This is my mouse. She doesn't have a real name. I call her Miss Mouses or Mousages...I don't know why; it just happens like that sometimes.She is a wild mouse that I saved from my son's cat. Unlike the other mice I've saved from Lily, this mouse is permanently maimed...she wobbles and falls over. She was only a baby when Lily got a hold of her. I was surprised she lived. I kept her because she is not capable of taking care of herself in the real world and because she is unable to jump to the roof of her house and chew a hole to escape. Her predecessors let me know they were ready to leave by trying to escape that way. (they were all released into the field across the street from me)
Wild mice are not like the mice you buy in a store. Notice how large her eyes are? That's for seeing in the dark. They do not drink from a water bottle with the sipper tube; they don't ever like to be touched and they are a hell of a lot faster moving!
I have never touched Miss Mouses...she's wild and she'll stay that way. But if I move slowly she is not afraid of my hand coming near her anymore. Move too fast, or startle her and she's gone before you can blink.
To clean her home I have to use gloves to remove most of the bedding, then I tip her house so that she slides into a smaller house. It's somewhat upsetting to her but not as much as it would be if I tried to pick her up.
I've read that wild mice usually have a life span of about 15 months. I think she's older than that now. Wild mice probably have a lot of things going against them. Miss Mouses only has Lily...who remembers she's around every once in awhile and tries to get her. Not gonna happen Lily!
I keep the mouse in my bathroom. I can leave the window open for fresh air and yet close the door so the cat can't get in. It works so far.
She eats seeds; raw peanuts; some pet mouse food (but never the colored garbage); small pieces of strawberry & blueberry (she loves berries!); slivers of cucumber and apple. She gets all her moisture from the fresh food she gets. They don't require a lot of water. I try to give her things that she might find in her wild world...small pieces of wood; some leaves & twigs but also the occasional empty t.paper tube. She doesn't hide in it however, she chews it up for bedding. And a lot of her extra food gets hidden too.
Overall she's interesting to watch and learn about; doesn't require a lot of work to maintain her; doesn't cost much to keep her and she will sometimes look right at me while I'm talking to her as if she's listening. That's very polite of her.
Several other mice were saved from Lily before Miss Mouses. They were all babies when saved and they were all injured...most of them bloodied up. I would put them in the mouse house and feed them. If they lived, (amazingly they all did) I'd care for them until they were old enough to live outside on their own. Then they were released into the field with a small pile of food. I'll never know for sure, but I like to believe they all made it. :)
