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Anonymous
Hey /an/, I have a question for you.

Can you keep wild mice as pets? Do they make good pets? I picked up a few of those Victor live-catch mousetraps from a local drugstore, and was thinking about putting them in my garage, back shed, etc. I mean, if I catch one, I catch one, it really doesn't make any difference to me. So tell me , /an/, is it possible, because as far as I know wild mice become lethargic in captivity.
>> Anonymous
it'll be nice to watch, but you won't at all be able to handle it, unless you want to risk getting a disease or two.

Though, its better for the mouse...other than death.
>> Anonymous
Oh, just leave the wild mice alone. They are wild, let them stay that way. Wild animals sometimes don't do so well in captivity and you're going to put a lot of stress on whatever mouse you catch. They usually carry fleas and parasites which can be harmful to you and any other pets you might own. Its also probably illegal for you to own one, being that its a wild animal.

I've raised wild mice, but they were either babies(in which my cat brought to me or my dogs were after) or hurt(also they were far away from any of my other animals). If I didn't release them, They all got bigger than my normal mice, were faster then them, are better at escaping, were more active and more nippy.

also
>All mice (and rats) carry mycoplasma which is a bacteria that only flares up when an animal is under stress or ill, when it flares up if not cared for immediatley it can kill the animal. A mouse brought from the wild into captivity is going to be stressed out enough for a flareup which could kill him.

and

>90% of wild mice carry the Hanta Virus. If it bites you or you are exposed to excrement, you could become seriously ill. Prolonged symptoms include but are not limited to fever, nausea, vomiting, compromised immune system, etc. My fiancee was bitten while trying to repair a tractor and he was hospitalized for 7 weeks and it took over a year to regain all his strength back.

I'm not sure if the last two are true, but those are from people who have advised someone not to keep a pet wild mouse.
>> Anonymous
LOL. Enjoy your Hanta.
>> Anonymous
I have two wild mice, have not had any illnesses or any sort of ill effect from them, I have been bitten a few times, I know that is quite stupid, but no ill effects whatsoever in all the time I've had them

That's my luck however, I'd highly advise the risks of disease and illness too from wild ones.

You would really be better off buying a feeder white mouse or a fancy mouse from a Petstore, they are quite tame and will stay in your hand or on your shoulder.

I can't let these wild ones out or play with them really.

My wild ones just constantly squirrel around and try to chew their way out of the cage. I've had feeder white mice and they are very sweet, docile.
>> Anonymous
Also you should quarantine your mouse if you do trap a wild, for about 3 weeks.

To prevent the spread of infectious disease, a quarantine of at least 3 weeks should be followed before attempting to introduce mice from different places.

Introductions should always take place on neutral territory. A well-scrubbed cage can often serve as neutral territory, but a place where none of the mice have previously marked will make introductions even easier. Plastic storage bins, bathtubs, and tabletops can be used as temporary, neutral territory. Once the mice have passed the introduction period, they can all be moved from the temporary, neutral territory to their well-scrubbed, permanent cage.
>> Anonymous
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mus_musculus.html

very important, read all of that
>> Anonymous
I'm the person who posted a few weeks ago about having two mice that were bred out of fieldmice. Mine, I've had for a couple of months and they're fat, healthy and very friendly... but that's because I got them when they were just beyond hopper-stage, and even then we had to teach them "humans good".
>> Anonymous
Wild mice can be made tame, but you're better off releasing them into the wild. (i.e., near a lake away from your home, lest they find their way back) As mentioned, the possibility of disease is a concern, and if you're bitten, then you don't want to go through that ordeal with the doctors...

If you want pet mice, go to your local pet store. They're relatively cheap since people use them as snake food. -_-
>> Anonymous
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My roomate caught a wild fieldmouse in one of those glue traps. He couldn't bear to kill it, so he tried keeping it as a pet. It was extremely wild and skittish and was nigh impossible to handle. It never hurt anyone, but it was so jumpy and fast moving that you simply couldn't handle it at all...and it frequently escaped. Well, it turns out that it was a pregnant female, and it soon had some babies. When the young ones were weaned we released mom back in the wild. The young ones were raised with humans so they have been well socialized. They are a little more skittish than a typical pet store mouse, but they are definatley "domesticated" to a large extent.

Pic related: They like to hang upside-down from the celing of their cage, in a little clump.
>> Anonymous
Regarding disease, really do be careful. I'm not sure how frequently wild mice are infected, but it's really difficult to check for an infection when bitten by a wild animal -- mainly because the doctors have to assume that some risk of rabies contraction was involved. (and rabies can be difficult to detect) Treating a possible rabies infection -- which is what the doctors will have to do, unless you have the animal available for examination -- is quite painful and requires several months worth of preventative injections in your stomach.
>> Anonymous
Actually, last year over the summer, my cat was playing with a small mouse in my room. I caught the mouse, put it in a cage, and fed it. I was able to take out the mouse and hold it, and it wasn't scared and never bit me or my friends. (of course I showed it to them) He lived a while, 'named him Copper. So yeah, I'd say they could be pets?
>> Anonymous
>>96979
Cornered angry wild mouse approaching.
>> Anonymous
>>97160
-cutesplosion-
>> Anonymous
>>97203

Actually if you caught the "suspect animal" it is not that big of a deal.

They simply keep the animal in quarantine. If it does have rabies, it will die within a week or so. If indeed it has rabies, the treatment can then begin.

As for the treatment, injections in the stomach are rarely performed anymore. It's a few shots over a 28-day time period. Definatley not pleasant, but far from as bad as it's been made out to be. (more info on Wikipedia)
>> Anonymous
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>>97211

Angrymouse will bite off your finger!

(actually this lil' guy is just yawning...)
>> Anonymous
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Angrymouse knows no fear.
>> Anonymous
>>97244

BAWWWWWWWWWWWWW thats so cute

I love his color markings

I have a wild one like him with a pure white belly, and my second mouse is a little charcoal grey, both males. :3
>> Anonymous
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Dude, keeping wild mice is no good idea, you could as well grow some influensa in sugar solution
>> Anonymous
>>97336
BRING IT ON!!!
>> Anonymous
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i wouldnt, i nursed a baby mouse back to health and turncoated on me, ive destroyed 12 mice at home in the last six months!
>> Anonymous
>>97634
Anon must live in a shithole.
>> Anonymous
A friend brought me three tiny pinkie wild mice that she had found in her garage. I raised them with a litter of rats, since one of my female ratties had just given birth. Even after being handled daily, they were still quite wild. They were very nippy with strangers, skittish in general, and experts at escaping. I highly recommend buying either a mouse or a rat from a pet store if you are looking for a pet and releasing any wild mice that you catch in a live trap.
>> Anonymous
>>97639

ya rly

that guy needs to patch up any and every single possible hole in their houses foundation and roof

wtf
>> Anonymous
>>97671

That and keep the place clean. Mice usually enter houses looking for food. You need to clean up anything that might be lying about that the mice are eating. Keep trash cans emptied as often as possible. Don't leave dirty dishes lying about. Make sure all your food stocks (pantry) are secured.

A few years ago I moved into a house that had previously been abandoned for a few years. When we first moved in we had to deal with mice. Keeping the house tidy and trapping for a few weeks eliminated the problem, nobody has seen a mouse in years.
>> Anonymous
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>>96979

>So tell me , /an/, is it possible, because as far as I know wild mice become lethargic in captivity

I've had my wild mice for a year or more now....they're not one bit lethargic or calm than they first were