It is hard to guess what a Forest dormouse weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula) on average weights 29 grams (0.06 lbs).
The Forest dormouse is from the family Myoxidae (genus: Dryomys). It is usually born with about 1 grams (0 lbs). They can live for up to 4 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 10.5 cm (0′ 5″). On average, Forest dormouses can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 3.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula) is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae found in eastern Europe, the Balkans and parts of western Central Asia. It is categorized as being of least concern in the IUCN List of Threatened Species due to its wide range and stable population trend. Forest dormice have a diploid count (2n) of 48 chromosomes. Even though this species lives in a variety of geographic locations, its greatest population density is in the forests of central Moldova, in Transcaucasia, and in the mountains of Central Asia. In most other locations, population density of this species is rather low. Population density is dependent on many factors. But the main features that this species depends on for choosing a location are the presence of the appropriate food sources as well as good foliage that can be used for a habitat. The reason why the forests in central Moldova have the highest population density is they provide the largest diversity of food sources which are available throughout the year. This location also provides the best type of foliage for the forest dormice to build their nests as well as swing from branches. The combination of both of these aspects allows for this species to have its highest needs met. Therefore, during mating season they produce offspring who also stay in the same general area when they mature. It makes sense not to move from an area if it is providing for your most basic needs.The common name for Eliomys is the garden dormouse. Dryomys are often compared to Eliomys as they have many similarities. However, Dryomys is smaller in size. Two more differences between the two are the braincase for Dryomys is more rounded and the auditory bullae is smaller than that of Eliomys. In addition, their tails are slightly different. The Dryomys’s tail is more uniform in color than that of Eliomys. The forest dormouse competes in artificial and natural nests with hazel dormice, fat dormice, and birds. Its biggest competitors are those species which eat similar types of food and who live in the same kind of habitat.
Animals of the same family as a Forest dormouse
We found other animals of the Myoxidae family:
- Kellen’s dormouse with 5 babies per litter
- Desert dormouse with a weight of 17 grams
- Christy’s dormouse with 5 babies per litter
- Edible dormouse with a weight of 128 grams
- Jentink’s dormouse with 3 babies per litter
- Spectacled dormouse with a weight of 68 grams
- Silent dormouse with 5 babies per litter
- Woodland dormouse with a weight of 20 grams
- Asian garden dormouse with a weight of 100 grams
- Rock dormouse with a weight of 46 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Forest dormouse
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Dryomys nitedula:
- Gray-tailed vole bringing 29 grams to the scale
- Northwestern deer mouse bringing 28 grams to the scale
- Kemp’s grass mouse bringing 26 grams to the scale
- Broad-headed spiny rat bringing 30 grams to the scale
- Flat-haired mouse bringing 29 grams to the scale
- Selangor pygmy flying squirrel bringing 30 grams to the scale
- Hairy-eared cerrado mouse bringing 24 grams to the scale
- Common noctule bringing 28 grams to the scale
- Puno grass mouse bringing 30 grams to the scale
- Oligoryzomys destructor bringing 25 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Forest dormouse
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Forest dormouse:
- Mottled-tailed shrew mouse with a size of 8.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Common fat-tailed mouse opossum with a size of 9.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Gray-bellied caenolestid with a size of 12.1 cm (0′ 5″)
- Prince Demidoff’s bushbaby with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- South African pouched mouse with a size of 11.7 cm (0′ 5″)
- Duthie’s golden mole with a size of 10 cm (0′ 4″)
- Singing vole with a size of 11.9 cm (0′ 5″)
- Mongolian gerbil with a size of 11.2 cm (0′ 5″)
- Dusky caenolestid with a size of 11.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Townsend’s mole with a size of 8.7 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Forest dormouse
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Forest dormouse:
- Hartwig’s soft-furred mouse
- Crosse’s shrew
- Desert cottontail
- Tibetan sand fox
- Little native mouse
- Anderson’s gerbil
- Mazama pocket gopher
- Cameroon soft-furred mouse
- Lesser dwarf shrew
- Royle’s pika
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Forest dormouse
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Forest dormouse:
- Common planigale with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Arctic lemming with an average maximal age of 3.75 years
- Northern pygmy mouse with an average maximal age of 3.25 years
- Günther’s vole with an average maximal age of 3.83 years
- Japanese mole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Yellow-necked mouse with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Northern common cuscus with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Smith’s vole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Aders’s duiker with an average maximal age of 4 years
- Field vole with an average maximal age of 3.25 years