|
|
(original text in Dutch by Peter Verberne)
Habitat and external features
The Australian hopping mouse lives in the deserts and semi-deserts of the Australian midlands. It mainly looks like a forest mouse with elongated hind legs and very big ears. The back side is brown, the belly white. The tail ends in a small tuft.
Behaviour
The Australian hopping mice are very social animals. A group of adult animals, both males and females live together in harmony and show very few aggression. All the animals, including the pups sleep together in one nest.
These animals are nocturnal and mostly active during dusk and night, but if you have a group in captivity, you will sometimes see an animal during daytime.
They usually walk on all four, which results in a cute hopping movement because of the length difference between the front and hind legs. When the animals are in a hurry they will only use their hind legs and can make huge jumps.
Diseases
Notomys alexis seems to be a bit susceptible to respiratory problems; they can develop pneumonia or asthmatic diseases. To prevent this you have to avoid infections; don't pick the animals up too often, clean their cage in time and try to avoid stress.
Housing
To house a group of Australian hopping mice off course you need a tank that is big enough. An old aquarium of minimal 100 cm can do very well. Although these are desert animals, sand is not recommended as bedding material. Sand is cold and pollutes rather quick. Sawdust, corn cob or hemp fibers are much more suitable. Give them in addition a sand bath, the animal can dig in it and groom their fur.
With some branches, bark, hay, toilet rolls and stones you can create a wonderful exciting environment for your animals.
They also need a nesting box, make sure the whole group fits in, because as said before, they all sleep together. A nesting box with a high entrance is preferred, this way pups will not be dragged outside while they are drinking and their mother leaves the nest. The mice do pollute their nest, so it has to be cleaned regularly.
Food
In nature the Australian hopping mouse eats berries, seeds and all kinds of plant parts. In captivity they can be fed with a good hamstermix, all kinds of birdseeds, grass and weed seeds, millet, sometimes a meal worm, dried bread and enough vegetables and fruit. They also love baby Soya food (mixed with water). They do drink water when available, but when they have enough fresh vegetables or fruit every day, they can do without water for some time.
Reproduction
In nature the Australian hopping mouse is an animal that reacts very strong to good environmental situations. When it has rained and there is enough food available, these animals will start to reproduce. After a gestation period of about 32 days 3 to 4 pups are born. After about 20 days they open their eyes and after another 10 to 15 days the youngsters can leave their parents.
Because there is always plenty of food in captivity, the animals will breed throughout the year. In a group more than one female can have a litter. Mostly all the pups lay in the same nest, the females will even nurse each others pups.
The animals are sexually mature at the age of 3 months. But mostly it takes much longer for them to breed.
Handling
The Australian hopping mouse is no play or cuddly toy. When you need to remove them from their tank, for instance to clean it, you can best do that in the middle of the day. At that time the animals are so deep asleep that you can take them out of their nest box without any problems. These animals hardly ever bite. You can best pick them up at their tail basis or cover them with two hands.
Measures:
weight at birth: 2-4 grams
adult weight: 20-50 grams
sexually mature: 3 months
fertility cycle: 7-8 days
gestation period: 32 days
litter size: 2-5 pups
eyes open: 20 days
weaning age: 5 weeks
average age: 3 years
head-body length: 91-177 mm
tail length: 125-225 mm
|
