Brownie the vole

Question
QUESTION: http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e52/0ctober_photos/?action=view¤t=BabyMo

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e52/0ctober_photos/?action=view¤t=BabyMo

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e52/0ctober_photos/?action=view¤t=BabyMo

Here are some pictures for you to look at. Let me know what you think Brownie looks like.

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e52/0ctober_photos/?action=view¤t=BabyMo

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e52/0ctober_photos/?action=view¤t=BabyMo

ANSWER: Dear Kate,

Brownie looks like a vole to me!  His ears don't stand up like a mouse and are too small for a mouse.  Also he seems to have a very short tail.  Mice have tails about the length of their bodies.  Adorable pictures!

So about voles becoming vicious.  What's the worst that could happen?  The worst is, Brownie, having been loved forever, decides to bite someone for no reason.  He has no germs at all that you didn't give him, so there's no chance of some horrible infection or disease (comparatively, your children's bites would be far more dangerous).  He has such a little mouth, it would barely hurt-- like a pinprick.  The worst thing about a mouse's bite is that it is unexpected and thus it is easy to drop the mouse.  And if he got bitey, he could just live in the cage and be handled less or with gloves.  But I doubt this will happen.

I think the best case scenario is far more likely:  Brownie remains the cutest, truest, sweetest little vole that anyone has ever met.  And you have a pet that no one else has and that's great for your kids to brag about!  (oh, and you too).

I wish I had a pet vole!!!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: Voles usually cam grow up to 16 cm. 5 of those cm is their tail the other 11 cm is their body. I wouldn't even know waht kind of cage to get him or anything. Do you know anyone that has a pet vole that I could ask questions?

Answer
Note to Kate Sept 13--

Dear Kate,

I just saw some voles yesterday and I see that some of them can get quite large (the size of a big fancy mouse).  Thus I was wrong in thinking Brownie would be necessarily smaller than a mouse (I may have been thinking about shrews, who are always smaller than mice).  However, all the advice is still true.  I'd love to know how Brownie is doing and whether you wrote to the other vole owner for advice!  You can start another thread and send me pictures if you have more!  Best of squeaks n giggles,
Natasha



Dear Kate,

Just treat him like a mouse.  You should probably not go for a wire cage, though; he may never grow into it (i.e., never be big enough not to be able to escape).  You can't put a baby mouse in a wire cage either.  And he may never be big enough for plastic tubing either;  I don't know if voles climb as well as mice.  But certainly he will be happy in a normal plastic or glass cage or aquarium.

WAIT--HOLD THE PRESSES-- I FOUND YOU A VOLE OWNER!!!  READ ON:

"I, too, have a pet vole. I rescued him from a torrential rainstorm at my home in Northern Florida. He lives in with my gerbil and my wild field mouse and they are a happy family. The vole is the cutest of three and has the most wonderful personality! PLEASE BE KIND TO VOLES - THEY ARE VERY VERY SMART! They are kind of like little dogs and can be trained to do things. My vole likes to sit on my shoulder and cuddle. He even takes care of my field mouse, who is a baby. They DO make wonderful pets and are no more harmful to yards than any other wild creature. After all, you probably built your house on top of what WAS their homeland. FYI to all vole-owners: they LOVE warm baths, pumpkins seeds and blueberries! Any other vole-owners, please contact me to make some vole-friends! :)
repralexi@gmail.com"

There is even an email address!!  However, don't expect his/her vole to still be alive.  Apparently they only live 3-6 months.  The smaller creatures are, the faster they go.  It's not easy to keep those tiny bodies warm enough to live very long, so their evolutionary strategy is reproduce, reproduce, reproduce!

Let Brownie at the computer mouse!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha