# *tilts tophat in greeting*



## SablePanther (Oct 14, 2011)

This is far too long. Because I never shut up.

Hello all, I'm a somewhat crazy English guy, living in Cheshire and communing with the sheep outside my window. I'm disabled and unable to leave the house much, so my pets mean a lot to me. I have a staffie cross called Holly who is about to turn 6 and, after being a 'dog aggressive' rescue, is for the first time learning to live with other dogs. It's challenging, but she's doing fantastically and is much happier for it. She's my everything 

I rescued some mice earlier this year, one of whom turned out to be pregnant and had a litter of 5 females and a male, so that was an experience! Having left some with my ex-housemate when I moved out (she helped me with the rescue and raising the babies), I now own:

Mariko: My old lady. I rescued her a year or so ago. She's just started leg-dragging and losing her grip, though she can still climb and has quality of life. She is currently housing with my most submissive mouse, and has a specific layout designed so she can climb but not too far and not hurt herself. Sadly she's on her way out, now. She was the first (with her sister, who died last year) mouse I ever owned and made me fall for them, before her I had only ever owned rats. She's a self-fawn and a sweetheart and I'll miss her greatly. Am so sad she's now too unsteady to be able to be my shouldermouse any more.

Misha: Currently housing with Mariko. She's a broken dark brown satin and has THE sweetest face, and very very dark red eyes. She's the second tamest after Mariko.

Meridon: She's the mother and, sadly, though we bonded well when she first arrived, she's been pretty skittish since having her babies. I'm working on it, though. She's broken brown.

Morena: Broken brown, much lighter than all the others and I think agouti. She's HUGE - definitely the biggest of the girls in her litter, and she LOVES jumping.

Sebby: Short for Sebastian. Actually female but developed later than the others so we were unsure at first, and the name just suits her. She was separated for a couple of days when younger until her gender showed but it didn't do her any harm and it prevented babies! She is a BRAT. Seriously. A very in your face sort of mouse. She can't be around poor old Mariko because she jumps on her and steals her food. She's a broken brown, so dark she's almost black, with just a white blaze on her head.

Mikken: My boymouse! He's a broken brown who is mostly white, is a stocky little thing and he did NOT do the reading on what boymice should be. Far from a bratty little shouldermouse; he's always on the go, always up to something. I even have photos from when he was a little naked bean of his littermates curling up together while he determinedly tries to heave himself off somewhere for adventures. He gets a lot of attention, because of course he has to live alone, and when he hears me nearby he paws at the sides of his 'tank' to get my attention.

I keep my mice in 'bin tanks', in the American style, after having done a lot of research and worrying over what would be best for them. At the moment they are in three separate ones due to Mariko's old age but when she dies I'll be converting the bigger one (well, asking my partner to, lol) and connecting that with one of the smaller (I say smaller... they're not actually small) ones for the girls. At that point I will also be wanting to add a couple more girls to my colony (though of course I will be isolating them from my current girls for a while first then doing playdates to introduce, etc) so I've been looking for mice to rescue or buy in Cheshire/Manchester which is proving near impossible. If anyone has any ideas of where I could go please, please let me know.

Anything else anyone wants to know, please ask. I'm sure I'll wander the forums a fair bit. I'm not a breeder and I doubt I ever will be - though I am interested in and trying to learn about mouse genetics I really don't think I could add anything useful to the breed and I doubt I have the room to breed - but I hope I will still be welcome here. Having mice of all different ages, I will be wanting more to add to my colony every so often as I like them to have a big, happy group as they like best. So being on a forum of people who may actually be able to find/offer me some mice when I'm looking for them will be very useful!

Thanks for reading.

Topher.


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

Hello Topher, and welcome to FMB :mrgreen: 
That was a very interesting read! I hope you will enjoy the forum and learn some useful stuff.

Oh, and by the way. I, for one, love pictures :lol:


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Pleased to meet you

:welcome1


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## Fraction (Aug 29, 2011)

For Manchester breeders, I know of Madhouse Stud. I got my (gorgeous) champagne tan girls from him. He's on here too, but you could drop him an email via his website.


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## SablePanther (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

I will definitely post some pictures  I'll have a look through my batch and maybe do a picture post in the photos thread (I think there's a photo thread if I'm remembering right...) of my colony. I'll make sure to include baby Mikken off on his adventures *grin*

I actually got in touch with Madhouse Stud last night and we are arranging things at the moment, so that's awesome! Been looking for someone to help me with this for MONTHS and as soon as I get on this forum, the first night, I find someone who can help me. You guys rock 

I've been on mouse keeping forums before and found them very... full of friction. I mean, with any forum there are going to be disagreements, but I never posted on the other because people just got jumped on for EVERYTHING. Which I don't think is the way to make people listen if they are doing things 'wrong'. And in some cases it was just so over the top. I understand that some things can be dangerous for mice and I don't use them but when it's every tiny thing it's just getting ridiculous. I think people can be too protective and over-sensitive about their pets (I see it on dog communities all the time) and it all seems much more relaxed here. Though please, do tell me if there's something I'm doing wrong! I want the best for my pets


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Hello Hello!


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## SablePanther (Oct 14, 2011)

Well hi there Tinyhart


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## The Boggit keeper (Mar 5, 2010)

Hi and a very warm welcome!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Welcome!

I enjoyed your narrative so much; please give us pix!

Your love for your little darlings is so obvious; it's quite an experienced to be beguiled and seduced by such diminutive and arch critters. I still squeek like a little girl (I'll be 60 this year) sometimes when a mousie is crawling around my shoulders tickling me with it's whiskers and reaching up to nose my ears.

*tip of the hat backatcha*


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## SablePanther (Oct 14, 2011)

Hi the Boggit Keeper, thanks for the welcome 

Moustress I will definitely be posting photos in the next few days. Probably around the end of this week. I went to the dentist today and with my illnesses it takes me a few days to recoverr from something like that so too tired to deal with photobucket and such things at the moment I'm afraid.

I'm glad my love for them shows through. They make me so happy - I don't get out much and they really are the centre of my world, along with my dog and my partner. They enhance my life and they just draw me in. So incredible how each of them is so, so different. From Sebby the brat of brats to Morena the jumper to Mikken who LOVES strokes but twitches about and hates it if you try to skritch him, to Mariko who comes to me fo loves every time I'm nearby to Meridon who wants to be loved SO much but is still stuck in her OMG PEOPLE GOT TO HIDE phase from when she was caring for her litter, and of course Misha who can't decide if she is a shouldermouse or an intrepid explorer. Every one of them is so, so different and I love all these fascinating, complex little people who share my life.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Welcome to FMB SablePanther


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Hi there! Loved your intro, especially about communing with sheep. : )


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## SablePanther (Oct 14, 2011)

Thanks guys 

The sheep are not happy right now - they're being rained on!


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

Hello and welcome  'Communing with the sheep' :lol:


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