My Meeces - The Present Bunch

Here are all my current mice in order of who moved in first!

Molly

I’d never had spiny mice before I homed Molly and Matilda. They, like some 400 others, came from a huge rescue where they were living in the most appalling conditions and were going to be gassed if they weren’t found homes pronto. Fortunately by the power of the Internet a huge push was made to find places for them and just about every rescue and foster in the south of England ended up with spinys. Unfortunately most of them were injured, maimed, ill, malnourished or pregnant and many died, had to have limbs/tails amputated or be PTS. Even so there were still literally hundreds needing homes so I swatted up on any spiny info I could find and become a spiny mouse Mum! Fortunately it turned out neither of my original girls were pregnant and apart from a complete lack of tail Molly is in excellent health. She is the maddest of all my spinys, leaps around like crazy and thinks nothing of hanging upside down by one leg in mid air before bouncing off a wall and onto something else. Think street jumper massively sped up and you’re about there!

Matilda

I got Matilda at the same time as Molly and the two are the best of friends. She’s not as out and out bonkers as her sister but still bounces around in the way only spinys can lol! She has a stump where her tail should be but other wise seems completely unscathed by her awful start in life.

Amelia

Amelia is one of the second pair of spiny mice I homed from the same rescue case. She and Heidi were successfully introduced to the two girls I already had and the four of them got on brilliantly until Heidi died unexpectedly. Amelia pined awfully for her friend and there was a tense time when it looked as though Molly and Matilda were rejecting her but fortunately over time the three of them settled down and are now a very bonded little trio. Amelia also has the most tail of all my spinys - almost half!

Grace

As you can see from the photo my Grace is a disabled mousie. She was violently attacked by cage mates shortly after the big spiny rescue took place (who could blame them for their behaviour given what they’d all been through!) and as a result she has neither of her back legs. Gracie though doesn’t seem to realise this and does her best to run and jump about as any other mouse would. Her balance and grip is obviously limited and I have to be very careful about the set up in her cage as she has a tendency to climb as high as she can and allow gravity to take care of getting back down again! This little girl is nothing short of amazing so what else could she be called but Grace!?

Hoggle

Hoggle is a very intelligent, affectionate and friendly little man who is always sticking his nose through the cage bars looking for a kiss, which he knows will secure him a treat lol! I got him and his friend Old Bear at the same time as Grace and Baby. He is also a disabled mouse, half of one of his back feet is missing and although he can and does walk on it it does bother him sometimes and he pulls his whole leg up under him like a bird and runs about on three legs. Poor Hoggle withdrew into himself terribly when Bear died and after a lot of consideration I decided to have him neutered and pair him with the also disabled and by that time also lonely Grace. Fortunately the decision turned out to be a very good one and the two of them are totally inseparable now, they even run in their exercise wheel side by side!

Poppy

Poppy and her sister Dot (below) are affectionately referred to as my ‘dumped’ girls. They had been found in a small box in a children’s play park by a member of the public who had then handed them in to their nearest vet. It happened to be one I was registered with so they called me to see if I could take them. Sadly the third mouse who was also in with the girls had already died from cold and hunger (it was January and there was no food in the box) but somehow they survived and have gone from strength to strength since being here. Poppy is shy with people but loves other mice and in general is doing very well in spite of her difficult start in life.

Dot/Little Bug

Dot is Poppy’s sister. When I collected them from the vet she didn’t look very well and the way she scuttled about earnt her the nickname little bug. Both the vet and I had concerns that she might not survive her ordeal but amazingly within days she had recovered very well and soon she was the same size as Poppy. She also turned out to be the bolder of the two and is much more inclined to come to the door for treats than her sister. The occasional bout of noisy breathing is now the only way you’d know how unwell she once was!

Timmy

Tim arrived as one of a group of 5 foster boys but quickly showed himself to be aggressive and before long had to be separated. He was neutered with the intention of moving in with my group of girls before I decided I was able to keep the other boys and so was the first of them that I ‘got to know’ properly. Timmy is a very active and energetic little man who is often up and about when all his cage mates are asleep and loves getting out and exploring. He is also very friendly with people but is usually far too busy to be fussed for more than a second a two! Until she passed away his best buddy was Emily and he seems at a bit of a loss at the moment. I’m hoping he will settle again with the introduction of some new friends in the next few days.

Jake

Jake was part of the same group as Timmy however he happily stayed living with his brothers. He’s very aloof by nature and tolerates human interaction rather than liking it, he seems to think people are a bit of an inconvenience lol and I even found myself on the sharp end of his teeth once when changing his bedding. He is however very attached to Ollie in particular and if you see one up and about the other is never far away, a mouses mouse if ever there was one. He’s a gorgeous boy though and I wouldn’t change him for the world.

Ollie

Otherwise known as spidermouse lol! Ollie is the boldest of the group of 4 that are still together and is forever getting into all sorts of strange contortions whilst playing, hence his nickname. If a toy can possibly be hung from upside down by one foot then you can be sure it’ll be Ollie to find out! He and Jake are the most bonded of the group but unlike Jake Ollie is is always happy to see you and is usually first out when the door opens. He is just the most fun loving, lively boy and its impossible not to adore him!

Pete

Petey is another of the group of 4 boys that came as fosters. It took me ages to settle on an name for him although for some reason I knew it needed to start with a ‘p’ lol! Pete is inquisitive but a bit shy with it so most of the photos I have are of him peeking out of a hiding place like the one above. He is happy to be handled and loves his brothers although he seems to adopt a ‘whoever is closest at the time’ approach to company, favouring no one in particular that I can tell as long as he’s got someone to snuggle up with!

Bobble

Little Bobble is the runt of the group of boys and has had me worried on a number of occasions. He was visably smaller than his brothers when they arrived and seemed to be on the receiving end of Timmy’s hot temper before he was separated too. None of the others pick on him but he can still be a bit of a loner at times and doesn’t seem to have a best friend. He has however put on a good amount of weight and closed the gap in size a bit now although I still tend to sneak him out for extra treats from time to time as I did in the beginning. He’s a very quiet and cuddly boy and when he’s out he spends a fair bit of time snuggled down the front of my top!! Bobble also has a bit of trouble with his respiratory system which worries me for the future a bit but in general I think he’s come on well since he first got here.

Sam

Pippa

Maisy

Joe

Joe is the father of all the babies Pippa had before coming here and her little soulmate. When they were separated upon arriving in rescue they apparently spent all their time up at the bars trying to get to each other and when finally reunited here (after he was neutered) it was immediately obvious that they remembered each other. They are totally devoted to each other and Joe is never happier than when snuggled up with his Pippa. He is still getting to know the rest of his new cagemates and there has been a little friction between him and Timmy but even so he seems to be settling well and I’m very happy I was able to take him to be with Pippa and Maisy.