A mouse is considered an infant from birth to just 21 days of age. After that they’re a juvenile until they reach two months old when they reach adulthood. They enter their twilight years at 12 months old and you might start to notice a few common changes. Here are a few things to look out for: Reynaud AJ, Froesel M, Guedj C, Ben Hadj Hassen S, Cléry J, Meunier M, et al. Atomoxetine improves attentional orienting in a predictive context. Neuropharmacology. 2019;150:59–69.

Due to wise predators and exposure to dangerous environments, a field mouse lifespan is usually around 1 year. In good conditions, however, the field mouse can live up to 3 years. This gives them the ability to keep one eye out for prey and the other on what they are doing. Hearing Horner AE, Heath CJ, Hvoslef-Eide M, Kent BA, Kim CH, Nilsson SRO, et al. The touchscreen operant platform for testing learning and memory in rats and mice. Nat Protoc. 2013;8:1961–84.Incorrect bedding is one of the most common causes of fur mites. We recommend using small-cut, shredded paper, finacard or white, soft tissue paper bedding. We would also recommend eco-friendly cardboard bedding from Ecobale. This genus of mice have bodies generally ranging from 2 to 2.5 inches long (salt marsh and fulvous harvest mice grow up to 2.75 inches long) and tails that are furry and at least partially bicolor.

Chica AB, Bartolomeo P, Lupiáñez J. Two cognitive and neural systems for endogenous and exogenous spatial attention. Behav Brain Res. 2013;237:107–23.Mice have the incredible ability to know if something is toxic, unhealthy, or inedible by its taste. A more unique category of mice, jumping mice are fairly large, with a general body length of 3.5 inches and bicolored tails ranging from 5.5 to 5.75 inches in length. Berridge CW, Devilbiss DM, Andrzejewski ME, Arnsten AFT, Kelley AE, Schmeichel B, et al. Methylphenidate preferentially increases catecholamine neurotransmission within the prefrontal cortex at low doses that enhance cognitive function. Biol Psychiatry. 2006;60:1111–20. Zou YY, Yuan Y, Kan EM, Lu J, Ling EA. Combustion smoke-induced inflammation in the olfactory bulb of adult rats. J Neuroinflammation. 2014;11:176.

Caballero-Puntiverio M, Lerdrup LS, Arvastson L, Aznar S, Andreasen JT. ADHD medication and the inverted U-shaped curve: a pharmacological study in female mice performing the rodent continuous performance test (rCPT). Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2020;99:109823. Voytko ML, Olton DS, Richardson RT, Gorman LK, Tobin JR, Price DL. Basal forebrain lesions in monkeys disrupt attention but not learning and memory. J Neurosci. 1994;14:167–86. In fact, so are their genes, and it’s not uncommon for mice and rats to have fertile offspring together. As a general rule, however, all members of the genus Mus are considered to be mice.Doty RL. The olfactory vector hypothesis of neurodegenerative disease: is it viable? Ann Neurol. 2008;63:7–15.