Mouse in the house

[MaggieMae]

I don't have any idea if this could be linked to Maggie's weird behavior recently but I just saw a mouse run out of her cage. She just kind of slowly walked over to where the mouse exited sniffing the air and sat there like she was waiting for it to come back.... Haha... Then I moved my food and it scared her back into her pigloo.

Can mice hurt my guinea pig? It kind of sucks that the mouse can get in and out and she can't.. I am assuming it is stealing her food as they used to steal my dogs food all the time when he was alive. We caught on when I got a shoe out of the closet and it was full of dog food... But I also know they can carry a lot of diseases when they are "wild" like that..

[scarlett]

Wow - how about that? I believe your original post indicated her tantrum behavior was a relatively new thing. As is the mouse in the house. Very possible she's skittish because of the mouse! Try setting up on of those humane traps and get it out of your house.

[MaggieMae]

Originally Posted by scarlett

Wow - how about that? I believe your original post indicated her tantrum behavior was a relatively new thing. As is the mouse in the house. Very possible she's skittish because of the mouse! Try setting up on of those humane traps and get it out of your house.

I will have to do that.. It is so weird, I really wonder if the two things are related. I hope they aren't potentially dangerous being in her cage like that though. I just can't really think of a way that would keep a mouse out either so I will just have to try and trap it.

[Cogni]

You have to trap it, and you have to also plug ALL the gaps in your walls and cabinets. Mice usually come in behind stoves and through the backs of cabinets. Steel wool is about the only flexible substance that they can't chew through so push it tightly into any little gaps you can see--even too-small looking gaps around pipes under the sink. A regular screwdriver is a good wedging tool. There is also this filler in a can you can get at the hardware store called "Great Stuff". It can fill small gaps (ca. 1/2 inch) by itself but for larger gaps you should stuff in a backer substance. When Great Stuff hardens you can trim it flat. Do this very systematically, starting with your kitchen since that is the place where they enter 99% of the time.

[Duffinvt]

Yes, do all you can to get it out and all of its relatives as there are usually more where that one came from. It could have mites, diseases. We found a dead mouse outside that was covered in ticks. It was disgusting to see.

At the risk of being shot down here, I am going to say wild mice and rats are not pets and I personally have no objection to killing them. They carry disease and infest our foods and, if not controlled, can cause damage and disease.

[Ly&Pigs]

Just because a mouse may be wild, does not automatically mean it's a carrier of all kinds of diseases. It would be more humane if you got a live trap, trapped it and took it to the woods somewhere far from your home and release it. Wild mice do play a part in the ecosystem.

I moved your thread as it had nothing to do with animal proofing your cage.

[MaggieMae]

Sorry about the wrong forum. I didn't really know where to put this.

I was actually curious, if they were a danger, how I could keep them out out of her cage but I can't really think of any way as mice climb and squeeze in places so well. But I get the impression it is just more important to solve the mouse problem than it is to try and keep them out..

Thanks!

[lissie]

I agree with everyone about solving the mouse problem. In the mean time, can you wrap the cage with chicken wire or double up the grids to make the holes smaller? I would not let the mouse in the cage if I were you. My co-worker's ferret died because a mouse got into his cage.

[ppqppq]

Mice are sweet and cute. I love mice. However, I lost a rabbit a few years ago to a mouse bite. She was apparently bitten in the hind leg by a wild mouse. We did not see it in time and she got an infection that weakened the bone. The first symptom we saw was one morning when I went to her walk in cage to feed her and her leg had snapped. The bone was sticking out. She had to be euthanized.

She was well taken care of, large cage, good food, lots of attention, and well loved. Mice are wonderful, but not in the same space as pets. Unless they are pets, in cages.

[Jazlyn]

I have a mouse in my house right now. It can also get into my piggies cage, but my piggies just scare it away.

[Peggysu]

I like mice, but I don't like wild mice in my house. They carry disease that can be transfered to my piggies.

The house needs to be mouse proofed and then the mice removed.

[Duffinvt]

According to my vet, almost all mice in my area are intermediate hosts for tapeworm. Having treated our indoor/outdoor cat many times for tapeworm, I would not want a mouse in with the guinea pigs. (He was an old outdoor stray that we adopted, but he never would stay indoors only and he loved to hunt.) If you love wild mice, that is OK, but do keep them out of the house. Consider that if they find your pellets/hay they will ruin it, too, with feces and urine.

[MaggieMae]

Thanks for the suggestions, maybe I can find some tiny chicken wire and/or a way to get the cage up off the ground further. I don't want my guinea pig to catch something from them!

Also, while mice are cute in cages, I agree, they are creepy and not sanitary running around our house!!! They are NOT cute and cuddly free range animals! I am glad I am moving again before next winter! Last year we got mice right when it started getting cold out. I found this out because one ran across my foot. I think we both scared a couple years off each others lives for the next couple weeks. It was a repeated cycle of see mouse + scream = mass confusion and running around aimlessly to get away.

[Ly&Pigs]

Did you know that the Plague in the middle ages was blamed on rats? It wasn't the rats that started the plague, it was parasites on the rats. I imagine that wild mice today are much the same, the mice themselves may not carry the disease but any parasites residing on them have more potential to carry or even spread disease.

[bpatters]

I'd suggest using screening rather than chicken wire. Mice can easily go through the holes in chicken wire, and screening is both cheaper and easier to work with. You can get the metal or plastic kind -- the plastic is easier but a little more expensive here. You can find it at most hardware or home improvement stores, and can ziptie it on.

[MaggieMae]

Originally Posted by bpatters

I'd suggest using screening rather than chicken wire. Mice can easily go through the holes in chicken wire, and screening is both cheaper and easier to work with. You can get the metal or plastic kind -- the plastic is easier but a little more expensive here. You can find it at most hardware or home improvement stores, and can ziptie it on.

What is the difference? I know what chicken wire is but that is about where my knowledge stops with that kind of stuff..

[bpatters]

You can google "chicken wire" and see what it looks like. Screen cloth is the stuff that goes on windows and doors when the glass windows and doors are shut.

[Cogni]

Chicken wire is also known as 'hex netting'. The spaces are way larger than screen-door type screen mesh.

[louie_joey]

Originally Posted by bpatters

You can google "chicken wire" and see what it looks like. Screen cloth is the stuff that goes on windows and doors when the glass windows and doors are shut.

Wouldn't the mouse be able to chew through that if it wanted to get into the cage?

[MaggieMae]

Makes sense, I know what you are talking about now. Thanks!!!

I would imagine if mice chewed through that stuff people would be finding their screen doors chewed through all the time but I suppose it could be possible. It is better than nothing though.