On the other hand, these animals are persecuted and killed around the globe due to being considered pests for a number of reasons: they consume stored grains their burrows often damage root crops these rodents move into homes, thus disturbing humans and finally, these mice carry multiple diseases that are very dangerous to humans.
On one hand, House mice are killed in large numbers in scientific research. Weaning occurs at 3 weeks old, and the age of sexual maturity is 5-7 weeks old. They attain their coat at 10 days old, opening their eyes by 14 days of age. Newborn babies of this species are blind and lack fur. Usually, the gestation period lasts 19-21 days in non-lactating females and longer - in lactating ones. The duration of pregnancy depends on whether the female is lactating or not. Moreover, there have been known cases of females, producing up to 14 litters in a single year. When conditions are favorable, females may yield as many as 5-10 litters per year, each one containing 3-12 young with an average of 5-6. Mating occurs year-round with a peak period, lasting from late spring to early autumn, especially in populations, inhabiting northern parts of their range. About 30% of individuals in the wild exhibit a polyandrous mating system, where each female has multiple mates during the breeding season. House mice have a polygynous mating system, which means that one male mates with multiple females. The tail is also used for balance when the mouse is climbing or running, or as a base when the animal stands on its hind legs (a behavior known as tripoding), and to convey information about the dominance status of an individual in encounters with other mice. Tail length varies according to the environmental temperature of the mouse during postnatal development, so mice living in colder regions tend to have shorter tails. The tail, which is used for balance, has only a thin covering of hair as it is the main peripheral organ of heat loss in thermoregulation along with the hairless parts of the paws and ears. The hind feet are short, only 15-19 mm (9⁄16-3⁄4 in) long the normal gait is run with a stride of about 4.5 cm (1+3⁄4 in), though they can jump vertically up to 45 cm (18 in). They have short hair and some, but not all, subspecies have light bellies. In the wild House mice vary in color from grey and light brown to black (individual hairs are actually agouti colored), but domesticated fancy mice and laboratory mice are produced in many colors ranging from white to champagne to black.
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