RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Fri Jun 20, 2003 2:55 am

The other day, in a driving rainstorm, I was inching along on the interstate in 22 miles of traffic jam when I spotted a little furry thing in the road ahead of me. Since traffic was moving along at a parking lot's pace, I jumped out of my car and found a sodden, confused little mouse. After chasing it around my car a bit, and thanks to the guy in the van behind me who pointed out the mouse had started walking up the dotted white line, I managed to pick up the poor thing and put her in a cooler I had in my trunk. When I got to work I put bedding, food, and water in for her. She dried out, appears unharmed, and is fit as a fiddle. I'm 99% sure she's a deer mouse, after looking up online field guides. These same guides said that they mostly don't live beyond one season, as they're highly predated, but can live up to five years (!) in captivity. I had certainly intended to let her go, but now I'm not so sure. Also, I can't in good conscience let her go back where she was, as there was only the barest strip of weeds by the highway. I worried she may have pups to nurse, but the guides said her nipples could be seen if that were the case, and I don't see them. Anyway, I wanted to get your feedback on this, plus any thoughts if I could or should put her in with my current mouse, Ashley. (Who, by the way, is recovering well from her itchies).

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Toni & the Little Ratscals

Fri Jun 20, 2003 3:30 am

Wild mouse rescue - what fun! I will soon have had Charlie for a year and he seems very happy. Apparently wood mice rarely live more than a few months in the wild, because of predation and other hazards.

I'm glad Ashley is recovering from her itchies. What kind of mouse is she? I remember you said something about her being a wild mouse when you first got her, but I wasn't sure if she actually is. I would be concerned about mixing her with your new mouse if they are different species (but I don't really know - maybe Monique can help with that).

I think you will need to be careful about quarantine, because deer mice can carry some viruses (I read something about hantavirus) though I suspect that they rarely do.
Good luck with your mousie. I suppose I should tell you to release her, but I can't really, because I didn't release Charlie.

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Linda and the RMDs

Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. We remain responsible forever, for what we have tamed.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Fri Jun 20, 2003 3:55 pm

Oh, my gosh- what a moot point this turned out to be! I was getting a fishtank ready to transfer her to (she was still in the cooler) because the weather forecast is for more flood-like conditions, so I figured she's gonna have to stay with me for a few more days, at least. I went to the garage to retrieve her and she made her own decision- she had escaped. (The cooler was only open a crack for air circulation, and the reason she was in the garage is so no potential diseases would spread to my little ones.) I left the food & water, and the garage door open enough for her to leave if she chooses to. Oh, well- I guess it ended the way it was supposed to.

BTW, I found a little website by someone who keeps deermice as pets, if anybody is interested- mouseranch.com.

Regarding Ashley- my vet said she was a domestic mouse, not a housemouse or wild mouse of any kind. She said she's seen "pet shop" mice in wild mouse colors, and Ashley wouldn't be so friendly if she was wild.

Thanks, Linda, for your reply. I was close to keeping her, but apparently, she did what she wanted to do.

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Toni & the Little Ratscals

Fri Jun 20, 2003 5:21 pm

mouseranch.com - I found that site when I was first looking for info after I acquired Charlie and I was desperately trying to remember what it was when I was replying to your post, but my brains deserted me!

Ah well, hopefully your little escapee has found herself somewhere a lot safer to stay than where she was when you found her, so you have still done her a favour. I know that when I went shopping for a tank for Charlie, I had to reject most of them because they provided spaces that he could squeeze out of - they really can get through the tiniest cracks. Rolling Eyes

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Linda and the RMDs

Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. We remain responsible forever, for what we have tamed.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.