How Long Do Mice Live? Interesting Facts About Mice

Mice! To some, they’re cute pets they have running around the yard. To others, it’s a source of anxiety and fear. To us, they’re easy to get rid of, unlike their brothers, the rats. Alas, how long do mice live? And what interesting facts are there about these little rodents?

A mouse can live anywhere from 6 months to 6 years, depending on its habitat and if it’s made itself at home in your own house. But, generally speaking, mice live only a few months in the wild and a couple of years in a safe environment. Then again, there’s much more to discuss regarding these tiny fellas.

So, that’s exactly what we’ll cover in this article. We’ll talk about the lifespan of mice, as well as some fun facts about them, including their lifecycle and whether they outlive rats. But for now, let’s focus on a mouse’s lifespan.

How Long Does a Mouse Live

If you leave a mouse in the wild, it won’t live for more than 6-8 months. Despite this being the general rule, some can live for just over a year in a stable environment with no predators. But, these optimal conditions are rarely true. They do appear when a mouse finds itself inside your house, though.

When mice set up their nest in a house and are left unbothered, they can live for up to 2 years. In rare cases, if they have an abundant food source and aren’t infected by a disease, they can survive for 5-6 years. To put that into perspective, this would translate to hundreds of human years.

With this in mind, let’s take a glimpse at their lifecycle.

What Is the Lifecycle of Mice

With a mouse’s lifespan being this short, it goes through different phases of life in a rapid fashion. When mice are born, they are tiny, have no fur, and are blind. Frankly, we’ll say that they look like pinky fingers and weigh less than a sheet of paper.

Within 10 days, their fur has fully grown, and a few days after that, they finally begin to see. Before they get to enjoy the fun colors of life, they are weaned just a week afterward, at which point males tend to scatter around, with females staying around their mothers. Of course, when the nest is in your house, all the young mice remain within the premises.

Only 2 weeks after they’re weaned, mice can begin reproducing. This might take an extra 2 weeks, but they’re certainly sexually mature on week 7 of their lives. This leads us straight to the next fun fact.

How Long Are Mice Pregnant

While we tend to compare mice to humans, especially when it comes to their intelligence, reproduction is way different. Mice are pregnant for around 20 days (give or take 1 day). And that’s not even the shocking part. They can get pregnant again within a day after giving birth.

This raises the question of how many mice are actually in a litter.

How Many Mice Are in a Litter

In general, a litter of mice will consist of 5-6 pups. That said, there are instances where they can be as low as 3 or as high as 12. But this is usually based on luck rather than any actual biological reasons.

How Many Babies Do Mice Have

If we crunch down the numbers mentioned above, the average mouse would have anywhere from 60 to 140 babies. But this isn’t 100% true, especially in the wild. Most mice reproduce from April to September and only live for a year.

So, taking this into account, most mice will have about 30-40 babies.

Rats vs. Mice - Which One Lives the Longest

Ah, the age-old question; do mice or rats live longer? This comes down to tons of factors, from their environment to their predators. But, we can safely say that rats usually outlive mice due to their size.

We’ll Help You With Your Mouse Infestation

As you can understand, if you leave a mouse infestation unattended, you may end up with dozens of mice damaging your house. You don’t want that! And, if you’re in SoCal, we can help you.

At Green Rodent Restoration, we pride ourselves in humane rodent removal. Plus, we’ll ensure that these pests won’t bother you anytime soon. Contact us now for a free estimate, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.