Something very peculiar seen at the SPCA...

[Rodentist]

Hoping for input on something very peculiar seen today at our local SPCA...

This Wednesday, Mycroft went into cardiac arrest and died immediately....he was our blind alpha...and two of the four ladies in the colony are distraught, the others merely upset.since the other boys in the colony are rather submissive, we thought they could use a new fearless leader...so we went to the Tonawanda SPCA.

There were only two boys there, and the sign indicated that there were two boys and A BOY MOUSE in that enclosure. It also said that the reason they were surrendered was because the previous owner was in jail.....no mouse to be seen...

So we got an employee who said that there was surely a mouse in there, so she started fishing around in the wood shavings, picked up the plastic castle with the two PEW boys in it...and....(Chaz and I were both expecting mouse bits) and there WAS A TINY PEW MOUSE. Since she woke up the mouse, he began to groom himself, groom the rats, who groomed him. He also stole food from a rat who was eating it, the rat went and just got more from the dish. The rats seemed protective of him....he held his own with them....We just watched for a while...we also noticed that the water bottle was placed at a height that would be difficult for the mouse to reach...but a rat sat in front of it and he propped himself up on the rat so he could get to the water.

The SPCA employee said that was how they came in: Two PEW rat boys and a PEW mouse, so that was how they kept them.

Chaz and I know what is the usual outcome of rat/mouse interations are...not just from literature, but...we have an old home with some house mice.....once an overly bold mice tried to take food from one of the girls and....we found him in the litter box, buried, with one bite to the back of the neck....ladies don't fool around!

We didn't get the odd trio because we don't have an appropriate enclosure and we wanted to consult with the exotic vet first....and we also wanted to hear what you guys thought...oh...they have been together at the SPCA for 11 days..

Catherine

 

[Rissa]

Although rare sometimes animals from different species can form bonds. I would think maybe the mouse and rats were raised from a very young age and for some reason these rats are docile as well and accepted the mouse into their family? Hopefully someone will come along who can provide a suitable home for all three of them, if they have been living together this long I don't think splitting them up would be needed? but I could be wrong. I definitely would not introduce any other animals of either species into this mix though.

 

[jorats]

It's a symbiotic relationship it seems.
Very uncommon but fascinating!!!

 

[sprite71]

That is so sweet. I would take them but keep them together.. But I am a sap for those things lol.. I wouldnt even try to get them to befriend the other ratties..

My one rattie girls here is a nipper but when she escaped her cage she was found sleeping with my poodle...

 

[ZoeHale]

That is quite possibly the cutest thing I've heard all day.

 

[Rodentist]

Our plan involved keeping them together....and when the mouse passed then introducing him to other rats...never before...since the odds of other rats taking a similar shine to Mr. Mouse are pretty miniscule....

But if anyone else is interested in this odd trio...let me know! I'll give you the 411 on these furry exceptions!

Catherine

 

[kmom]

http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsMice.htm#Muricide
the familiarity part (near the bottom) is what i really found interesting.

if they were reared together, they probably won't kill it, but other rats will..


anyways it's really interesting and cute..

 

[dubchick]

that is so amazing.. if another rat would be intro'd .id have to say it would have to be a weee baby rat....
but thats so cool how they help mr mouse get a drink... they love their lil brother

 

[SQ]

Very very unusual ... as others have said, they must have been together since young babies .... they likely think that they are siblings.
It would be wonderful if you could take the three in and keep them together ... doubtful someone else with enough knowlege will take all 3 and keep them together, separate from other rats and mice.

 

[Moon]

Any idea how old the rats are?

 

[lilspaz68]

I have seen/heard of this...very rare, but it can happen. I would definitely leave them together and have 2 waterbottles, a teeny low hung mouse one and a rat-sized one beside it. They sound adorable!!! Snap em' up Catherine!!!

 

[mamarat]

What a beautiful story. You should take a video of that.

 

[Rodentist]

The rats are about 1 year old...don't know about Mr. Mouse.....

Nobody at the spca seemed to get how insane that was....and that the rats totally treated him like an equal, he even bullied them a bit. Chaz and I made sure they got it....what typically happens in this situation...but our SPCA really only care about non-rodents.

I also think that they were feeders....

I supose the appropriate enclosure would be a modified aquarium?

Catherine

 

[SQ]

Wouldn't the bar spacing on a martins cage be ok?

If not, a cage with wire mesh added on the outside like people have done for their FNs?
see: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10018

 

[Rodentist]

I totally forgot about Martins cages! Thanks..

We have a Houdini rat.....aka the Mama Doodles. Mama feels the whole house is hers, and everyone in it subject to her. She managed to control her colony AND the other one a long hall and two rooms away. The other colony used to always have someone posted staring down the hallway in the direction she came from so they could start freaking out a little earlier....Mama is a still a tough old dowager queen at 2.5, but she can't preform her ninja moves anymore. Point is, we put mesh on the cage...and she CHEWED RIGHT THROUGH IT. I was concerned that if she didn't chew enough of it, or left a piece sticking out, she would slice herself open. Because nothing held back Mama. She could open doors. Scale shear surfaces...squeeze out at night and back in before we work up. Point is, I am a little leary of the mesh....although there could be...only one Mamadoodles.

Time to check out Martin's....or, like I said, if any of you guys are interested, we are a stones throw from the border...I bet I could talk Chaz into delivering!

I also agree that finding someone who gets them would be few and far between...and most of those people are RIGHT HERE! Hugs!

Catherine

 

[Maple]

Wow, thats a really neat setup although I must admit, I would be very uneasy every time I looked in the cage.
As for the cage issue, I currently have mice in a cage some forum members use for their rats so I don't see much of a problem.
If this living arrangement doesn't make you nervous, I say go for it.

 

[Rodentist]

What sort of enclosure are you using?...Keep in mind it needs to be big enough for two boy ratties and the tiny boy mouse....

I really figure that if they were going to eat that mouse, or assassinate him...they would have done it by now...instead they treat him like a tiny bro.

 

[Maple]

This is the cage I use for my mice. The small sticker on the bottom left says "step by step" small animal cage.
It would fit 2 rats and a mouse for sure.

 

[Rodentist]

Three wheels! Talk about mousie luxury!

 

[Maple]

Three wheels! Talk about mousie luxury!

I normally have more things in the cage because normally there are lots of mousies in there but my gals are getting old now and leaving me for the bridge. I only have 5 at the moment and will soon be moving them to a one level cage as this is becoming harder for them to manage. BUUUUUUUT, I think the THS has 3 girlies looking for a good home so the wheels in my head are turning.