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08/04/2005: "Of Mice and Men (and secret projects)"

Well, Bryan is handling the Secret Project pretty well. He didn't kill me, but I'll bet that when it comes time to move and we have to haul the Secret Projects in and out of hotel rooms every day, he'll be annoyed.

So anyway, here's the man, looking not so annoyed since he was reunited with his beloved Spooge Cat (who wants to eat said Secret Project):

And here are the mice (the Secret Project.)

Yes, the Secret Project was mice.

See, I have this friend who has a big, nasty lizard. She feeds Big Nasty Lizard other nasty things like mealworms and crickets. And sometimes, she feeds it frozen baby mice.

A couple of weeks ago, she sent her visiting mother-in-law to the pet store for frozen baby mice, but the pet store didn't have frozen ones, so they sent home live ones.

Well, my friend couldn't take them back, and she didn't have the heart to freeze the little things herself. But the mice were LITTLE. Their ears and eyes weren't even open, and she didn't have the time to nurse them, so she knew they'd either starve to death or she'd have to freeze them. I couldn't allow either to happen, so I took them.

I nursed them with kitten milk replacement in a teeny syringe every two hours, day and night, gradually lengthening the time to four hours, and then six as their eyes opened.

Now they get milk three times a day, and they are out of the little box I had them in, and they have their own mouse-sized Habitrail. They're SOOOOOO cute! And they're very sweet and friendly.

I named them all after rodent-borne diseases, so their names are: Hanta (hantavirus,) Hista (histaplasmosis,) and Buboe (bubonic plague.)

Bryan wasn't thrilled, but he actually plays with them and holds them while I get their milk ready, so I'm taking a big swipe of the brow. We really don't need more pets since the ones we have are so time consuming, plus, we move about every two years, and moving animals is a huge pain. But hey, he knew I was a sucker for little furries when we met, so it wasn't like he was shocked that I'd nurse baby mice and then keep them!

Anyway, that's the secret project. Nothing huge...just fun!

By the way, if you are having trouble loading my blog, you aren't alone. I'll be fixing it soon, I promise! I'm upgrading to Wordpress, so please be patient!

Replies: 16 brave souls responded

on Thursday, August 4th, Danica said

So will said secret project be eaten? Or have they been spared?

on Thursday, August 4th, Larissa said

Eaten? Ack! No, they have been spared. They're pets now!

on Thursday, August 4th, Linda said

Oh, how sweet! Mice named after deadly diseases, LOL.

Neat story, Larissa. And a cute kitty, too.

on Thursday, August 4th, Ellen Fisher said

If you've read HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, you know that white mice are actually the projection into our dimension of vastly intelligent pandimensional beings. Or something like that. And then there's Pinky and the Brain, who plan to take over the world. Are you SURE you can handle white mice??

on Thursday, August 4th, Larissa said

LOL--thanks, Linda.

Ellen, I'm now rethinking the keeping of the mice thing. I don't think I can handle smart rodents in my house!

on Friday, August 5th, Sharon said

Hehehehe what a good sport hubby is

You crack me up!

on Friday, August 5th, Michelle said

Gaaa! Mice!! They give me the creepies, though hats off to you for rescuing them from becoming mice-cicles.

on Friday, August 5th, Beth C said

Cute story, Larissa. Hubby, kitty and mice are cute too--don't know about those mice names! Bless you for saving the furry guys. Eaten? Frozen? ACK! is right.

on Friday, August 5th, Rene said

Oh, how cute. I used to have pet rats. I actually started with one female rat whom I named "Vermin." Within two weeks of getting her, I ended up with 7 rats. They were a lot of fun. I'd love to have another one but I'm scared my kids would hurt them.

on Friday, August 5th, Joely said

I love the deadly diseases for names!! I always wanted a hamster when I was a kid.

on Friday, August 5th, Larissa said

Sharon, hubby surprises me sometimes, I have to admit!

Mice-cicles! Love it! *g*

Beth, thanks!

Rene, I'd love to have rats! I hear they are great pets.

Joely, I've had a LOT of hamsters. I enjoy them, but they are super messy, and they tend to bite. I had one that bit the end of my finger off. It was less than pleasant!

on Friday, August 5th, Charlene said

Cute! And what a tolerant hubby you've got.

The cat seems realllly interested in the project...

on Friday, August 5th, Bonnie Ferguson said

They're so cute

on Saturday, August 6th, carolburnside said

Hmm. A cat and now mice. Uh-huh. I can see the future now. No wonder your DH looks so happy with his cat. LOL!

on Saturday, August 6th, Lynn Daniels said

Love the deadly disease names! I don't know if I could have taken the mice, but I don't think I'd have been able to freeze them, either.

on Sunday, August 7th, Theresa said

I handraised a baby squirrel one time.

The vet figured it was only a few hours old. Still pink and transluscent, with bumps for its eyes and no ears at all.

The funny thing was that we didn't know for sure it was a squirrel. It was 50/50 between an infant rat and an infant squirrel.

I had to feed it every two hours too, for weeks--which meant sneaking it into work and feeding it on breaks and lunch.

It's actually against the law to keep a squirrel, so I had to get a wildlife rehabilitations license and promise to release it back into the wild.

Since squirrels are CRAZY, releasing it was a relief. Mice would have been easier.

Theresa