Leaving pet mice with pet sitter

Question
Hi Natasha

I know I haven't spoken to you in a while but that's because everything has been fine for a long time. I just have Bambi and Lunar now and although I was going to get another mouse, I decided not to because after Misty died Bambi and Lunar have become close friends and snuggle up to eachother and lick eachother and chase eachother round the cage and I didn't want to break up their lovely friendship by putting another strange mouse in there and I thought that they might reject the mouse and she might be lonely and scared coming into a strange cage with strange mice so I decided not to. I do also have great news, Bambi and Lunar are both completely tame, it took time but they seem to love me and when I put my hand in they will run to me and want to get on and sometimes when I try to put one of them down they cling on and don't want to get off and they trust me because they will easily take a treat from my hand, I truly adore them both and wouldn't sell them for all the money in the world.

Anyway I am a little bit worried about when I go on holiday because I've noticed that they will only come to me and seem terrified of anyone else, I know that this is because they've gotten used to my smell because I am the only one whose been taming them, if other people try to put their hand near them, they run away in fear but will come to me easily. when I go on holiday someone else will have to take care of them and I decided that whoever they are that they shouldn't try to handle them and just put some food in their cage but at home I normally take them out in the bath tub everyday and I normally go away for a week and they will miss coming out for their play time for a whole week and they won't let anyone else handle them but me.

Also I was worried that my mice will forget me and I will have to tame them all over again so do mice have good memories or will they foget me and will they be depressed without their play time and if so what do I do.

Well thanks for answering my questions :)

From Verity :D

Answer
Dear Verity,

You should get two new mice. A pair of little ones. It is never a good idea to have only two, because when one dies, the one left is not only sad over the loss of her only mouse friend, she is also lonely, which can lead to depression, illness, and even mites. And it completely solves the potential problem of someone being left out. Besides that, it also halves the pressure on a new mouse.

Your mice will not forget you after a week. They may even be excited when you return. They will be fine not being handled. My mice deal with this too. If I am only gone a week I don't even ask my partner to hold them (he is totally focused on the rats and probably doesn't even know how many mice we have). All that I ask is that he count them every day if possible. Just disturb the nest and peek.

I am so thrilled that they have become so tame and loving! Mice have such potential to be so wonderful. As for being afraid of strangers, maybe you can work on it. When you are with someone else you can hold them and let them sniff the other person. I don't think it will be long before they will climb on someone else's hands; but of course you must not let them be scared. What they will learn is that people that mommy trusts are OK. But of course if someone else was going to handle them, they would have to be introduced to the mice with you there, giving the mice a chance to know that this person is OK. You might practice having such a person even pick them up and hold them when you are out of the room.

Ah, the wonderful world of mice!

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha