pridecity
Patients took over asylum
For those who have been reading the "Good Day" and "Bad Day" threads, you may know that yesterday I "rescued" seven young mice from my friend's warehouse. I'm still hoping none of them got into the poison and I'm still upset knowing there are two or three more loose in the main part of the warehouse. I'll probably never see them again, but I hate knowing I split up the nest.
I did manage to catch seven of the 9, 10, or 11 that were nesting in the very expensive rug my friend is upset about. They all seem active enough. I have them in their original nest bedding, plus I changed out half for some nice timothy hay. I'm hoping to release them into the wild when it's warm out again, but I'm thinking they might be too young for it.
They have a collective weight of 53g, so each has an average weight of 7.5g. I guess that would make them "regular fuzzies" according to the Munson Plan. By sight, I was hoping they were hoppers and fully weaned. I don't know much about mice seeing as my breeding adventure turned into a disaster. So, I have a few questions.
1. Being roughly 7.5g each, are they not eating solid food yet? Should I get some sort of milk replacement? If so, which kind? I've heard both puppy and kitten.
2. Do you think they would be "better off" trying to raise them to be wild or accept that I've acquired new pets? Please state reasons. My thinking is that at such a young age, they will probably lose some skills the family would have taught them and not survive in the wild.
3. I've read about the diseases they can transmit. Do you think keeping the bedding clean and washing hands after will be enough? I mean, they had overrun the warehouse and my friend isn't sick. So, if I have less then half of what was in the warehouse, should I worry? I'm healthy enough.
4. I plan on keeping these guys until April at least, possibly even until May. Whether they become pets or not, I'm planning on building something similar to the mouse release shelter described here: http://mouseranch.com/FYI/releaseShelter.html
I figure that they will never be your tame mouse either way. Just like the ants I'm dealing with, I assume I can only do what I can and leave them be as much as possible (of course, with the ants, I'm trying to kill them).
5. I fully expect to lose some via poison because the day before my friend had set out De-Con. However, they all look active enough and one was curious enough not to hide right away when I but them back in their shoebox. One has a bit of a squinty look to him compared to the others. I assume this one is sick with something. What is your opinion?
I guess that's it for now. I'll have to take pictures in the next couple days. They are your typical wild mouse with brown coat. Cute, smart, but overall not as pretty as some of the feeders some breed here on CS.
I did manage to catch seven of the 9, 10, or 11 that were nesting in the very expensive rug my friend is upset about. They all seem active enough. I have them in their original nest bedding, plus I changed out half for some nice timothy hay. I'm hoping to release them into the wild when it's warm out again, but I'm thinking they might be too young for it.
They have a collective weight of 53g, so each has an average weight of 7.5g. I guess that would make them "regular fuzzies" according to the Munson Plan. By sight, I was hoping they were hoppers and fully weaned. I don't know much about mice seeing as my breeding adventure turned into a disaster. So, I have a few questions.
1. Being roughly 7.5g each, are they not eating solid food yet? Should I get some sort of milk replacement? If so, which kind? I've heard both puppy and kitten.
2. Do you think they would be "better off" trying to raise them to be wild or accept that I've acquired new pets? Please state reasons. My thinking is that at such a young age, they will probably lose some skills the family would have taught them and not survive in the wild.
3. I've read about the diseases they can transmit. Do you think keeping the bedding clean and washing hands after will be enough? I mean, they had overrun the warehouse and my friend isn't sick. So, if I have less then half of what was in the warehouse, should I worry? I'm healthy enough.
4. I plan on keeping these guys until April at least, possibly even until May. Whether they become pets or not, I'm planning on building something similar to the mouse release shelter described here: http://mouseranch.com/FYI/releaseShelter.html
I figure that they will never be your tame mouse either way. Just like the ants I'm dealing with, I assume I can only do what I can and leave them be as much as possible (of course, with the ants, I'm trying to kill them).
5. I fully expect to lose some via poison because the day before my friend had set out De-Con. However, they all look active enough and one was curious enough not to hide right away when I but them back in their shoebox. One has a bit of a squinty look to him compared to the others. I assume this one is sick with something. What is your opinion?
I guess that's it for now. I'll have to take pictures in the next couple days. They are your typical wild mouse with brown coat. Cute, smart, but overall not as pretty as some of the feeders some breed here on CS.
