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Alex
AnonyMouse
10/23/2005
21:57:05
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 Subject: Oh, baby, baby!
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My deermouse population has just risen from one to nine. Wow. It's funny really, because I've never had many encounters with wild mice until this year. Hmm.
But, anyway, we had some stacked wood by our driveway, and while unstacking it today, we found a big clump of leaves... hmmm... Obviously there is no way the wind or any other natural force could have put them in there. it was obvious that something had made our pile of boards a nice little home. We remove another board, and there's some chewed up yellow fluffy stuff, made into a nest. Well, yes, now we were sure we had guests, so I got an aquarium I had set up just in case I had caught any mice in my aunts camper and brought it out. when we lifted up the rest of the boards, there sat the mother, six babies attached to her, and obviously clinging on like there was no tomorrow, 'cause boy did she scurry and not one baby dropped off!
I caught her and put her in the aquarium.
Well, we figured we had caught the mice living in our wood.
But lo and behold, another mouse scurries across the boards and dives into the other side. Now, normally I would just have let him be... but I would have done the same with the mother and babies had their home not been under seige, and a squishing eminent if they were not removed. So I gave chase, and caught the other mouse. He seemed to be right at home with the others, so I figure he's the father... (Oh joy... that means I'll probably have more babies soon, huh?).
So, they're now sitting behind me, playing merrily among toilet paper tubes, wheels and 'funnels'. The babies are a little over two weeks, I'd guess. They have they're eyes open and move around a bit. But they're very tiny! (I can hardly believe that my Matty was that tiny when I first got him!)
Mama and Papa are a bit scared of me, but haven't tried to bite me, and they don't mind entirely too much if stroke them here and there, but they won't tolerate that for long.
Matty likes the babies, but I think he's quite afraid of the parents! When I was holding one of the babies, he crawled up my arm to my hand and started licking it! he did this several time actually, but gets all frantic if I put him anywhere near their cage.
I'm debating if I should release them back into the wild or keep them. I know I would like to keep atleast one baby as a friend for Matty though...
Is there anything else I should do to make these mice more comfortable? They seem to be enjoying the playthings I've put in with them (mainly the wheel, even the babies crawl all over it!)
And, should I perhaps not hold the babies? I doesn't seem to upset Mama all that much though, I think she's actually rather glad to be rid of them for awhile!
Thaaaaanks for any help you may offer!
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paul
AnonyMouse
10/30/2005
11:53:04
| RE: Oh, baby, baby!
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Hi Alex,
It sounds like the new guys are already pretty comfortable. I'd be a little concerned that there may soon be another litter of babies. Deer mice often have double litters, but I'm not sure if they would at this time of year.
As for releasing them, you probably could do that without too much problem at they came from outside. You sould still probably need to find them a sheltered area and provide some food. It's likely they still have food caches for the winter, but I sould expect it to take them a couple of days to adjust.
I don't see any problem with keeping 1 or 2 of the babies as a companion for Matty. If you keep them all you will need to seperate them, probably before the end of the year.
paul
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Alex
AnonyMouse
11/03/2005
18:34:21
| RE: Oh, baby, baby!
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Yep...they're all doing fabulous. But.... I think they have warbles... well, I'm pretty certain that they do. I don't know if I should remove them, or just let them come out. They're getting really big (the warbles). I don't know if anyone knows anything at all about warbles, but anything you do know would be very heplful. I used to remove warbles from our cats years ago, but they were a different kind.
Also, since they do have the warbles, (5 of the babies, and both of the parents, I think), I think it would be best to keep them until I can either remove the warbles, or until they drop off.
The two adults, who were very shy at first, now don't mind at all when I stick my hand in, and will sometimes even come up to see if I have a treat. They'll tolerate being petted a little bit, but they don't like being held.
And every single one of them LOVES the wheel. I mean, starting at about dusk, on till sunrise, it never stops. Sometimes there's just one on it, sometimes all of them are on it (on tops of it, in it, under it!). and if one stops running, he'll just get spun around by the others! It's quite funny.
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Alex
AnonyMouse
11/03/2005
23:17:11
| RE: Oh, baby, baby!
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Yeah...I'm %100 sure they have warbles. Two came out today. They were huge. One I watched come out, the other was MIA untill I found the babies practically attacking it. It was the same relative size as the first... but it looked like just a shell...like something hatched out of it (at this, I'm 'ooooh crap'). So, I've changed they're bedding and will burn it tomorrow.
Boy... are those things hard to squish though!
for those of you who want to see how big they are, I took a picture of the one before I squashed it, beside a AA battery. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v292/TamashiiShoujo/fa5a0173.gif (The quality is bad, so you can't see the warble in detail, but it gives you a size)
And to think that came out of a baby mouse!
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paul
AnonyMouse
11/04/2005
00:15:33
| RE: Oh, baby, baby!
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I would just let them come out on their own. If you want to know more about warbles, I have an article about them on my site. They are from a Rodent Bot Fly or Cuterebra fly. You can read about them here:
Cuterebra fly
paul
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