Mice do not drink water

This kind of mouse looks like a miniature kangaroo, so it is called "kangaroo mouse", but it has absolutely nothing to do with the Australian kangaroo. The scientific name of a non-drinking mouse is Dipodomys deserti, belonging to rodents.

These desert mice have hind legs and large hind feet, the hind legs are longer than the front legs, so they can jump far. they also move mainly in a dance style. They use long, big tails (compared to their bodies) to keep their balance and drive when they jump fast.

Mouse kangaroo only works at night. They don't live as flocks like home mice. Each Dipodomys deserti digs for himself a cave and quietly lives alone in it. They only pair in the breeding season.

Each cave that they dug has from 6 to 12 entrances. During the day, they block all these entrances. Only at night did they open all the doors. Their cave is 1.5m deep, has its own pantry, has its own bedroom. During the hot day, kangaroo mice sleep underground, at night, when it is cool to crawl.

They eat mainly small seeds of many types of sentences that grow in the desert. In addition, they also eat leaves, stems and insects. Because food is scarce in the desert, they have to travel very far every night to find food.

Although they have nothing to do with Australian kangaroo, they also have bags, not bags to feed children, but food bags.Mouse kDipodomys deserti has bags on the cheek (in the mouth) . Strangely, these bags can be used as food storage for weeks.

Living in extremely arid deserts in the southwestern United States and in the extreme northwestern Mexico, Dipodomys deserti mice are not uncomfortable, whereas they have unique adaptations. Thanks to the body accumulating water from food and can maintain water, they rarely need to drink water. Their kidneys are four times more effective than human kidneys. If the food is full, they can live their whole lives without drinking water.

Dipodomys mouse deserti desert is a petite but delicate animal. Whenever one suspects something is a dangerous living animal, they stand from afar, hit their feet to the ground to make noise, even kicking sand dust towards those suspicious objects. However, they also became prey for wolves, badgers, snakes and owls.

The mating season of Dipodomys deserti desert occurs from February to June. After the pregnancy period is about 30 days, female mice lay between 2-5 younglings. Maternal mice only have to raise their babies for a few weeks, then the young mice can become independent.

The mature Dipodomys deserti mouse body is about 16cm long, the tail is about 21cm long, weighs about 136gam. Their lifespan is 3-5 years.