# wild mice?



## cami (Jan 27, 2013)

So a couple of days ago we found evidence of mice on our kitchen bench! Obviously not good, the first thing i did was lookup homemade humane traps and i found the toilet paper tube one. The second night i caught one. Now theres definately another one as my dad saw it. Sadly after several more nights of trying to catch it the mouse man is coming today :-(

Now i'm not sure what to do with the one i already have, i was going to release her on the moors but i think that would just be a death scentence. I'm happy to look after her if thats the best thing to do. I've had her about 3 days now, shes in a small fish tank with about an inch of woodshavungs and a good layer of hay, i've given her a couple toilet roll tubes, a cardboard box to hide in and a jar and she seems happy enough, shes made a nest and a food store in the box and each evening i sit very still and watch her come out and explore her new surroundings, she seems to be making the most of being in captivity and has settled in well.

Basically i'd like your opinions on what is best for her, should i try to release her or should i keep her and try and tame her?
Will she be carrying any diseases?
Whats the likelyhood that shes pregnant?
I've been feeding her on gerbil food, is that ok?
Is her accomodation ok?

Thanks guys


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

cami a wild mouse is very hard to tame, you should release her back to the wild, the chances of her carrying many diseases and possibility of being pregnant.

Wild mice can jump quite high and it will be when you least expect it that she will attempt an escape and be free running around your home again.

I can not remember if you have any pet mice but if so having wild mice in the house is potentially putting their health at risk, pet mice seem to have a lower immune system than their wild relatives and as such something a wild type can live with can and may be fatal to pet mice.

By keeping a wild mouse you are not only putting your own pet mice at risk but yourself and other members of the family at risk as wild mice do carry many diseases that are transmittable to humans.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

As said yes they can carry diseases, it would be best fir her to realise her as she is wild keeping her will cause her stress. Just make sure you do it at least 5 miles from your home. Don't worrie about her, she us built to survived out there and when she eventually gets eaten (they all do at some point) she will be keeping something else alive. Find a place with bushes, or rocks so she can make a safe nest and she will do fine


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## cami (Jan 27, 2013)

Thanks for the advice, i was planning on releasing her but mum kept on at me saying i should keep her so i thought i would find out the facts first

No i havent any mice of my own but i do have rats and gerbils 

Any suggestions asto how to humanely catch the other one?


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

look on youtube there are several good ideas posted that seem to work well


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

You can buy humane traps or make your own. One is to get a tall bucket put a papertowl over it with a price of food on it. The idea is the mouse goes for the food and falls in


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## scrapheapchallenge (Sep 17, 2012)

you could release her somewhere, take a trowel and dig out a little burrow for her, shove some hay in it and a pile of food, including some "wet" food like carrot or cucumber in case she can't find water immediately. Upend her box over the hole and if possible sit there for a while, an hour if you can, to give her chance to find the good stuff so she realises that it's there rather than running off into the unknown straight away. Then quietly lift the box and leave her.

At least this way you know you are leaving her with the best starting chance - food to get started with in case she can't find any straight away, and somewhere to hide until she finds a burrow of her own. A hedgerow of a field would be a good place for release.


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

I agree that she should be released, but the location depends on the type of mouse. A woodmouse would be quite happy on the edge of the Moor (somewhere with plenty of vegetation and drystone walls), but a housemouse would be best off near farm buildings (though I'm not sure the farmer would agree!).


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## Paradigmatic (Jan 22, 2013)

Release near a farm would have the extra risk of Mouser Cats on top of all the other predators around.


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## gyri (Nov 20, 2012)

If you still have the mouse and can take a picture of it someone here should be able to identify the species and suggest the right sort of habitat to release it at.


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