The Real Bad One

by peas Sat 04 Jun 2016, 6:01 pm

The "good one" which quickly became the "bad one" once she was free to be herself, cemented her status as the "bad one" today.

I should of known it was bound to happen but i haven't seen a problem yet. When i woke up this afternoon i noticed something was not quite right. Out of the corner of my eye i saw Wormy a.k.a. "the one i thought was the good one that is clearly now the bad one" outside of her tank!

She was running around on the plastic storage tote her tank sits on. I assumed she fell off and got trapped on top the tote. I scooper her up and she went back in her tank, gobbled up some water which made me wonder how long she had been trapped there. Worrying that maybe she climbed out on purpose, I dusted off her lid and began to soak it in the tub.

I then came back in the room to check on her, and she was out again! Not only was she out of the tank she jumped down off of the tote too! She was now on my floor!

I figured "oh well no big deal, i will just pick her up" And that's when she darted behind the bin. Under the desk. Then across the room in a split second. So so so fast. Wormy, is a super athlete. It's why i chose her, she's the fastest mouse i have ever seen by far. The thing is though, she doesn't run very fast on her wheel or even act all that athletic in the tank so you forget until she does something crazy like dart across the room faster than you can turn your head. She really is amazingly fast and has a weird sort of body. Like her legs look a little longer than the other mice and she was really sleek. (now she's got a bit of a gut lol )

I just laughed to myself and thought "ok, well she's not being caught unless she decides she's done exploring" luckily my room is pretty much sealed for just such an occasion.

It didn't take long, she climbed on a big pile of garbage and old bedding in a cardboard box that was to be taken out but i just haven't gotten around to and allowed me to scoop her up. Sigh.

So now she's got a lid for now and forever. 3 months of lid-less-ness I thought she could be trusted. You would think she would of been jumping out when she was younger not settled in but nope. My last mouse did this too, half-way through his life he decided to start trying to explore. Don't Know

It's too bad for her. Her life was all about pooping off the top of her cage, sleeping on top of her water bottle and tower and climbing. But once they try and escape once, they're fully capable of doing it again and again.

I might be getting another dog, i am unsure, so they'll all have lids anyways but of the 3 of them she seemed to really enjoy the freedom of running around on top her tank. Sigh. Ironically the former bad one, Thutty, is one i can trust. That one isn't climbing out of anything for any reason. Nutty too. Maybe it's because their tanks are bigger?

But Wormy was so happy a month ago. I am not sure why she's been full of nervous energy lately. Maybe i will buy another plastic bin tank for her to cram more toys in.

by scaredymouse Sat 04 Jun 2016, 7:35 pm

No mouse can ever be trusted in an open environment. I'm sure they love running around on top but doesn't mean they should be allowed to do it. Tanks should always have a secure lid on.

by CinnamonPearl Sat 04 Jun 2016, 7:46 pm

I'm with Scaredy. Keeping mice in tanks without lids is tempting fate. God forbid they decide to hop on out when the house is empty or in the middle of the night. Mice don't always act predictably, and if they get down, they're cut off from food and water, which can be dangerous. In my opinion, no mouse tank should ever be without a secure lid.

by MesaMouse Sat 04 Jun 2016, 9:00 pm

Ditto re keeping lids on tanks/totes. When I was first mousing, I was shocked to literally see how high a mouse could jump! A new duo was still in quarantine in a 10g (with a lid!) and had been moved to a deep plastic tote for some play time while I deep cleaned the tank. The tote's lid was off as I would reach in to play with the mice as I passed by while cleaning. As I approached the table on which the tote was sitting, I saw Lucia inside the tote, intently peering at Musetta who was outside the tote, peering back. I couldn't figure out how she got out, put her back in, stood back and watched -- with amazing ease, Musetta leapt straight up about 15", clung to the rim of the tote, climbed over and dropped down to the table top Shocked

! Needless to say, no mouse has ever again been left in a lidless tank or tote.