A mouse story

We got the medicine for our sick seahorses yesterday and my dear husband put it in their tank, so now we wait.  I hope this stuff works and works fast! I thought there was nothing worse than a depressed seahorse until I had a sick one...or three.  I wonder how long before I know if it's working.

I checked on our little mouse today.  She has pulled the fur off her face on one side, all around her eye. She's a bit unsteady on her feet, but she's a little old lady now.  She'll be 2 years old in a couple weeks.  We've raised her from birth, we got her mother when she was pregnant.

Arcee

Oh, Arcee (the mother) was a beautiful mouse!  she was white with red eyes and her fur had a shimmer to it like silver. In the photo she's face on so she looks a bit "Buddha" with a poochie belly, but she wasn't really. There were 2 other mice in the cage with Arcee.  Charlotte, that was one of our first mice ever brought into our family, and Priscilla.  They were a huge help to Arcee when the babies were born.  She had 10 of them and they all survived! I'm sure it was with their help.

the babies

We learned so much from watching them.  For instance, when Arcee fed them, she didn't lay on her side like any other animal I've seen.  She dug a hole in the bedding, put the babies in the hole, and stood over the top of it.

feeding the babies

Of course, after a while, they were too big and strong to stay in the hole and carried her around the cage while feeding.  She looked like she was body surfing at a rock concert.

Charlotte was old and half blind, but she cared for those babies like a grandmother.  She held them in her little arms and groomed them, she even went after them when they started to wander and brought them back to their little nest. It gave Arcee a much needed break from the babies. She'd feed them and go rest in the farthest corner away from them. Charlotte and Priscilla took care of the babies while she rested.

don't ya want to cuddle that tiny little belly?

After a couple weeks, their fur came in and we were disappointed to find that none of them were white, but a couple of them had a shimmer to their fur like their mother.  We observed that they split themselves into 2 groups of 5 quite often.  Oddly enough, the gray ones all stayed together and the brown ones all stayed together.

it's hard feeding 10 babies at once!

Once their eyes opened up they were much more mobile. They looked a bit awkward like they were all feet, but still adorably cute.  Charlotte would bring them solid food and let them try it.  They stopped feeding on Arcee so often, much to her relief!

Nermal, the cutest little mousie in the world!

one of the boys we rehomed

This is one we kept, the one we still have.  She was named "Nermal" after the cat on Garfield (the cutest kitten in the world) because our boy said she was the cutest little mousie in the world.  They all enjoyed scrambled eggs for a treat.

We can't all fit but we'll try!

They also all enjoyed running on the wheel, but none of them yet big enough to move it by themselves.  They managed to work together to get it moving if they all walked in the same direction, which was unusual because the re were always a few that wanted to go in the opposite direction so worked against each other.

I miss having babies.  Arcee died several weeks ago and Cocoa died a few months before that.  I was heartbroken over her.  Cocoa was "my" mouse. She was the sweetest little mouse, she came when called, she was a bit small, not a runt in my opinion, but small.  She didn't show any signs of illness or injury, I just found her dead one morning.  such is life. I live in fear of finding our "little old lady" dead.  It'll happen, and soon.  Our little prince will be heartbroken.  Nermal is his mouse, his favorite mouse ever.   We got rats because they are bigger, able to be cuddled, and live a bit longer.  Except of course when they're sick.  There I am on that subject again!  When Nermal dies we'll clean her cage and put it away.  We'll give the rats more treats, more cuddles, more love.  When Shaddous dies, and we fear it won't be long, we'll probably get another rat.  That'll help some.

Nermal's favorite pasttime

Nermal being cute

Nermal and Cocoa