Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I caught a mouse, but is it in shock?

My dad has been putting out traps that kill the mice, so I got our live catch mousetrap out so I could catch them first. The first night, the cheese I put in there was gone, the trap was closed, but there was no mouse (these mice are smart. They actually stole one of my dad's traps). I forgot to check this morning, so I checked when I came home almost an hour ago. The trap felt heavier, and there was a puddle of liquid (urine) under the trap. I shook the trap a bit (really gently) to see if something moved. Eventually, I felt it move, so I took it across the street to the woods. It took about a minute (with me shaking the trap a bit) for the mouse to get out of the trap. When it got out, it was soaked thoroughly with its own urine, and it couldn't walk well. It was fully extending it's legs one or two at a time, and kept flipping itself over. Then it would stop and be still for a while. I gently prodded it with a twig to get it to move again, but it just kept doing that weird rolling thing. It's eyes are closed a lot of the time, too. It's kinda cold outside, and I wasn't sure if there was enough food in the woods for it (I heard something about there being no acorns this year?), and it was starting to rain. I figured a mouse that was already soaked in urine shouldn't be out in the cold rain away from its den (in our house), so I used a twig to push it back into the trap so I could carry it home. It barely resisted at all, and I got it halfway into the trap, on its back. It didn't move at all as I carried it home. I put it in a shoebox with some peanuter, some bird food, and a paper towel for bedding (or to dry itself off), but other than the occasional waddling and rolling around (which has only happened once or twice, and has resulted in it lying on a pile of bird food with its foot in peanuter, it just lays there with its eyes closed. I don't see any injuries. Is it in shock or sick? When I let it go, will it be fine in the woods without a den to go to already made for winter? How far away do I have to release it to make sure it doesn't come back to my house?

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