74 ANIMAL LIFE OF CARLSBAD CAVERN 



the night they returned to the cages and ran their 

 wheels, but in the morning had taken up new nest 

 quarters under the floor. They are such clean, bright- 

 eyed, pretty little animals that they make interesting 

 pets and would be very companionable, if not so shy 

 and nervous. In proper cages, with revolving wheels, 

 they are contented and happy and seem not to mind 

 temporary captivity. 



This mouse is about the size of the cave mouse but 

 has a longer and more hairy tail, larger ears, and 

 brighter color. 



GRASSHOPPER MICE 



Onychomys leucogaster ruidosae and Onychomys torridus 



(Fig. 24) 



No grasshopper mice were collected near the cave, 

 but specimens of the larger ruidosae have been taken 

 on Penasco Creek, a little farther north, and the smaller 

 torridus is common in Pecos Valley near Carlsbad, while 

 the easily recognized jaws of both species were found in 

 considerable numbers under the owl nests in the mouth 

 of the great cavern. These big owls are extremely 

 industrious and efficient collectors of small mammals, 

 and while their specimens are not labeled for exact 

 localities, they were doubtless gathered within a radius 

 of a few miles of the cave, and furnish a good index to 

 the species of the vicinity. 



These sturdy, short-tailed little mice, while true 

 rodents, are largely insectivorous and carnivorous in 

 tastes and habits, sleeping by day in burrows in the 



