Quote:
Originally Posted by posie  Did you say 2 months ? |
I'm afraid so. My response was based on the species
Apodemus sylvaticus, which is what we in the UK recognize as a field mouse or wood mouse.
I'm not familiar with the species that is commonly referred to as a field mouse in New England ... though it's most probably be the Meadow Vole,
Microtus pennsylvanicus ... but for the purpose of support of an orphan, the advice is similar.
My reference sources suggest that the Meadow Vole has only slightly greater longevity than our wood mouse, at average max of 154 days in the wild, and up to 3 years in captivity.
If Judith's previous charge survived for 7 years, then it was a remarkable animal indeed ... or some other species.
For Apodemus sylvaticus, mortality increases in Spring due to both avian and mammalian predation (when predators are hunting more to feed their own offspring) ... few adults will survive from one summer until the next. In captivity, the longest any wood mouse I have raised has survived has been 23 months.
