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Bathing a Mouse

21 15:07:35

Question
Wood Mouse from the Sink
Wood Mouse from the Si  
Hi Natasha,

I know it's generally not advised to bathe a mouse, but I wonder if I should make an exception in this case.

The extreme cold weather this winter has drove a wood mouse into my home (either a Deer Mouse or a White Footed Mouse from what I can tell from pictures online, I know there's a hantavirus risk, I'm statistically not too concerned).

I found her in a live-trap I had forgotten about under my stove. It looks like she has been in there quite a while, and there is significant pee and poop build-up which has kindof mixed together into a pasty sludge she had to lie down in. The mouse is out of the trap now and in a laundry bin with some graham crackers and water and a toilet paper tube as I plan my next move, but she's soaked through with her own urine and smells awful.

Should I try something to help this? Or will she take care of it on her own if I let her be?




FYI:
I'll probably end up putting her in a terrarium where I have two other mice (a seven-month-old male half-wild house mouse who was born there...I call him "Kronos" because he ate all 12 of his siblings... and another wild female wood mouse who got herself trapped in my sink a few weeks ago.) The two had been cohabiting without incident since then, though the wood mouse managed to chew through the cage's ceiling and escape. The live-traps were set out because of that. I recaught her the next day, removed the second floor of the cage, and forgot about the rest of the traps...although, now I think I actually caught a different wood mouse last week...and the original wood mouse from the sink is the one I found today in bad shape.

I'd usually introduce them all in the laundry bin as "neutral territory" for them to meet...but don't know if that's a good idea with the current state the mouse is in.

Any advice is helpful, thanks a bunch!

Answer
Hi,

I hope the little thing is ok.. I got the message a day later so I figured you had figured something out. I hope the little thing is doing well.

Mice can meet in the cage if it has been so thoroughly cleaned it does not smell like the previous resident.

squeaks,

Natasha