I want a pet wild mouse

Question
QUESTION: I rescued a mouse yesterday from my cat and i need to know how to tell if it has rabies or something that could harm me or her in any way and how can i tell if she (or he) is male or female and should i try to catch her a friend if she needs one and if she has no diseases. Also tips on her age and car would be great.

thank you in advance,
Daisy:)

ANSWER: Dear Daisy,

There has never been a case of rabies transmission from a mouse to a person, so you don't have to worry about that.  For a description of another extremely unlikely mouse illness, see:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/8/hantavirus-wild-mice.htm

However, you certainly don't want a wild mouse to bite you.  Use gloves when handling the mouse until it becomes quite tame.

The worst thing to worry about is whether the mouse will die of infection from the cat's mouth.  I address this in the following post:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/4/mouse-injured-cat.htm

and here is a very recent answer about keeping little wild mice as pets:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/9/raising-wild-mouse-pet.htm

If these don't answer your questions, please write back and I will be happy to help you further.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha





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

QUESTION: Well i guess it doesn't matter if it had an infection or anything else because it jumped out of its make shift cadge while i was giving it water:(  i really miss it even though it was scared of me. do you think there is any possible way for me to catch another one or will i have too go mouseless until i move out of my house?  I'm grateful for any advice.

Daisy

Answer
Dear Daisy,

Wild mice are really a lot happier in the wild than in a cage even if they are beloved pets.  Tame mice, however, have been bred for generations to live happily in cages and to be tame and sweet pets.  You can hold a tame mouse and pet it and keep it on your shoulder once you've gotten to know it.  It will whisper in your ear and wrap its tail around your fingers. In short, it will be the most adorable critter to watch with the bonus of being a truly delightful pet as well.

You can get a pair or trio of female mice or a single male mouse either at a pet store or from a mouse rescue organization.  The mice are rescued from bad homes and they are trained and loved by good people until they are ready to be excellent pets.  I adopted a rabbit this way and I do not think there could be a rabbit in the world as clever and wonderful as this one.  You can write to this address to ask about mice in need of adoption:

justmare111@aol.com

If you go to a pet store make sure it is clean and the animals seem to be healthy and not overcrowded. If there are sick or even dead mice in the cage-- or any animals in any other cage-- then it is not a good pet store and the quality of the mice may be very poor.  The reason I suggest three mice (maybe too overwhelming a start) is that mice are very social and want companionship; and I always make sure I have three because when one dies, the other two have each other.  However, it's fine to have two mice if you are quick to replace one or give the other lots of extra love if its friend dies.  I mention one male because males unfortunately rarely get along with other males unless they are littermates who have never been separated.  Thus a male mouse leads a lonelier life than the friendly female.  He needs an awful lot of extra people love to make up for this.  It really isn't his fault:  He just wants a far bigger territory than one small cage.  Males are also a bit smellier than females, so the cage has to be cleaned more often.  

Thus there is no need at all to go mouseless!  I try to go mouseless as infrequently as possible, and it only happens when I move from one country to another, because mice are strictly forbidden on any airplane.  

If you decide to adopt or buy a mouse, there are many questions and answers in my archives (click on 'see past answers' by my name) about all sorts of topics, and your questions will always be welcome.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha