The Reality of Rodents

The talk went very well, the movies were great. The producers of "One Rat Short" sent me a copy of the film and a press kit, which I used to help introduce the film by linking it to my talk.

Melonie and Sicero were on their best behaviour and let themselves be cuddled the whole time. I think Melonie, who is more shy than Sicero, would have preferred being with me or Sicero as we're familiar, but she stayed under a blanket with a little girl whose pet rat had died during the summer and spent some time sleeping.

Here is a good write-up to promote the event:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=27b46442-bf61-4272-ac6b-4c799c2da841

And I hope that several of the audience members, who spoke with me during intermission, will drop me a note. It was a pleasure talking with everyone.

About poisons and wildlife...

This coyote survived and miraculously was able to be released back into the wild. Most victims of secondary poisoning are not as lucky. The poisoning of any animal is cruel, and although these poisons are legal and readily available in lawn and garden shops across the country, they wreak havoc on native wildlife. People who use these products to eliminate rodent problems are causing sustained suffering and can inadvertently kill the very animals that would help control their rodent population. If predators such as coyotes were allowed to do their jobs, rodent populations everywhere would be dramatically reduced.

Click the link above to read the whole story.

Kiki the neurotic mouse

Sometimes, mice go a little neurotic - and it's most likely to happen when they are bored. They will run laps, do backflips, and self-mutilate.

Kiki, one of my mice, had a companion, Bea, but she was constantly getting sick (she went blind in one eye, she had an absess, she had sniffles). Despite Bea's doting attention, she overgroomed herself and scratched a wound into the back of her neck. We (Bea and I) nursed her back to health, and the next issue was she was cleaning her face so much, she rubbed the whiskers and the fur off her nose.

After six months of the two of them living together, Bea remaining fat and happy, and Kiki spending most of her time grooming and sleeping, I decided that it was worth the risk of doing an integration with my other mouse girls.

Now, seven of them live together, and have for about 10 days. Kiki is now incredibly active - spry is the word - climbing bars, running in the wheel, and seeking food and my attention. When I reach in to pet her, because she's blind in one eye, the first thing she does is bite me before she lets me pick her up. She is almost always the first to the food bowl and the last one to leave. She is gaining weight, and I am hoping that soon her whiskers will grow back.

It turns out that though fat Bea is a good cage mate, Kiki needed to have society. And soon she will have two more, and be part of a big group of 9.