This is Huckleberry,
and cheese isn't actually too good for him.
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But I din't know that yesterday, when I first found him. That poor little thing, barely the size of my thumb. But he seemed desperate enough and he did actually give it a try anyways.
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newest update was working without any issues and the token was doing better on the market than I could have hoped for.But let's start from the beginning, yesterday afternoon. I was done working on my latest cuddly steem-project, @catnet, the
Delighted with the progress, I decided I could do with some fresh air. There's also some new #googlyeyes in town that I hadn't taken any good pictures of, yet. The late afternoon sun might give the place some good lighting, or so I had hoped, it was time to take a nice little walk across town with @hazel420.
Almost at our destination, the weather suddenly changed. A thunderstorm was approaching fast and we tried to find some shelter when we literally stumbled over little Huckleberry stranded on the sidewalk.
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He was shivering and slowly stumbling across the sidewalk all by himself. The rain had already set in and it was getting chilly fast. We couldn't find a nest or any other seemingly safe crevice nearby that we could have guided him back to. Lacking better options, we decided to just pick him up for his own safety first.
I had expected a bit of a struggle, but the poor little thing didn't even mind at all. As soon as he felt the warmth of my hands he actually started to relax. The shivering calmed down and he didn't attempt to get away at all. He was still panting, but he curled up, and I think he actually fell asleep on the spot!
We rushed back home through the pouring rain, my hands gently wrapped up to create a warm and sheltered nest for the little run-away-rodent.
Back at my place, we tried feeding him some breadcrumbs and bits of cheese. He gave everything a nibble, but he seemed to have trouble with solid food, he was definitely hungry, though.
I have zero experience with rodents, but the internet luckily knows it all! We quickly learned a few things:
- Huckleberry is only maybe 10-14 days old, he hasn't even opened his eyes yet!
- He still needs to be fed milk because he can't really deal with solid food yet.
- Can't use regular milk, though. Baby mice are lactose intolerant, or to quote @isnogud: "He's a bloody hipster!"
- Hand-raising a baby mouse is quite the ordeal.
- They can develop life threatening constipation and need belly massages to be able to poop.
So now there's that. I'll be feeding a little baby mouse lactose free milk and electrolytes through a tiny syringe every few hours and administer gentle q-tip massages for the next week or three?!
I think I'll have quite a handful to take care of with this little guy.
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But I don't even mind at all, it's been a super rewarding experience with that cute little fur-ball so far. He's been gaining back some strength and after a feeding he will occasionally attempt to start a little excursion on his own.
I can see how that little fellow got lost in the first place... curiosity killed the cat, but luckily Huckleberry is safe with me now!
I named him Huckleberry because he obviously ran away from home. Hazel wanted to call him Fievel, but I like Huckleberry better and according to the urban dictionary that name fits him like a sleeve.
He has a little cardboard box filled with tissue paper that he can call his new nest now. It's wrapped in a heating blanket to give him comfort, but his favorite sleeping position by far, is being cuddled up tightly in my left hand.
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UPDATE: He opened his eyes already!]I'll keep you updated on his progress here or with a few @snaepshots. I hope he'll get to see his new mom for the first time when he starts opening his eyes in a few days! [
Yes, his new mom... that would be me. I bring the milk.
I'm also not sure if he might not actually be a she.
But Huckleberry makes for a good girl's name, too.
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three kittens, a bunny, and countless googlyeyes
that's me... and now there's Huckleberry, too
fraenk loves you!
That is so very mice of you!
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no matter how small, every life is worth protecting <3 so proud of you @fraenk
@mathowl is resteeming food options for @regularowl ? ;)
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I was just doing some maintenance work. Regularowl is electronic-owl. He likes chips :P
It's a nice piece of Creative Non Fiction.
thanks for sharing this on #PYPT @pypt
The cutest steemit post ever
Huckleberry looks like lots of fun. Lucky to be discovered by you. I had a pet rat once. Great little buddy to have.
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What a tiny little thing! So, we now have another mascot for PYPT each week! π
Good to see you value life :-)
@regularowl Look a kewl bebe
Too cute. I recently discovered we have a mouse sharing space with us. Up until yesterday it had only left proof of it's existence. My daughter and I were sitting at the dining room table quietly surfing the net when I spotted it going for dog food i had out for a neighborhood dog i had taken care of. It was running around the kitchen then grabbed some of the dog food before running back to it's hiding spot. I'm hoping to be able to trap it alive.
i love him!!! he is so sweet! @yidneth
S/hes gorgeous. I've saved a few young hedgehogs and can remember the belly rubs. Good luck!
Pets can be a handful, but that little guy is a very little guy/gal whatever. When dpets comes out with the monthly I bet he gets a good amount of votes. I myself do not like mice that much, I did have a hamster with a hamster house and a gazillion hamster tubes when I was a kid, and it was fun to watch him, but at night had to lock down that exercise wheel, man did that thing squeak. It kept the cat happy having something to watch, not sure the cat liked it to much though, the hamster was well protected and the cat just could not figure out how to get the hamster.
He really is small. I hope he does well under your care. Good luck!
Huckleberry is an awesome little guy.
You donβt get tired of finding new ways of spreading love out there... well βhuckβ itβs amazingly lovely so itβs your story about your meeting β€οΈβ€οΈ
More tasks to your daily list that I guess itβs rather full π
Iβll be following itβs progress, wish you success on this not so easy task...
Hugs
Hi @fraenk,
Thanks so much for partaking in #dailypetphotography!
Our discord channel is up and running, come on over and say hi, lots of avil pet owners are awaiting you there.
Please follow @dpet for upcoming events. https://discord.gg/GYrnsNm
What a heartwarming story. Great job rescuing him.
Omg Huck you had me at hello ! @hazel420 @fraenk congrats on the new baby. The nights giving the seringe bottle are tough for sleep hihih bu what about the cat ??????
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So tiny and so cute and I learnt a lot about them from this post ;) \
PS I think the name suits it very well :)