Arghhh - Mice droppings....

[Lessie]

Hey

I was cleaning my piggies hutch this afternoon - and as I emptied their food bowl I saw lots of mice droppings - I was absolutley gobsmacked as I have never had any problems or issues with mice/rats around them.

Now I'm really worried - will my piggies be okay? Are mice safe around pets?

I'm assuming not - however how do I get rid of them if so?

The piggies seems fine as they are out in their run happily munching grass.

I'm also shocked at the fact that mice can still squeeze through the bars, mind you they are quite small.@)

Arggghh what am I going to do!?!

 

[gembob]

oh my god, you wouldnt think mice could get through hutch bars would you? have you got a hutch cover on aswell? if not maybe you could try that. i would put some poison down, i know its cruel, but they could gve you guinea pigs anything if they bite them! theres also human deterents you can buy aswell to keep them away(supersonic beam things, cuz ive seen them before. if it was me id put them in the kitchen or something overnight until youve sorted the problem! i know thats not much help! gemx

 

[gembob]

oh my god, you wouldnt think mice could get through hutch bars would you? have you got a hutch cover on aswell? if not maybe you could try that. i would put some poison down, i know its cruel, but they could gve you guinea pigs anything if they bite them! theres also human deterents you can buy aswell to keep them away(supersonic beam things, cuz ive seen them before. if it was me id put them in the kitchen or something overnight until youve sorted the problem! i know thats not much help! gemx

 

[daftscotslass]

Do not under any circumstances put poison down. If a guinea pig eats a mouse dropping accidentally and the mouse has ingested poison then you could end up with dead guinea pigs.

I had a mouse drop dead in a humane trap recently (checked it several times a day in case one had been caught) and its droppings were blue - even though I wasn't putting poison down someone else was. This is why it's important to try and get rid of them.

Is the cage raised off the floor in some way?

 

[Lessie]

Do not under any circumstances put poison down. If a guinea pig eats a mouse dropping accidentally and the mouse has ingested poison then you could end up with dead guinea pigs.

I had a mouse drop dead in a humane trap recently (checked it several times a day in case one had been caught) and its droppings were blue - even though I wasn't putting poison down someone else was. This is why it's important to try and get rid of them.

Is the cage raised off the floor in some way?

They live in a double storey hutch - so I'm guessing the only way the mice got in was through the bars and up the ramp?!

Yes they have got cover but only for the top floor - as the piggies stay on the top floor throughout the night.

 

[piggiepaws]

If you can poke your finger through the bars (or a hole) then a mouse can get in. We have mice round our way now and again, all you can do is keep cleaning out the hutch as much as possible and feed most of the food in the morning/afternoon, not leaving too much out at night as the mice tend to come out sniffing at night (as well as slugs....ugh)

Its awful, but my cat catches and kills one when they are around, he always leaves them on the back doorstep outside - usually one a night until they are gone. Its cruel I know, but he has a bell and I try to keep him in at night - the instinct is there and you cant change it (another reason why i wont trust him near the piggies).

Dont put poison down. I hate slugs but I wont even put pellets down for them either as its not worth risking it.

If you are over-run with mice then the only suggestion I have is that you put traps down (obviously nowhere near where the piggies can ever get to) to control them. I know its not nice but in a trap they are killed quickly, whereas poison isnt safe for the piggies and is a very painful way to die.

I hope you manage to get rid of them! Once I covered for a caretaker in a school and opened the 'cleaning store/shed' and about 20 of them shot off in different directions when I opened the door..... it was a shuddering experience! :...

 

[Niki]

I had mice in my hutches in January of this year. I did set traps but in the end i'd to bring all my piggies indoors & remove all foood. The mice stayed around for approx 2 wks afterwards; eating the bits of food from all the nooks and crannys in the hutches. They moved on when they realised the food supply had gone.

Mice can get into spaces the diameter of a pencil as they have the ability to dislocate their bones. My vet told me that the chance of them passing diseases onto my piggies was slight but from a hygiene point of view it would be better to get rid of them asap. Good Luck!

 

[piggy lover]

with a two story hutch can you bring the ramp up at night and then use the cover to keep the top story enclosed, hopefully they wont get in that way, also i would get one of the sonic things It chases the mice and rats away, then you hopefull shouldnt have to kill them.

 

[piggy lover]

The sonic chasers are to chase rodents away and as GPs are Rodents I wouldnt advise using them any where near a GP.

thanks for that I didnt even think about the pigs, I am in the middle of rats in my ceiling and we have been thinking what do we do as I dont want to kill them just stop them from thinking my ceiling is a nice spot so we had looked at the chasers, just didnt get one as they were so dear.

 

[lindsecm]

Dang field mice keep finding their way into my house! My cats are catching them though, I collect while they are still alive and turn them loose...the mice have not found their way back to my piggies though.

Probably going to set up some small live traps this week to protect the piggies.