need advice on care

Question
The other day i had rescued a little vole from my cat and put him in one f my old slippers i tried to release him but he didnt want to leave so i decided to keep him i want to make his life great so i was wondering if you could answer some questions.

- are there any potential health hazards having them as pets?
- what do they like to eat?
- What could i put in his cage that he could play with?
- What kinds of things make voles happy?

Answer
Dear Tabby and Beanie,

I got lucky one day and someone sent me this:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2009/12/voles-1.htm

The only question not answered is to hazards.

The main disease people need to worry about from animals is rabies, and that is extremely unlikely, since a vole bit by a creature with rabies will die from the bite or get eaten. Also if there is no rabies epidemic where you live, it is even more unlikely.


When I research I find a few people saying "voles carry diseases" but I think that is pretty much fear mongering since no one seems to know which diseases. People freak out about things like the plague, which is really stupid unless the plague is already in town. Voles and mice aren't just born with it. There is a rare disease called hantavirus which wild field mice can carry in the Southwest of the US, but voles do not carry it in the US. Of course maybe you are not in the US.

Of course you want to avoid being bitten, because any bite-- even and especially human bites- can get infected. You would of course treat a bite with hydrogen peroxide and use an antibiotic cream, like any bite.

The worst hazard is a broken heart-- voles have very short lives, maybe six months...

So my answer is, I would keep it. But I can't guarantee its safety just because I never do, because someday I could get sued!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha