# Garden dormouse (*Eliomys quercinus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/garden-dormouse  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) is a small rodent in the family Gliridae, subfamily Leithiinae, within the order Rodentia of the class Mammalia. It has an adult body mass of 115 g, is nocturnal and has a scansorial lifestyle. Its diet category is carnivore, while its trophic level is given as omnivore. The species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in a global assessment, an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 115 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 5.5 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 23 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.99 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months – 18 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.2 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Scansorial |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Rodentia
- family: Gliridae
- genus: Eliomys
- species: *Eliomys quercinus* (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms: *Eliomys cincticauda*, *Eliomys gotthardus*, *Eliomys gymnesicus*, *Eliomys hamiltoni*, *Eliomys hortualis*, *Eliomys jurassicus*, *Eliomys nitela*, *Eliomys nitela lusitanica*, *Eliomys ophiusae*, *Eliomys pallidus*, *Eliomys quercinus dichrurus*, *Eliomys quercinus gotthardus*, *Eliomys quercinus gymnesicus*, *Eliomys quercinus jurrasicus*, *Eliomys quercinus liparensis*, *Eliomys quercinus lusitanicus*, *Eliomys quercinus ophiusae*, *Eliomys quercinus quercinus*, *Eliomys quercinus räticus*, *Eliomys quercinus sardus*, *Eliomys quercinus superans*, *Eliomys quercinus valverdei*, *Eliomys sardus*, *Eliomys superans*, *Mus quercinus*, *Myoxus nitela*, *Myoxus nitela amori*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the garden dormouse?

The garden dormouse is a rodent, a mammal in the family Gliridae and the order Rodentia.

### How heavy is a garden dormouse?

An adult garden dormouse has a body mass of 115 g, which places it in the small size class.

### What does the garden dormouse eat?

Its diet category is carnivore, and its trophic level is given as omnivore.

### Is the garden dormouse endangered?

The garden dormouse is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does a garden dormouse live?

The garden dormouse has a lifespan of 5.5 years.

### How many young does a garden dormouse have?

The garden dormouse has 5 young per litter and 1.2 litters per year, after a gestation period of 23 days.

### When does a garden dormouse reach sexual maturity?

It reaches sexual maturity at 1.2 years, with reported values from 1.0 to 1.5 years.

### Who named the garden dormouse?

The garden dormouse, Eliomys quercinus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1766).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/garden-dormouse