29.03.2024

Hazel Dormouse: the contents in the home, caring for animals

Hazel Dormouse is a small rodent, like a mouse, but with a more attractive, bushy tail. This animal lives in the wild, but lately its been increasingly kept at home.

How to care for such animals? What you need to know about him?

Animal Sonia: characteristics of a rodent

In nature there are two species of these rodents – Dormouse terrestrial and arboreal. Ground more reminiscent of the usual mouse, and wood similar to a squirrel. And those and others live well with a person, if they are created the most comfortable conditions for life.

It is very important to remember about the cleanliness of the cage: Sony, despite the fact that they are very small animals very quickly pollute your dwelling, and this, in turn, leads to an unpleasant smell in the room.

Now a little about the appearance of this animal:

  • hazel Dormouse (her middle name is “wood”) has a coat of reddish color, but Sonia earth (also called “fat Dormouse”) is completely gray, that’s why they are compared to squirrels and mice;
  • in length the Sony body is about 20 cm, exactly the same indicators and the tail (respectively, the tail and the body of the animal is proportional to);
  • the weight of the Sony is about 100 g;
  • animal ears are rounded.

The Dormouse is a nocturnal animal, so most of the day she will sleep. Animals live such short time – from 3 to 5 years.

It is interesting to observe the movements of Sony on the branches of trees, because this small rodent very agile and able to jump a distance of 10 m.

Where to buy this animal

Hazel Dormouse – and not so exotic animal, so you can buy in any pet store, as well as in the poultry market or even from the hands of the breeders. On the Internet you can often find ads from individuals on the sale of this rodent.

By the way, buying Sonya hand, you must exercise caution: it is possible that this species was caught in the forest, there is therefore the risk that it may bite its master and to bring him some kind of infection.

But if the kid is very timid and not aggressive, so he was born in captivity, and this can continue to teach.

The average for Sonia will need to pay about 1000 rubles.

How to keep the animal at home

Before buying the animal, you need to take care of his future home. For Sony perfect cell sizes 100х200х50 cm with lots of ladders, shelves and houses inside it. Also, in the cell you can set the ropes so that the animal was climbing, and running wheel, which like all rodents, without exception.

Round cells for these animals do not fit at all. Sonia is best to keep in a standard square or rectangular cell. It is important that it was spacious and with a lot of attributes to the active life of the animal.

The first time hazel Dormouse will exercise the utmost caution in its new home, and that’s fine, so don’t worry and think that with an animal something is wrong. Over time, it adapts to the cage will examine all the ladders, look at the houses and the wheel, then begin the usual for her active lifestyle. Hazel Dormouse by nature very active, so very soon she will start to climb ropes, to descend according to the established ladder down, then climb up, and this will be her main hobby.

Note: you should not release the animal from the cage and let him run around the apartment or house. It is a very agile rodents, so they will be very difficult to catch, besides a high risk that Sonia will be able to be stranded somewhere, something to cut or be caught by other Pets (e.g. cat).

Hazel rodent feels great in isolation, but it also can be kept in pairs. It should be remembered that such animals within one cell can live either in a couple or a family. To put on the same territory for two couples or even two families is fraught with rodents: the hazel Sony will not tolerate competition and will forever fight among themselves.

These rodents are very prolific, so start them a couple, you need to be ready for a permanent litter. If there is no purpose breeding oreshnikova dormice, you should keep all species separate from each other.

Sony – not the most cleanly animals, so in addition to the daily cleaning of the litter will need to conduct regular weekly cleaning of the whole cell, which involves washing bottom feeders, wires.

What to eat Sony

Food Sony is almost indistinguishable from the diet of any other rodent, it consists of these products:

  • nuts;
  • seeds;
  • the fruit of the trees;
  • fruits;
  • vegetables;
  • insects – perhaps the only contrast to other rodents.

It is very important that the animal always has clean and fresh water, so a water bowl should be cleaned and filled every day.

Every day Sonya is enough to eat about 40 grams of food, so these animals are very unwilling to overeating and weight gain.

A couple times a week this animal, you can buy special treats, for example:

  • ground grey likes plain bread and herbs;
  • red woody will appeal to ordinary eggs.
A few words about the breeding of rodents

These animals very quickly through puberty and already at 1 month old they can be reduced. The offspring they bring only once a year, and it’s usually in the spring. Pregnancy females occurs exactly one month, after which the little ones are born in the amount of 10 pieces approximately. As the Dormouse is a mammal, the youngsters will feed on mother’s milk. The feeding period is 3 weeks, after which stronger kids move on to independent feeding. After a week of self catering children become adults and can bring an offspring.

Interestingly, these rodents are very nurturing to their offspring, which involved not only the mother but also the father. So, such a family can be considered complete in all respects.

In the winter animals hibernate, that is why cells must be small warm house with sawdust and rags inside. Also, the cell itself in the cold season should be moved to a warm room. Thus, the rodents will sleep for about 3-4 months, and then, in the spring, will bring the offspring.

In the period before the winter and after should pay attention to the nutrition of the animal: it must be more nutritious and balanced.

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