My Mouse Escape Artist

I have a new friend. He’s a little white mouse who I’ve named Houdini. The name’s appropriate, he is quite the escape artist!

Houdini is just a plain little white mouse who was meant to be snake food. He was even given to a snake and (we think) the snake tried to snatch him, as he has a small sore on his back that is healing. However, Houdini managed to escape not only the snake, but also managed to figure out a way to get out of the snake’s enclosure. He was not cunning enough to escape people, however, and was found running around an upstairs room.

Now, Houdini is obviously a smart little mouse and he’s quite sweet (which is not always the case for male mice), so my friend decided he deserved to live. She didn’t necessarily want to keep a mouse, however. So, she was happy when I said I wouldn’t mind taking him home to live with me.

Houdini came home with me about a week ago and he’s turning into quite a character! He’s a smelly little beast, much more so than the rats, so I’m learning online all about odor control from others with male mice.

Houdini enjoys sitting on my hand and seems to like being scratched. However, he was pretty shy at first about being picked up and would run and hide when I stuck my hand into his cage.

We’ve been working on this over the past few days (with a bit of help from some peanut butter) and he’s turning into quite a brave and outgoing little guy. He’ll jump up on my hand now in exchange for a small tidbit and he’s started coming of his burrow whenever I walk into my office.

I plan to start clicker training him pretty soon, as soon as he gets a bit more confident. So, be on the look out for more photos and videos! He has a proper sized cage now. I had him in the smaller pink cage (pictured) until I could get him an appropriate cage. Any mouse owners are welcome to jump in with tips or advice, as I am a first time mouse owner. 🙂

(Note: Now, I’m happy this little guy got to come home with me, but snakes have to eat too. If you plan to comment, please do so politely, without bashing snakes or their owners. I reserve the right to delete comments that are rude or derogatory. The snake mentioned previously in this post is actually one who is used for educational purposes to teach children and adults about nature and wildlife.)