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sg
AnonyMouse
11/10/2005
00:41:50
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 Subject: Mouse Story & Questions
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My girlfriend and I found a deer mouse on our way home one night (there was a cat in the middle of the road, and a mouse frozen in front of it). I got out of the car and scooped the mouse up (and the cat, too, actually, since it wouldn't get out of the road), put the cat on the sidewalk and took the mouse home. The mouse (who we named Margot) was an adult and had an injured foot that noticeably hung limp, so we didn't feel comfortable letting her go. We got her all set up in an glass tank and she built her little nest in the corner, and a few weeks later we lifted up the bedding to check on her and found a pile of squirmy little babies. (Four total.) Surprise!
We read a bunch online and tried to figure out the best things to do, and when they got to be a little over a month old and we saw them eating solid food, we bought them all separate tanks and split them up. (NO MORE BABIES. I hated to do it because they were so cute together, but I didn't want to risk sexing them incorrectly. Also, issues with holding them still enough to be able to look at anything. See below.) They've been on their own for about a week now and they seem to be doing okay. However, none of them are friendly and tend to sneak back into their nests within a few minutes of us entering a room. (We wanted to handle them as babies, but we were terrified of making the mother abandon them. So we waited too long - meaning, they were old enough to run, squirm, and bite hard.)
My biggest worry right now is about the mother mouse, Margot - she spends all of her time either in her nest or running frantically on her wheel. Also, three nights this week she's made these really sad-sounding high pitched noises that remind me of the call one of her babies made when it got out of the nest for the first time. I don't know how to describe the sound, but it makes me wake up in the middle of the night. (We live in a studio, so I can hear all of the mice all night, heh.) My girlfriend suggested that maybe she was calling out for her babies?
Her foot seems completely healed, as far as I can tell, so we're worried that we're doing the wrong thing by keeping her. (I wouldn't be able to let the babies go, however, because I have doubts as to how long they would survive without having been trained by mom on how to live "in the wild" - also, there are cats and owls and so on.) I read some of the other posts here... maybe I should get her a fancy mouse as a friend - or at least try it? If they don't get along I could always try introducing it to one of the babies, I guess.
Also, I'm really concerned about the mice getting bored. They have wheels and toilet paper tubes and seem to enjoy those, but I'd like to make their lives as entertaining as possible, especially since they won't allow themselves to be handled.
I sound like I'm fretting a lot, but it's just because I love these little things so much. When they're brave enough to let us watch them play, or we get home late and flick on a light to see everybody out, it's so cute I can hardly stand it. I'm very glad we have them and want to take care of them the best that I can, and I appreciate having this board available. Thank you!
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paul
AnonyMouse
11/10/2005
12:51:45
| RE: Mouse Story & Questions
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hi sg,
Thank you for you concern and interest in deer mice. That is quite a story. I'll try to answer some of your questions, but I don't have the time right now to go into much detail.
As for both the mournful sounds from Margot and all of them getting bored, mice are social animals and really need companionship. If you trap a mother mouse with babies in the nest, she will try franticly to escape to get back to her babies. It's strange, but others (mice without babies) usually seem to settle down and make themselves at home when captured.
As for having more babies, it is unlikely that they will mate before the end of the year. This is not a guarantee, but it's a small risk and I would probably keep them together until Christmas, myself. I have kept mixed sexes together through the spring with no breeding, that was a bit risky. Ann Vole claims that large groups kept in captivity will not breed, again there is no guarantee.
There are a few ways you can get a look at them for sexing. One is to grab them by the tail and lift their rear end up to get a look, if you can. Another is to catch them (in a toilet paper tube, etc) and place them in a clear plastic carrier (or bottle) and look at them from below. See Rilla's site for deer mouse sexing pictures (http://www.spiritdancers.org/rilla/mousesex.htm).
As for taming, that is best done at 2 weeks of age. It's difficult to tame a baby with a wild mom present, she has too much influence, but she can be tamed to some extent also. The best way to tame them is to talk softly to them, the same way you'd talk to most any pet except even softer as they are wild. The really need to get accustomed to you. You can also hand feed them treats. Don't give the treat unless they take it from your hand. Once the first one takes a treat, they will probably all follow the lead in a couple of days. It takes a lot of time to tame them, just keep at it.
You could consider releasing them. They can be released in a manner that will let them adjust to the wild. Cats, owls and other dangers are just part of being a wild mouse. There is no problem with keeping them either, but you will need to care for them for about 4 to 6 years.
I'll be glad to expand on any of this a little later. Let me know.
paul
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