Domestic mouse surviving in the wild?

Question

Would a domestic mouse (like the fancy mice you buy at pet stores) be able to survive if released to the wild? Are its instincts still strong enough for it to be able to survive, or has it been too changed by domestication?

And no, I don't want to try it. I'm just curious as to how drastically domestication has changed the mouse's chance of survival in the wild.

Answer 1

They don't have the greatest survival skills, and also their colorings prevent them from blending into any natural background. Unless they are similarly colored to a field mouse (brownish) they won't last too long.

Answer 2

Probably it would not because it would not know how to hide properly and would quickly become a food source for all kinds of animals.

Answer 3

I'd say it would survive pretty well. Mice are opportunists. they eat basically anything. Of course, if it were white, it would be more easily seen by predators, but then again, there is an albino squirrel at my local park that has survived two years - not bad for a squirrel, so the mouse could easily do the same for 6 months - average lifespan for a wild mouse. Mice are minimally changed by domestication. I had a pet mouse that had babies, which escaped from a small crack in the cage that their mother had never been able to squeeze out of, and they quickly became wild. I ended up having to catch them the old fashioned way.

Answer 4

yes they can

Answer 5

If it found some other mice you can bet it'd adapt pretty quickly and start raising little mice. That's the reason mice are everywhere that people are: they adapt.