23:31, 14 December 2011 (UTC)

How long do mice live?
Average lifespan in human years? Can't find this info in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.9.151.254 (talk) 08:08, 5 September 2012 (UTC)


 * Ditto, there is no mention at all in the article about average lifespan, either in the wild or domesticated. — Loadmaster (talk) 22:20, 4 February 2014 (UTC)

What Alarm?
I was looking at the bit that says about the mice' use for sense of smell, and I was wondering what type of alarm they trigger? It says they set off an alarm, but how? ShinkoNet (talk) 03:52, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

Also, the proof link (number 15) is broken — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.29.166.92 (talk) 17:02, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Mice can see ultraviolet
This has been in the science news for quite a while now. Apparently pretty common in rodents.     Zyxwv99 (talk) 01:29, 29 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I introduced some text about this at Rodent. Some of that could be lifted here.__DrChrissy (talk) 12:33, 29 December 2014 (UTC)

Ganesh sits affectionately with his vahana, Mushika
Why does the article have a picture of Ganesh? I see the elephant-god, an ox, and a serpent; but no mouse. What have I missed? Maproom (talk) 14:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 17 October 2015
Use of the mouse for magic and medical purposes

In ancient Egypt, Egyptians used mice's fat for medical purposes and the animal itself could be used in magica ritual, especially to cure an infant affected at the mouth Amandine Marshall, "About the efficacy of eating a cooked mouse in ancient Egypt", Ancient Egypt 15.4, 2015, pp. 40-42.. When Pedanius Dioscorides heard about this ritual, he misunderstood it, thought the mouse was used as a drug and wrote in his books that to cure the infants' excessive slaver, they must eat a full mouse.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Pompeienne (talk • contribs) 09:11, 17 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format. &mdash;Skyllfully (talk &#124; contribs) 19:37, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

Species list
Should the list of species be expanded on this page or do the subgenera act as the list of species? With only 30 members the list would still easily fit into the page. Wasp32 (talk) 05:45, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

Subgenera section
“Field mouse of the subgenus Mus” is a flat lie. Apodemus is a different, and almost unrelated, genus. Will someone correct this, please? — 188.162.65.3 (talk) 12:32, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

Requested move 18 July 2017

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Withdrawn. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 08:02, 20 July 2017 (UTC) עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 08:02, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

– I believe that there is currently no real PRIMARYTOPIC for the word "mouse". The computer mouse article has |Computer_mouse 40% more views than the article on the animal; a google images search returns mostly pictures of computer mice; and most of the first hits on a goolgle search for "mouse" are about computer mice, not the animals. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 07:46, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Mouse → Mouse (animal)
 * Mouse (disambiguation) → Mouse
 * Strong oppose as per Apple. In ictu oculi (talk) 10:26, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Oppose, per Apple and Poppy (Poppy, the flower, has many less views than Poppy (singer) yet is still the primary). Randy Kryn (talk) 13:58, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Oppose, per the KISS principle. If someone searches for mouse on Wikipedia it's highly unlikely that they're looking for a disambiguation page.  nagual design  14:19, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * But it's probably more likely that they're looking for an article about a computer mouse than the animal. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 17:19, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * The same goes for Apple Inc. and Poppy (singer) instead of Apple and Poppy, the primary in these cases has far less views. But they are still the primary and would likely continue to be even if an RM were held. Randy Kryn (talk) 17:27, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * If somebody is looking for Computer mouse there is a link at the top of Mouse, which is what most users would expect from Wikipedia. If they were looking for this article then they would have found it without further ado. The proposal above would require readers in either case to visit Mouse (disambiguation) first, and does not help anybody who is looking for Computer mouse to find that article any quicker. For what it's worth I've never heard of Poppy (singer).  nagual design  18:48, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * If they download the Mouse article, that would be 819K of data; for the disambiguation page, 559K. Considering that 464K of this is data they will need for the Computer mouse article, that would mean that the wrong page would require extra downloading of 355K for the article vs. 95K for the disambiguation page. עוד מישהו Od Mishehu 20:04, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * If you're worried about an extra 260 kB I suggest you get yourself a better data provider, or upgrade from dial-up to broadband. As far as user experience is concerned, I think the less clicks the better. You've made your point, I'm still not convinced. Sorry.  nagual design  20:53, 18 July 2017 (UTC)


 * Oppose, longstanding historical importance of the biological subject. The computer "mouse" is named after the cheese-eating rodent. bd2412  T 21:39, 18 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Oppose: no! People know what a mouse is. Ridiculous to suggest that you need to clarify this. If somebody is looking for a computer mouse, they would not expect 'mouse' to return this result! – Sb2001 talk page 14:35, 19 July 2017 (UTC)
 * Oppose. For God's sake! Clear primary topic for any sensible person. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:52, 19 July 2017 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

