The common African fat mouse is a small rodent that lives in the savannas of Africa. It accumulates a lot of fat in its body and especially in its tail to survive dry seasons without food.
The fat mouse differs from other rodents by a large fat reserve in the tail and body. It is important for nature as prey for predators and as an animal that disperses plant seeds.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
Tail size
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Hot winter with almost no precipitation
Heavy rains in summer
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
very heavy rains in summer, almost no precipitation in winter
adult
Maturity
insects
About health
milk
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
seeds of cereals and meadow grasses
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Upcoming birthdays
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
in a burrow
Height
16 to 24 grams, 7 – 12 centimeters
tubers
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
tubers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
in a terrestrial nest
leaves
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
Pets
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
Eyes size
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
Tail color
drink mother's milk in childhood
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
steppe
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
normal sexual
nocturnal ground foraging and catching
Taxons
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
rest
Fur color
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
nocturnal
The basics
climbing
hibernation
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
burrow
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
winter dry and very warm
Plants
Gestation
Body size
land
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Always hot
No results found
On the map
grass seeds
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
protection from sun
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
world of Afrotropics
Duration
grass seeds
live insects
This is me
Foraging activity occurs primarily during nighttime hours.
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
underground tubers — potato, cyclamen, tulip
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Denotes a grassland or steppe habitat preference.
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Mandarin
embryo
Length
kg
Observations
◉{N} more on tap