# NMC Shows and Other Species...



## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Quick question....at NMC shows, are participants allowed to bring/swap animals of other species (mice, multimammates, etc)?


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

Not been to one for a while, but thats about to change. Yes lots of mouse swoppin goes on, as an exhibitor I dont think I lke the idea of other species being around though, however most certainly do what you want in the car park. 
In reality you shouldnt do anything without the permission of the show secretary.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

the only time there is any objection to mouse swapping is when the show has an auction on.Not much good having an auction if every one is swapping on the side.No one would be bothered in this case about other species.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

I expected that it would be acceptable generally to swap mice...I was wondering specifically if people are allowed to have other species of animals present at the shows. I'm in the US...so what the NMC allows doesn't really directly affect me, but we are having a show with the ECMA and are trying to decide if participants should be allowed to bring other species. Many of us work with more than just mice, and most of us live thousands of miles apart (and are traveling thousands of miles to get to to the show)...so for many of us it is a very convenient opportunity to swap/rehome animals other than our mice...since we don't see eachother to do so normally


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Yes.I have taken and fetched,ferrets,harvest mice,field mice,hamsters and rats for myself and other people.I've seen cavies,poultry and rabbits exchanged.No one objects,people generally enjoy experiencing other animals.Also some shows are held along side other fancies.Our next show will be combined with the cavey club.We get to gawp at mops on cushions being groomed.With the price of fuel it's a bit of a necessity to trade at shows where possible.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Thank you!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I'll be back. said:


> as an exhibitor I dont think I lke the idea of other species being around though


Me neither.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

SarahC or other NMC showgoers.......do you think it takes the focus off of the show being a mouse show when other animals are present? (not when there is also a show for other animals...just when people bring things to trade/sell)


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

By not liking the idea of other species around I meant species of mice, we do of course have big shows with Rabbits and Cavys etc, I really wouldnt like the idea of say Harvest Mice being swopped at shows etc for the same reason as I wouldnt put up with wild mice in my shed. Its only a blt and braces thing on the disease front, and of course I am not saying that harvest mice have diseases before anyone rightly objects, but they may have specific immunity to the diseases they carry whilst Fancy mice may not and vice versa, as the species are similar (ish). However I would never object if fanciers did this, each to his own. Just wouldnt be happy.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Gary and Jack, I agree with you when I think of English shows, but for people in America who only see each other once or twice a year because of the sheer distance between them all, it seems silly not to take advantage of a show to trade as much as possible.

Stina, maybe you could have a designated area for non-fancy mouse species?

Sarah xxx


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

As far as disease risks go, those of us who have other species, don't keep them in a separate air space from our mice anyway, so any animals we bring that have been in the same space as the other species anyway, so if they've been introduced to anything, would be passed around the show whether those species are present or not. We're also not talking about wild rodents that have been outdoors and exposed to who-knows-what...they're all captive animals that have been bred and kept in our homes (the vast majority of us don't use sheds) and protected from as much disease as possible, just like our mice.


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

yes I do agree, there should be a seperate area, its called a car park. :lol: Sorry just me me being me. (Which you will all grow to love of course, as I am funnier than Seawatch). Hmmmmmmummmmmmmmmmm ........ begrudgingly have to give in on this one, grump grump,sailing close to the line though, grump grump, Oh alright then, now let I have a look at the Hrvest mice as they are lovely. (still dont like it though).


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

> I am funnier than Seawatch


You'd have to be pretty bloody funny! :lol: :lol: :lol: Got to say though, I am looking forward to meeting you in person 

Back on topic; it seems extremely silly to travel thousands of miles and only be able to deal with one species, that just doesn't make sense to me! It's alright for us British people, animals are at most a couple of hundred miles away.

Sarah xxx


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

lol!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I'll be back. said:


> By not liking the idea of other species around I meant species of mice, we do of course have big shows with Rabbits and Cavys etc, I really wouldnt like the idea of say Harvest Mice being swopped at shows etc for the same reason as I wouldnt put up with wild mice in my shed. Its only a blt and braces thing on the disease front, and of course I am not saying that harvest mice have diseases before anyone rightly objects, but they may have specific immunity to the diseases they carry whilst Fancy mice may not and vice versa, as the species are similar (ish). However I would never object if fanciers did this, each to his own. Just wouldnt be happy.


Well, personally, I am an evil mouse-only elitist and I like to see _all_ of a show's resources (time, energy, money, space--including the parking lot) devoted to mice only. This is reflective of my own emphasis on mice (I am one of the few people in this country who doesn't also dabble in breeding rats and hamsters and other animals).

I agree with you fully in not objecting to people having multi-species shows. In fact, I've attended lots of multi-species shows (Rodent Fests, reptile shows, bird expos) and and I always have a lot of fun. But I don't take my own animals to them because my goals and emphasis are different.


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## Seawatch Stud (Feb 8, 2009)

Want to hear something funny? My daughter orders Bras from Bravissimo using my credit card. Bravissimo then send me catalogues of their products with my name on the front. I dont like the way our postman looks at me these days!. A little off topic I know but I couldnt find the unwanted bra section of the forum!.


