Edible Dormouse
Footprint Images
Description
Significantly larger than the dormouse, the Edible Dormouse has a uniform grey coat with white underside and large, bushy tail, and is almost as big as a squirrel.
Footprint Description
Fore foot has 4 digital pads,very small with very fine claw marks sometimes present. Interdigital pad sometimes shows as an oblong "block".
Hind foot has 5 digital pads, no claw marks visible. Interdigital pad, with 4 lobes is often fused with he 2 proximal pads, giving the impression of one large pad.
Distribution
Found largely in and around the Chilterns, just northwest of London. Lord Rothschild introduced this dormouse from Europe, to his estate in Tring, in around 1900.
Footprint Size
Hind foot - 3x2.5cm, fore foot - 2x2cm. Stride approx 8cm.
Habitat
In the locality in which it is found, woodland provides its main habitat although lofts, barns and outhouses may also offer a home. The dormouse builds both summer and winter nests - as the Fat dormouse hibernates from October til April.
Diet
Behaviour
Taxonomy
Images of Tracks & Signs
Male
Primary Image
Reproduction
Breeding throughout summer and up until late October, a dormouse can produce a litter with as many as 12 young. Newborns are usually weaned by their mothers for about a month, after which time they become fully independent and forage for their own food.
Scientific Name
Glis glis
Female
Height
Predators
Birds of prey, foxes, badgers and man are all predators of the dormouse.
Tracks & Signs Description
Juvenile
Length
Body length: 12-20cm
Weight
Up to 250g
Speed
Droppings Images
Life Span
Up to 7 years
Also Known As
Fat dormouse. Little chinchilla.
Droppings Description
Status
Rarely found outside the Luton, Beaconsfield and Aylesbury triangle, where they are fairly common.
Did You Know?
The Edible Dormouse gets it's name from Roman times, when the marching soldiers would carry them in jars to be fattened up for eating when they arrived at camp.