[zoe9]

Hi there - yesterday I discovered to my horror that a tiny wild mouse has been sneaking into my rats house to steal their food. I have now covered all the wiring with gauze so it can't happen again but am very worried as I know wild mice carry diseases and I am concerned my boys might get sick. I phoned the vet but they weren't that helpful and said there was nothing I could do to prevent any illnesses and just to keep an eye on them.
Has anyone had this happen to their rats? Were your rats okay?
Any advise would be appreciated as I am sick with worry.
Thank you.

 

[Forensic]

Quite frankly, I'm very surprised your rats didn't kill them.

Keep an eye on them, that's about all you can do.

 

[zoe9]

Quite frankly, I'm very surprised your rats didn't kill them.

Keep an eye on them, that's about all you can do. )

Well to be honest they did - killed and ate it, but I didn't want to mention that part because it's so awful.....

 

[Forensic]

Mm. Sorry.

 

[RainyDays]

Aww. Poor mouse.

 

[JadeAmber]

We had the same thing happen with our big boy Deimos. He is a little pretective of his home and we had been having a house mouse problem. We made sure we didn't leave any food out where they could get it, but one got bold and entered his cage. Luckily we caught him right after he had killed the mouse and traded him a treat for it. When we called the vet they said that after a week we could bring a stool sample to be checked. I feel like your vet should have suggested this. Also, watch for itching, this same boy got lice from mice in a previous apartment and it made him quite ill. The lice are treatable.

 

[zoe9]

Thank you for that Jade. So far they seem fine but I've been keeping an eye on their stools for any worms (although I suspect they may not always be visible to the naked eye) and I will definitely keep an eye on them for any itching in case they've picked up lice. Did you end up taking a stool sample to your vet? I assume all was okay with Deimos.
Meanwhile yes, poor mouse indeed although I'm still amazed that a) it was able to fit through the bars of the cage - they're one cm squared, and b) it was brave enough to go in there in the first place. Don't mice know that rats will attack them? Silly thing. On the plus side I did some reading and apparently the killing would have been over in just a matter of seconds (I hope.) It wasn't a pretty sight though when I found it. I won't go into details but the word evisceration does spring to mind...

 

[JadeAmber]

We did not bring a stool sample but we did bring him to the vet fairly soon after and have been keeping and eye on him. He has been his normal silly ticklish self so we know he is ok. I'm glad the story of Deimos the Mouse Catching Rat has helped.

 

[zoe9]

Oh I'm so glad he's alright. Hearing about his mouse catching exploits has helped. I'm still keeping a very close eye on my boys but feel much less anxious now. So thank you!