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## mousemad (Jun 7, 2010)

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## WNTMousery (Jun 2, 2010)

I'll be back. said:


> yes I do agree, there should be a seperate area, its called a car park. :lol: Sorry just me me being me. (Which you will all grow to love of course, as I am funnier than Seawatch). Hmmmmmmummmmmmmmmmm ........ begrudgingly have to give in on this one, grump grump,sailing close to the line though, grump grump, Oh alright then, now let I have a look at the Hrvest mice as they are lovely. (still dont like it though).


But it would be silly not to show your own mice that you really want to show just because there will be a few rats or hamsters present in the building, yes?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Stina said:


> SarahC or other NMC showgoers.......do you think it takes the focus off of the show being a mouse show when other animals are present? (not when there is also a show for other animals...just when people bring things to trade/sell)


not at all.When I wanted black eyed white ferrets that were for sale in Yorkshire and I was attending a show in Yorkshire,a round trip of 200 miles,it would be madness not to collect at the same time.Collected,put in appropriate carrying box,into the car if the weather is not hot,in the show hall if it is.The only time I have known objection as I said before is when an auction is on and people are detracting from it by selling mice on the side.As for the harvest mice Gary,they were captive bred by Cait and transported to a show for Phil Hall among others,a long standing fancier as you know.I wouldn't worry about disease,they are more likely to pick up something from other fancy mice.I'm stuck with lumping the dog to shows now,it's that or I can't go and every one has been very accommadating of this fact.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I think it's good that people are accommodating, but if somebody doesn't want to take their own animals to said show, no one can force them to bring their animals.

That's the friendly debate that's ongoing in the US right now. We look to the NMC's practices for guidance. Hehe...


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

there isn't a rule.Manners should prevail.I am judging on Saturday and I have sort permission from the secretary to take my dog.


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

ok ok, I give in. I submitt totally.I er did say "vice versa" in my post and I didnt have a clue that Harvest mice had visited a show, I just picked an example out of the air. I do apologise actually, because now adays, like you say these beautifull animals are captive bred and I would love to see some again. My thoughts were cast back to a show once when a Farmers wife and son team attended a show (Seawatch knows them ) and brought wild rodents to the show.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

It's the same in the US. There are folks who attended Rodent Fest with wild-caught animals, with diseased animals, and with animals that had giant open sores on their bodies. I saw it with my own eyes, Kadee (trekrat) saw it, and I'm sure others saw it. Those sort of things scare me about shows.


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## WNTMousery (Jun 2, 2010)

Jack Garcia said:


> It's the same in the US. There are folks who attended Rodent Fest with wild-caught animals, with diseased animals, and with animals that had giant open sores on their bodies. I saw it with my own eyes, Kadee (trekrat) saw it, and I'm sure others saw it. Those sort of things scare me about shows.


Yes, RF is not a place you want to take your animals. Most people just don't realize what goes on there.

As you know, Jack, the ECMA has never had anything like that and we wouldn't allow animals displaying any symptoms through the doors.

Does the NMC have a health check at all?


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

We don't have a health check, exhibitors are trusted to not put other fanciers' mice at risk. There's never been a problem, but some unscrupulous git could bring a diseased mouse into the hall.

Giant, open sores?! I had no idea those things happened at RodentFest, that's horrible :shock:

Sarah xxx


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Yeah, they were on spiny mice. I was the second or third person to get there that particular morning, with my niece who was ~14 months old and on my hip all day so I didn't pay attention to what everybody was doing, but I did see one lady carry in a big cardboard box and take smaller cages out that had spiny mice and hamsters in them. In retrospect I realized that she didn't go through health check at all, but at the time unfortunately my mind was elsewhere (kids will do that lol) and I didn't alert anybody.

Later on that day I was at their table and either Kadee or Stina (I can't remember) told me that this lady was representing a pet store. There were also birds and rats that were clearly sick with some sort of URI or similar symptoms. Whoever was doing health check that day did not have the experience or qualifications to notice these things, but even if they had, I personally watched the spinys get sneaked in before health check even started. I love going to Rodent Fest because it's a lot of fun, but this sort of problem is built-in because so many species are allowed. Nobody can be expected to recognize symptoms on cockatiels, mice, skunks, dogs, geckos, roaches, ferrets, gerbils, and bettas, all of which I've seen for sale at Rodent Fests in the past. They're just too different and health check is too short to adequately check every individual, especially since some people bring in hundreds of animals.

The most recent problem was actually mites, which can affect all kinds of species.

At smaller shows with a focus on one or two species (like ECMA) there's much, much less room for sick animals to get through because there are fewer animals and also because symptoms are more similar with just mice (or just mice and rats) than if you have 20+ species. I've actually volunteered to do health check at ECMA before and I have to say that I checked every single animal and did as good a job as I possibly could in deciding which to turn away. I took it very seriously.


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