Deer mouse questions: toys, water bottle

Question
QUESTION: Hi Natasha!  About three years ago, I found a baby deer mouse (eyes open) dehydrated and dying in my garaged.  Because I couldn't just let it die, I of course took it in and fed it KMR until it recuperated.  Elmer, as we call her (mistake identifying genitalia led to her name, LOL), was a little dehydrated this morning as she had spilled her water dish yesterday at some point and hadn't had enough to drink.

I took her out of the cage and syringe fed her some water with a little corn syrup in it to perk her up, and after that, she proceeded to eat a peanut.  Then, she bit me, HARD, barely breaking the skin but drawing the teensiest spot of blood that didn't even break the skin surface.  Boy, can they bite hard!  I took that as a sign she was feeling better and I detached her from my finger.  A few hours later she was running her wheel like normal.  

My questions are as follows:  A.) since I've had this mouse since she was a tiny pipsqueak and have been handling the cleaning of her cage since the beginning, do I need to be overly concerned about hantavirus? I have a small daughter whom I try to keep away from the cage at all times, especially when cleaning it.  I don't wear a mask, but I do wear gloves and wash afterward.  

B.) Because she bit me, should I be concerned about hanta or anything else?  I washed it immediately and drenched it in iodine.  It's a little red and it's sore, but it looks no worse than if I got a tiny cut.  And finally,

C.) Can I train her to use the water bottle?  Is there any way?  I don't want a repeat of this morning.  She looked terrible and I felt horrible.

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!

ANSWER: Dear Jes,

That's great that she has survived for three years! Mice usually don't make it past about 2 1/2.  I'm not sure she will be able to learn to use a water bottle at this age, though you can certainly try. Introduce her to it about twice a day.  However, there is another option that will make it easier for you. Just keep fresh vegetables in the cage such as carrot, celery, cucumber, or a slice of orange.  Then if she tips over her water, she'll have plenty of fluid. You can even leave her for a weekend without worrying that way.  She can actually get all of her fluids that way, but she probably prefers the convenience of a water dish. When I have a wild mouse I can't handle, as when I am housing an unexpected guest for the winter until I can set it free, I only use fruit and vegetables because it's far easier to handle.

As for hantavirus, I would of course be remiss if I told you it's impossible.  However, it's very highly unlikely that she has it.  If you actually did contract the virus, you would feel that you were suffering from a terrible flu in about two weeks.  If that should happen, just tell your doctor you had contact with a wild mouse.  I wouldn't worry about it at all if I were you, but at least you know what to watch for.  I honestly don't know if one would see signs of hantavirus during the lifetime of a mouse-- would it get sick?-- but it's very unlikely.

Thank you for saving the little thing!

squeaks,

Natasha

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, Natasha, for all of your help.  I've read that deer mice can live up to eight years, and she seems pretty hardy despite this last incident! I have been giving her fruits and veggies, but will take that advice about leaving some in her cage when I go away.  She's never spilled her water before, but after this, I'll be a wreck leaving her for any length of time without two dishes and some orange and celery for added protection!  LOL

Do you think it would work to maybe put a dab of yogurt or peanut butter on the water bottle tube every day to entice her to lick it?

I've done a lot of reading on hantavirus but haven't found much about domesticated deer mice as pets and hantavirus risks/transmissions.  My state hasn't had many reported cases, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.  I figure I've been stirring up dust particles from her cage for three years...if I was going to get hanta, I probably would have by now!  I must admit, though, had I known that risk, I may not have rescued the little thing, as much as I would have wanted to.  So she's lucky I was ignorant on the topic, LOL!

I wanted to also quickly ask you about enrichment.  She has a wheel, and I switch out her little homes every few months so she has a new environment, but was curious as to other "toys" I might give her.  She's not big on toilet paper tubes, this I do know!

Thank you again!
Jes

Answer
Dear Jes,

Thank you for the information on the lifespan of a deer mouse... I never would have guessed.  There's no reason for nature to make wild mice able to live long, since they generally don't live more than a year in the wild due to predators, so it surprises me that their genetics are so generous!!

I forgot to tell you one important fact about hantavirus:  It is NOT transmissible through gestation or birth.  Thus an infant pup doesn't come into the world with it.  I'm pretty sure they can't get it through nursing either, especially if transmission is usually through the air.  I've only seen one site that even says humans can get it through a bite, though one source is enough to make one cautious.   

Putting a bit of food on the water bottle is ingenious : )) If you don't want to take out her water dish completely yet, take it out for a period of about 8 hours once a day so that when she discovers that she can get water from the yummy water spout, she'll want it.  

I'm surprised that she doesn't like toilet paper rolls.  I wonder if they are too big for her to feel safe in them the way a pet mouse does.  You might try a piece of the size cardboard tube you get in wrapping paper.  If it feels like a waste to buy the gift paper for that, just think what toys cost... and fold it up for later!!  Another easy toy is a section of a cardboard egg carton.  I don't recommend the styrofoam ones because although the little bits wouldn't poison her, they might clog up her system.  Another is a small stuffed cat toy with a hole cut in it and the squeaker taken out (no catnip though!).  If the stuffing isn't pleasant, take it out and stuff it with something she will want to pull out and nest with, like bits of cloth or yarn, or even kleenex or paper towel.  Right now my "kids" have a small cardboard structure from the packaging of something, a toy whale that was stuffed with pieces from a fuzzy sock, a corn cob with the husk attached from the Fall, which they still chew on excitedly, two fake logs, and (spoiled!) one wheel each.  Pet mice also like to climb bird ladders, and many hamster toys are appropriate as well.  One of the logs they have is of a chewable material, and came stuffed with hay on one side and seeds on the other, from Petco.  It's small in diameter and might be the right size for your mouse.  While I'm mentioning Petco, the Petco brand plastic water bottle is the best I have found.  Another climbing toy I have used is something complicated (hollow tree with places to go through, pirate ship) that is made for a fish tank.  It's a little expensive to get something really fun, though; but it makes for great photo opportunities!!  Make sure you take the plastic parts off.

Let me know what she likes, and how the water bottle trick works.  I have no personal experience in wild mice at all, so the advice I give is culled from other sources.  Having bottle raised a tiny rescued kitten recently, I can only imagine the amount of work it must have been to save her (although I had to bottle feed him for 7 weeks)!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha