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    Mice male and female

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    206 views6 pages

    Mice Male and Female

    Uploaded by

    TxemiSysTems

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    Copyright © 2014 H.Langridge www.ilexaquifoliumuk.wordpress.

    com

    Photographic guide to assessing sex and age in rodents


    Featuring UK Rodents but applicable worldwide

    Adult male bank vole Adult male bank vole


    Copyright © 2014 H.Langridge www.ilexaquifoliumuk.wordpress.com

    Adult male wood mouse Adult male field vole

    While testicles are obvious in most of the pictures


    included here, they are normally only visible
    during the breeding season, and are held
    internally for the rest of the year. This, along with
    the fact that the female genitals resemble a
    pseudo penis, means the distance between
    genitals and anus are the most reliable indication
    to learn to recognise.

    Adult male bank vole (with swollen ankle)

    Juvenile Males

    Juvenile male bank vole Juvenile male bank vole


    Copyright © 2014 H.Langridge www.ilexaquifoliumuk.wordpress.com

    Adult female bank vole (pregnant) Adult female bank vole (heavily pregnant)
    Copyright © 2014 H.Langridge www.ilexaquifoliumuk.wordpress.com

    Adult female wood mouse Adult female bank vole (showing perforate state)

    Possible female conditions (not all shown)

    Non-breeding: (also sometimes called imperforate) where a thin layer of skin forms over the
    vagina,
    Perforate: where the vagina is open
    Pregnant: indicated by a clearly distended abdomen
    Has bred: Milk production indicates recent litter. Hairless halos around nipple mean she’s
    suckled a litter at some point (but not necessarily recently).

    Juvenile female

    Juvenile female bank vole Juvenile female bank vole


    Copyright © 2014 H.Langridge www.ilexaquifoliumuk.wordpress.com

    Other indications for assessing age

    Juvenile rodents have


    disproportionately large feet and
    heads.

    See how the juvenile female in this


    picture appears to be half head? In
    an adult rodent, the head will be
    more like a third to a quarter of
    the head-body length.

    Juveniles commonly have greyer


    fur, but, as discussed below, there
    is large variation within rodents.

    A more subjective indication is that


    juveniles have shorter, softer,
    neater fur. They can still give off a
    very fluffy appearance, but the fur
    is a more smooth and uniform in
    length.

    Older animals are also more likely


    to have injuries and scars, such as
    nicked ears and tail damage.

    Juvenile female wood mouse

    Juvenile bank vole Adult wood mouse, displaying less even fur
    Copyright © 2014 H.Langridge www.ilexaquifoliumuk.wordpress.com

    Variation

    I have put together this guide to help those new to small mammal trapping, but there is no
    substitute for experience. Try to get out as much as possible and make the most of any guidance
    offered by more experienced trappers. That said, even after handling thousands of individuals, it is
    still as much of an art as a science due firstly to juveniles of both sexes presenting similarly, but also
    because of the massive natural variation in individuals which mean size and colour are not
    particularly good indicators of sex.

    Both adult wood mice

    Both adult bank voles

    All photos and wording by Holly Langridge. Intended as a guide only. Permitted for personal and non-
    commercial use only. Please contact me if you would like to reproduce all or part of this work for courses,
    classes or voluntary projects.

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