white mice in apartment

Question
After a few days away I came home to find two (I think) white mice in my apartment.  I didn't think it could possibly be a mouse at first, since I was immediately struck by the fact that something WHITE ran across the floor.  After many years of owning horses and working in restaurants I have seen my fair share of mice, but never anything this color.  I would hesitate to say they were albino since I didn't get too close a look, and I didn't notice a "pink" tone in the tails or eyes.  The first mouse I saw was small, about an inch long and almost "round" in body shape, I didn't even notice a tail.  The second was typical, maybe two inches, thin with a long tail.  They did not seemed very phased by my presence, kept repeatedly going about their business even though we are sharing a very small space (i.e. running under and around sofa I was sitting on.)  Is it possible that these are wild mice or do I have someone's lost pet/snake food?  I live in Boston and have been in the apartment seven years and have never had mice.  I don't want to harm them whether they are wild or not, but would be happy to ask wild mice to move elsewhere!  

Thank you for your help.


Answer
Hi!

From the sound of it, your newly discovered roommates are most likely escaped/abandoned pet mice. There are no white wild mice to my knowledge, and albinos are extremely rare - and two of them in the same room would just beat the odds to the next century and back. :-)

Capturing may either be pretty easy or extremely difficult, depending on how long they've been free. There are several tricks you can try, such as an empty bucket with peanuts or cheese in it (anything fattening with a strong scent), with a way in (ladder, 'bridge'), but no way out. Or a more hands-on solution of preparing a corner with no hiding places or a way to escape, and then chasing the mice into that corner.

Good luck!