mice

I finally got brave enough to purchase a large cage for the mice.  They have been in a 20 gallon aquarium since December while I waited for Pip to get big enough to not be able to squeeze through any size cage bar spacing.    I ended up going with a bird cage and converting it a bit to accommodate three bouncy mice (well, two bouncy mice, Hazel practically rolls where ever she needs to go). Yesterday the cage was all ready and we plopped in the mice.  They hid in the igloo for the first several hours, of course, and still weren't out much before I went to bed.  With the exception of Moo - she lives in her wheel (you can barely see her nose poking out of the wheel in the photo).  I half expected Pip to be long gone by the time I got up this morning, but she was snuggled up in a piece of fleece on the second level of her new abode.  So it looks like it's gonna work out great. The new cage will be extremely helpful in cleaning the litter, feeding them and giving them proper ventilation.  However I did forget about the curtains behind the cage, so they now have some new custom mice lacing.  It's been a while since I've had rodents and I've forgot how much they love to pull fabric and other items into their cage through the bars.  Oh well - at least I have happy mice now! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For information on choosing housing for mice and rats, visit our "Habitats for Rats and Mice" blog post at PetResearch.net.

Welcome 2009!  It's going to be an interesting year.  Portia turns 16 in a couple of weeks, Jason is working for himself full time and I'm vowing to get in shape - and am actually going to do it this year.  Business is booming, friends are plentiful and life is good!

Speaking of friends, we had a great turnout for the New Year's party last night.  I think we had about 30 people in the house.  It's been a while since we've thrown a New Year's party and we had a blast!  The night went so fast, as it always does when having fun.  We slept in until 9:30 this morning, cleaned up from the party aftermath and are focusing the rest of the day on vegging out and relaxing - a rare occurance for us.  I'm relaxing so much that I changed out of one pair of pajamas in trade for another pair of pajamas!  Can't beat comfort.

Some other miscellaneous updates.  Jason has started his new finance blog called Understanding Finances.  This is something he's been wanting to do for quite some time and I'm glad he finally got it started.  Also, Emily, my mother-in-law, started her own blog for her wonderfully delicious recipes.  You don't want to miss out on the Marvelous Recipes blog!  Both blogs are highly recommended...no bias at all, nope.  ;)

All the Mesker critters are doing well.  Pip the mouse is growing, but still isn't big enough to go in a cage.  We have discovered that Pip is a girl, so at least we can stop calling her s/he.  She prefers to keep to herself for the most part and mainly comes out at night to play and eat.  She's a bit intimidated by Hazel, one of the pet store mice who is the biggest girl in the cage, but I think in time they will get along just fine in the long run.  I can put my hand in the cage now without freaking them all out too badly, so progress is being made.  I hope to have more photos soon.

That's my update for now.  Happy New Year to all!  I hope 2009 brings you much peace and happiness.

Sweet baby!  I'll have a Pip update once things calm down around here.

I am hopelessly in love!

After talking to rodent friends who have successfully kept wild mice (thanks Kate, Linda & Cal!), I took their advice and got Pip two roomies. They are probably a little older than is ideal, but it was my only choice. I did choose the smallest two of the group of five. They don't have names yet, but I'm pondering on Hazel and Moo.

Pip is still holed up in his corner and the girls are showing some interest in him but not antagonizing him. Though the larger of the two girls keeps trying to bury him in the bedding. He doesn't seem too freaked out by them. They both seem perfectly content and have been exploring and wheel running for the better part of an hour. I have them in a 20 gallon aquarium for the time being. Once Pip is big enough I plan to get a cage topper for the tank as an expansion. And the cool thing is they are on a table right by my desk in the office so I see them all the time!

I took a few photos - didn't want to freak anyone out too bad. Stay tuned for more mousie adventures!

Moo

Hazel

Pip in Hiding