a mouse in my house!

[mle537]

Hello all, I have recently gotten married and moved into the house my husband is renting. It's a little cottage-like house on the bay, and it's in the woods, my problem is that we've been having issues with mice.

My chinchilla's cage is in our kitchen, that being the only room we could fit his large homemade cage into, and thats where we've been seeing mice droppings.

We've caught 3 mice total in 3 months. Not a huge infestation, but still gross to have in my kitchen. My concern is for Meatball (my chin). Does anyone know if house mice/field mice pose any threat disease or otherwise to Chins?

I'm not even sure if they could get into his cage, my dad built it with melamine coated wood, and pretty tight mesh screening. But I know they can fit into pretty small spaces so I just want to know if anyone is aware of any problems between house mice and Chins.

Thanks in advance!

-Emily and Meatball!-

 

[WhiteTree]

I'm not sure but I would think they might pose a threat due to disease. Being that they're wild they could be carry diseases that could harm your chinchilla. I would try setting some live traps then when you catch them, get in your car and release them far far away. I would start looking for possible entry holes around the outside of your house. Good luck.

 

[Mystic]

I agree with the threat due to disease. Also, they could climb in the chinchilla food bowl, eat the food and poo in the bowl, leaving something that your chinchilla could possibly ingest.

 

[sheri7]

I'm not sure if they pose a threat, but I had a mouse too....seems the mouse was eating the chinchillas hay. Now I keep the hay in a plastic tub with a lid so it doesn't attract mice.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Have you tried live traps? I love those, and go set the mouse free in a field far far away. Plus you get to see the cute little mouse! Once I kept one as a pet, it lived about 2 years. I can't believe my mom let me, and I am surprised I did not get some funky disease. I also once had tons of mice get into my bag of food I had in the storage room. It was pulsing with mice....that was nasty! I had to toss it and hire an exterminator!

 

[Spoof]

I highly doubt your chin would allow the mouse near it's cage. They are pretty territorial with things like that. All of mine used to bark and cry when a mouse would get near.

Never had anything passed between the two, and lived in many mouse infested abodes. )

I used regular PB laced traps. I knew when the mouse found it too, the room would be silent and I could go back to sleep.

 

[addictedtochins]

You should get a couple of adult cats, keep them outside if you don't want pets. But of course you still provide cat food and fresh water.

 

[3CsMommy]

Mice generally don't eat alfalfa pellets, but they might nibble on hay. (Your pantry is a more likely target.) I think the chances of the mouse getting into the cage after food are slim, but if there's a way to put up a metal baffle around the bottom of Meatball's cage that's wide enough the mouse couldn't climb it (6" should do it), he'll be safe from invasion.

A wild mouse could well transmit disease, though, esp. if it runs around where the chin does. Peppermint oil on cotton balls at the entrance/exit points of the mouse's holes is a good repellent, and if you don't care too much about the woodwork, taping plugs of balled-up aluminum foil in the holes is a good temporary fix until they can be closed up properly.

I DO NOT suggest keeping cats outdoors for ANY reason. Aside from the risk of hit by car, predation by animals, cruel neighbors/target practice, and parasites to the cat, you're more likely to pick up pink eye, pin worm, and fleas and ticks on yourself, which you'd then bring inside and introduce to everyone/thing else that lives there. You're also introducing another giardia vector to the area, and if I'm not mistaken chins can get Pink Eye from humans, and I *know* (via the hard way) that humans can get pink eye from outdoor cats.

 

[addictedtochins]

Mice can jump 2-3 feet. I caught one by the tail one time in my house, put him in a empty kitchen garbage can (not even with a liner) about 2-1/2 ft tall so I could release him in the forest, but he jumped straight out.

 

[Bethany]

If your wire mesh on the cage is 1/2 x1/2 inch or less then the mouse can not get in there. I have a pet mouse and he will not touch hay for anything but nesting stuff. I still would clean the floor and any area that you let your chin have playtime as there are things that can be passed from the mouse to the chin like toxoplasmosis and I think even giardia.