I know this discussion is over, but just out of interest, if Mouse was the disambiguation page how would that appear on Google? At the moment if you search for mouse the top result, plus the sidebar, show Wikipedia "A mouse is a small rodent..." etc. I'm guessing that the Google sidebar would probably filter out (not select) disambiguation pages, and the sidebar would be blank.  nagual design  04:53, 3 August 2017 (UTC)

External links modified (February 2018)
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I think there is a problem of disambiguation within the realm of the biological "mouse." This article is about the house mouse - Mus musculus and other species within Mus. It has no reference to the common "wood mouse" or "field mouse" (Apodemus sylvaticus), which has a separate Wikipedia article under the title "Wood Mouse." That article also mentions the yellow-necked mouse (Aprodemus flavicollis).

I would prefer to see an article titled "Mouse" that referred to various mouse genera, an article title "House Mouse" that discussed, as this article does, Mus musculus, a further article "Wood Mouse" or "Field Mouse" which is confined to Apodemus sylvaticus, and then 2 biologically oriented articles, one devoted to Mus genus and the other devoted to Apodemus genus, with each of these latter articles respectively referring back to the "House Mouse" and "Wood Mouse" articles.Ray Glock-Grueneich (talk) 05:31, 21 March 2018 (UTC)

If I may indulge in a bit of cross-disambiguous humor, someday I would like to see a mouse genus or species or subspecies named "Engelbardtus" in honor of the later Doug Engelbardt, who invented the computer mouse. I have many fond memories of Doug, and it would seem a fitting cross-breeding of all of the mice in our Wikipedia house.Ray Glock-Grueneich (talk) 05:38, 21 March 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 December 2018
"The mouse has approximately 2.7 billion base pairs and 20 chromosomes.[6]", change 20 chromosomes to 20 pairs of chromosomes Aapton (talk) 15:50, 18 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done – Jonesey95 (talk) 16:01, 18 December 2018 (UTC)

Size?
I see no mention of the typical size or size range of the common mouse (as opposed to weight). 94.30.84.71 (talk) 20:15, 15 June 2017 (UTC)

My mouse is 2 inches Mousiexpertlizzy (talk) 02:36, 2 May 2019 (UTC)

Remember, please
Please remember that a domestic mouse has a different diet than a feral mouse. For example, domestic mice might eat cheese while feral mice would rather eat bread crumbs. ;) I think, at least!

--72.68.4.132 (talk) 09:54, 16 February 2019 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 October 2019
"Species of mice are mostly found in Rodentia, and are present throughout the order. Typical mice are found in the genus Mus."

"Found in" sounds like a habitat where they live, not a taxonomic classification where they're placed. Could you replace "found" with "classified"? 208.95.51.53 (talk) 14:06, 22 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done &#8209;&#8209; El Hef  ( Meep? ) 14:12, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Fried Mice
Regarding the claim " In Victorian Britain, fried mice were still given to children as a folk remedy for bed-wetting", is there not a better source for this than two lines from a fiction novel? 80.47.137.128 (talk) 16:32, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 22 March 2021
Please remove this

Generally, when someone discovers a smaller muroid rodent, its common name includes the term mouse. If it is larger, the name includes the term rat.

and add this

Generally, when a muroid rodent is discovered, its common name includes the term mouse if it is smaller, or rat if it is larger.

The vague "someone" doesn't sound good here, and it works out better if the two sentences are merged. 64.203.186.93 (talk) 14:53, 22 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Yes check.svg Done. Volteer1 (talk) 15:02, 22 March 2021 (UTC)

Mice eating cheese?
Why don’t mice really have a special appetite for cheese. I thought mice can eat almost anything, especially seeds, berries, insects, nuts, and plants. But what about cheese, if you were referring to mice as funny animals? 68.197.54.51 (talk) 20:41, 10 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Cheese is a milk product, all mammals except humans stop drinking milk once they are weaned. Humans even eat and drink the milk of another species. Randy Kryn (talk) 21:10, 10 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Or maybe the cheese can have a pungent aroma to mice as they are sensitive to smell.Allan Bao (talk) 17:47, 18 May 2021 (UTC)

"Moues" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Moues. The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2021 May 17 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. -- Tamzin (she/they, no pref.) &#124; o toki tawa mi. 01:20, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

Confused article
The article seems very confused to me. It starts off as an article about all the animals that can be called "mice", but then much of the detail that follows seems to be about Mus musculus (the house mouse) and its domesticated breeds. I think it would be better just having a disambiguation page for animals known as "Mouse". Peter coxhead (talk) 13:53, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
 * support ~ cygnis insignis 14:01, 18 January 2022 (UTC)