Southern bog lemming

Southern bog lemming ( Synaptomys cooperi )

The southern bog lemming ( Synaptomys cooperi ), also Southern Lemming mouse, is one of the two types of bog lemmings ( Synaptomys ) and lives in eastern North America. The distribution area extends from southeastern Canada into the western Minnesota, south to the southwest of Kansas and east to north- east of North Carolina.

Features

The head -body length is 11 to 14 cm, added a 1.5 to 2.7 cm long tail. The weight range 14-42 grams. The back side is light to dark brown, the belly side silver gray. The animals have six teats, in contrast to their closest relatives, the Northern bog lemmings ( Synaptomys borealis), whose representatives have eight teats. They have wide orange incisors.

Way of life

Southern bog lemmings are mainly active at night and do not hibernate. They live mainly in vegetated with Sphagnum bogs, but also on grassland and forests in Canada. Main diet are grasses, sour grass plants, mosses, fruits, mushrooms, and tree barks, roots and shoots. Also invertebrates such as snails are occasionally eaten. In nature, the animals have a life span of seven to eight months. In captivity, a female two years and five months was old.

Reproduction

The mating season is spread over the whole year, if sufficient food is available. Most offspring are born in the great outdoors from April to September. After a gestation period 23-26 days the female gives birth to one to eight, on average three cubs. There will be two to three litters per year, in captivity up to six litters were observed at 22 weeks. The newborns weigh around 3.7 per gram. After about a week fur and incisors are well trained, after 10 to 11 days they open their eyes. The young are suckled for three weeks. At the age of five weeks, the males are capable of reproduction.