We've kept many rodents (more
info here).
Most recently, we had two mice, Slightly (a big fat silky grey
mouse), and Not (short for "Not Snakefood", since we adopted her from a
dorm room, where she was being held to be fed to a snake). They lived for
a while, and were cute and harmless. They lived together peacefully in
the same cage, and slept together. They were fun to hold, although they
pooped a lot all over us. They had very sharp, though teeny, claws, and
seemed to "velcro" onto any fabric, even on a vertical surface (they could
climb right up our shirt or pants!). They were acrobats to, and enjoyed
climbing around on the cardboard box castles we made for them. They
frequently used thier exercise wheel, too. One day, Not got a big lump
near one eye. It looked like a tumor. We brought her to the vet (Dr.
Aleiski is a kind vet, he didn't charge anything), and he examined her
quickly. His opinion was that it was either an infection/abscess or a
tumor. Given how well she was eating and how chipper she was, he doubted
it was an infection. We sadly took her home, and hoped that it wasn't a
dreaded tumor. Amazingly, our hopes came true. The lump disappeared one
day, and although Not lost her eye (the infection must have had something
to do with it, because when the lump disappeared, her eye atrophied and
healed permanently closed), her face healed entirely and she lived for a
long time after that, tumor free. We were psyched.
Both mice were sweeties. We eventually lost both of them to tumors. I
think they were fibrous skin type tumors - loose under the skin, not in
any particular organ... but they eventually made it hard for the mice to
walk around, and probably invaded other organs. The hardest part about
keeping rodents for pets is that they almost always die a gradual death
from cancer eventually, and unlike cats or dogs, it just doesn't make
financial sense to have the tumors removed surgically (surgery is also
dangerous on animals that size because the anesthesia is so tricky, etc).
It's hard to be faced with the decision of euthanasia or suffering.. and
even harder when the euthanasia costs $25, as it does at some veterinary
clinics. If the rodents rae lucky, they'll pass away peacefully in their
sleep, but if not, the decision at the end is always a difficult one, and
given their lifespan, you end up making those decisions every two or three
years, if you keep rodents. But, most people outlive their pets, and most
people admit that the joy they brought to our lives is worth the loss we
feel when they're gone. Blah, enough of that!
Last Modified December 14, 1998 by
Jessica Dion