November
2008
Here comes trouble!
My Welsh foster boys arrived last night. I have 2 poorly single boys (more about them in a second) and a very lively group of 6, a couple of whom tried to leap to freedom whilst being moved from carrier to cage! As my own mice have vacated the big freddy cage the group have gone straight in there and have been busily zooming around it since. They appear young, about 8 weeks by my guess, and so are still very much in their bouncy flea stage - and very fast with it they are too. I opened the cage door to take a picture of them playing and one little man instantly bolted out, up the outside of the cage and on to the roof! Fortunately he ran into the toilet roll tube I offered him so I got him straight back but these guys are going to be a handful to say the least. There is a fair bit of squeaking and chasing already but until they’ve had chance to settle it’s to be expected. I’ll have to watch the little black one though as he’s my Timmy all over again and seems to be causing most of the fuss! 
My first little poorly man isn’t anything too serious, just a few bites around his bottom where he’s obviously been picked on, slightly weak back legs and the most crooked tail I’ve ever seen! He is the most amazingly calm little thing though, was quite happy to be picked up, held and fussed and is generally just an angel.
The other little single on the other hand is worrying me a lot and has a very intimate problem to say the least. He also looks to have been picked on as he has a bitten tail, a lump and bites round his bottom and very weak back legs but the worst thing is his that his little penis has obviously been bitten, is swollen and incredibly sore looking and he can’t retract it. My first concern was that he might not be weeing but I’ve seen the stains on the newspaper lining his cage (I had to swap to sheets of newspaper as he was struggling to move his back legs across the shredded cardboard) so that’s one thing. I’ve got him on anti-biotics for the possible infection, metacam for the inflammation and as pain relief and will be out buying vaseline in a minute to put on him. He seemed very stressed when he got here, poor thing but is much brighter this morning and has nommed his meds straight down. He is also eating like a trooper although again he was struggling with a food bowl so now he’s just got it on the floor. Please keep everything crossed for him. 
