Desert Pygmy Mouse

Introduction: The desert pygmy mouse (Mus indutus) is a very small nocturnal and territorial mammal that occurs singularly, in pairs or in family parties. They prefer to make use of used holes in the ground for cover and breeding, but are more than capable of digging their own burrows. They also shelter under dead vegetation and rocks. Desert pygmy mice live in a natural habitat of dry savannah and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.  This is a wide tolerance for such a small animal.

Distribution: They occur throughout the central and northern parts of Namibia, apart from the Skeleton Coast.

Diet: Their principal food is grass and other types of seed and the dry exterior of fruit trees such as the buffalo thorn and insects.

Colouring: The upper parts of the body are pinkish-buffy to pinkish-clay. The under parts are white.

Breeding: It is widely believed that the desert pygmy mouse breeds throughout the year with litters of between 2 to 8. Gestation periods are only 19 days. The young are born in ball-shaped grass nests, usually in the summer months.

Size: Adults have a total length of about 10cm and a mass of some 6g. Their tails are shorter than the length of the head and the body.