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Photo: Phillip Horwood
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UK
Safari Tip:
Find out more about dormice and all the other British land mammals with
one of these special fold out ID charts - click here
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Latin name: Muscardinus avellanarius
Size: Approximately 70 mm long, and the thick furry tail is about the same length as the body. During the summer, adults weigh between 17 and 20 grams (about the same weight as two £1 coins). Before hibernation in autumn they almost double their weight.
Distribution: In England they are found mainly in the south from Cornwall to Kent, and northwards to Herefordshire and
Northamptonshire. They can be found throughout most of Wales, but not in Scotland.
Months seen: Dormice are active at night between April and October. In autumn, after the first frosts, they go into hibernation until spring.
Habitat: Dormice live in broad-leaved deciduous woodland and thick hedgerows. Dormice need a habitat containing a variety of trees and shrubs to ensure a continuous supply of food. Hazel, honeysuckle, bramble and oak provide most of their food sources.
Food: Nuts, fruit, flowers, pollen and insects.
Special features: Dormice usually have one, or sometimes two litters a year. There can be three or four young. They are normally born in early summer. Those born in late summer are unlikely to survive hibernation, as they do not have time to build up sufficient fat reserves to survive the cold weather.
Dormice love hazelnuts and open them while they are still green and on the tree. If you find a nut with a
perfectly round, smooth edged hole in the side, it's quite possible you're close to a dormouse nest.
Dormice can live for up to five years, which is longer than other small rodents.
An old English name for the dormouse is 'sleeper', in fact the word 'dormouse' literally means sleeping
mouse.
Did You Know? Dormice are a protected species and you need a special licence to handle them.
Whose nuts are these?
More Photos of Dormice
Photo of a hibernating dormouse
Photo of a dormouse nest
UK Safari Mammal Section
 Mammals
of Britain and Europe
This book details every species of mammal in Europe and in the seas around it.
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