How far do mice run? - briefly
Laboratory mice usually run between 1 km and 2 km each night within a standard cage, while wild individuals may travel up to 5 km while foraging. These distances reflect the species’ high aerobic capacity and natural exploratory behavior.
How far do mice run? - in detail
Mice display a wide range of locomotor activity depending on environment, species, age, and experimental conditions. In laboratory settings, voluntary wheel running provides the most reliable metric. Adult laboratory mice typically log 3–6 km per night when given unrestricted access to a running wheel; peak nightly totals can exceed 10 km for highly active strains such as C57BL/6. Juvenile mice run less, averaging 1–2 km per night, while aged individuals often fall below 1 km.
In natural habitats, movement patterns differ. Field studies of house mice (Mus musculus) in grain storage facilities report average daily traverses of 0.5–1 km, driven by foraging and predator avoidance. Wild woodland mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) cover 1–2 km per day when navigating heterogeneous terrain, with occasional bursts of 5 km during dispersal events.
Key factors influencing distance:
- Genotype: Selective breeding for high activity (e.g., high‑wheel‑running lines) yields greater nightly totals than standard laboratory strains.
- Sex: Males generally run longer distances than females, particularly during mating seasons.
- Age: Locomotor output declines sharply after six months of age.
- Environmental enrichment: Access to tunnels, nesting material, and complex substrates increases overall movement compared with barren cages.
- Circadian rhythm: Activity peaks during the dark phase; light exposure suppresses running.
Measurement techniques include wheel revolutions (converted to linear distance), infrared beam break counts in open‑field arenas, and GPS‑based tracking for free‑ranging populations. Data from these methods converge on the conclusion that, under optimal conditions, a mouse can sustain several kilometers of voluntary movement each night, while in the wild, daily ranges are typically under two kilometers.