There's a MOUSE in my HOUSE !

Okay, so anyone that knows me, knows that I can handle some pet mice! However, I was sure that I'd reached the age where I would never have a mouse as a pet, ever again. Well, apparently, that's just not the case! My sweet niece, whom I just KNOW will grow up to work with animals, well she "rescued" :) from her friend "ahem" a male and female mouse (full-grown). The story went like this "Well, her mom said that she can't keep them anymore and they are married and she was going to let them go! And they might get stuck to a TRAP!" Then crying ensued.

So, I promised my niece that we would take great care of the mice for the rest of their mousy lives. (Which is short, they don't live long. About a year or two years is their average lifespan.)

The mice were presented to me in a cardboard box which they had almost chewed out of. They had a knocked over cup that most likely held water, and some bread and a bunch of crumpled newspaper inside the box. I could see why the parent of the girl (my niece's friend) decided to give away the mice. The mice were about 5 minutes away from escaping their dark, musty box and running wild and free most likely in the walls or somewhere else they aren't easily caught.

I was hoping that maybe both of the mice were girls but I asked my niece anyway "What makes you think that the mice are married?" She told me that "One is definitely a boy and he hugged the girl and made her squeak. But don't worry they were just cuddling he didn't hurt her!" I cringed because I was pretty sure at this point that they were indeed a male and female mouse and I was pretty sure without even looking that the momma mouse was in fact, going to be a momma! "Oh Jeez!"

More mouths to feed, I thought. And mice don't smell like flowers. UGH!

My niece's concerned, big, brown eyes brought me back into superhero-saves-the-day mode. I told her to watch the mice carefully and cover the hole, I'll be right back.

I ran around the house grabbing stuff. I grabbed a back-up/emergency 3-level mouse cage, some newspaper, tissue, paper towels, empty tissue boxes, a mouse water-bottle (that hangs), 2 kinds of birdseed, crackers, bread, some extra lab blocks that I'd had for a few years! (O_O), some leftover hamster food, some chips, a potato, lettuce, some carrots, etc. Basically, I grabbed any kind of food that they might eat until I could get to the store.

We put the mice into their new home and my niece was over-the-moon. She was giggling and squealing as the mice explored their new home. It was beyond cute! Still, I noticed that the female mouse was pregnant and full of babies! Now I've got to wait until she has them, hope all goes well and most importantly explain to my niece why her new mouse-friends can't live in the same cage for much longer.

I love my niece more than the world, and I'm aware that she loves her mice. She has already named them and everything. :) But, I also know that I'm going to be buying their food and that she does not need 300 mice! So, soon, I have to split them up. Not an issue since I have plenty of extra/emergency cages. But I sure am going to have to hear it from her. She may even cry. After all, she has decided that these mice are married. I'm hoping that the mice living next to each other will be good enough for her.

I still have to explain that she is having baby mice! And then we have to deal with that, meaning care for them and split the males up from the females. What an adventure we have in store for us!

No matter how much of a hassle it is caring for these mice (and it's also unexpected!) I am so happy to see how much my niece loves animals. It just comes naturally to her and I can hardly wait to watch her grow into an adult animal lover! She may surprise me and open an animal sanctuary! This young lady LOVES animals! :) Just like her Aunt. =)

If you need more information about caring for or breeding mice, here is a highly informative article about the subject on my website :

Breed Mice and Set-Up a Complete Breeding Cage