Podomys floridanus
Florida mouse

The Florida deer mouse lives only in the state of Florida as the name implies. The mouse is found in the southern and central regions of Florida, extending to northern peninsular Florida.

This mouse inhabits high, dry sandy ridges where black-jack oak, turkey oak, and scrub palmetto are abundant. (Booth 1971).

The color of the fur on the back ranges from a yellowish to light brown. The belly fur and underparts are white (Booth 1971). The ears are naked and relatively large. The feet are also exceptionally large for the size of the mouse. The hind feet average 26 mm. The feet have five pads where other deer mice have six. The body length of an adult Florida deer mouse ranges from 186mm to 221mm. The tail length ranges from 80mm to 100mm.

This mouse emits shrills and high pitched squeaks. When excited, Podomys floridanus thump the ground rapidly, producing a drumming noise with their front feet (Walker 1968). The mouse is primarily nocturnal resting in its nest during the day and venturing out at night to search for food. The Florida Mouse is almost exclusively a burrow dweller. It sometimes uses the burrow of the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). The burrow consists of a platform composed of leaves and Spanish moss.

Diet includes seeds, nuts, berries, fruits, insects, and other invertebrates.

The deer mice in general make very good laboratory test subjects. They are especially useful in physiological and genetic studies because they are clean, easily adjust to laboratory environment, are easily fed, and have a high reproductive rate

Podomys floridanus is also called Peromyscus floridanus in older publications.