Aw crap - mouse crap!
Cleaning out the bottom of Kappa's cage today, I found mouse poop in the papers. !!! Kappa's cage is set up so that the tray in the bottom is lined with newspaper, then there's a grill on top of that, and another layer of papers on top of the grill. The papers on top of the grill get changed at least twice a week, the papers in the tray get changed at least every other week since they don't get as much food on them. It was these papers on the very bottom that had mouse poop in them.
Yes, I know it's my own fault for not changing papers more often. My question is what do I do now to (a) reduce the chance of more mice getting up there (other than cleaning daily), and (b) protect Kappa's health?
It is not possible to seal all the holes that mice could be entering the apartment by - I can't get to the holes behind the fridge, dishwasher, or oven; I can't plug the 12" by 12" hole in the ceiling of the front hall closet; I can't plug the multiple holes around pipes running between the basement and the second floor through my apartment. I run the Roomba at least twice a week around the cage, at least once a week in the kitchen, and at least every other week in the rest of the house. The cage is an EFC and I'm not sure how the mice are getting up there - it's possible it's via the bookshelf next to the cage, so we could try moving that. I cover her cage at night since her cage is in the office where my boyfriend and I work. I try to keep the fabric up off the floor so mice can't get up, but it's not always possible to do so perfectly. Should I consider a sleep cage in a closet so without a cloth for mice to potentially climb up? I'm going to change papers daily. Anything else I should be doing?
Kappa got her 6-month check up two weeks ago - the place I board her requires throat cultures every 6 months, and both that and her CBC came back good. We're still waiting on more details from the fungal culture, that's supposed to take 3-4 weeks. Should I take her in to the vet for another check up due to the potential exposure to whatever the mice could be carrying?
My inclination is that (1) once I change papers daily that's pretty much the only thing I can do other than put down traps or tell the landlord (who might call a pest service which might use things toxic to Kappa); and (2) that I don't need to bring Kappa to a vet since she recently tested in good health so on the off chance that she was actually exposed to anything, she should be able to fight it off, and I'll keep my eyes open for symptoms and bring her in at the slightest sign of anything. (Note to self: weigh Kappa tomorrow.)
Yes, I know it's my own fault for not changing papers more often. My question is what do I do now to (a) reduce the chance of more mice getting up there (other than cleaning daily), and (b) protect Kappa's health?
It is not possible to seal all the holes that mice could be entering the apartment by - I can't get to the holes behind the fridge, dishwasher, or oven; I can't plug the 12" by 12" hole in the ceiling of the front hall closet; I can't plug the multiple holes around pipes running between the basement and the second floor through my apartment. I run the Roomba at least twice a week around the cage, at least once a week in the kitchen, and at least every other week in the rest of the house. The cage is an EFC and I'm not sure how the mice are getting up there - it's possible it's via the bookshelf next to the cage, so we could try moving that. I cover her cage at night since her cage is in the office where my boyfriend and I work. I try to keep the fabric up off the floor so mice can't get up, but it's not always possible to do so perfectly. Should I consider a sleep cage in a closet so without a cloth for mice to potentially climb up? I'm going to change papers daily. Anything else I should be doing?
Kappa got her 6-month check up two weeks ago - the place I board her requires throat cultures every 6 months, and both that and her CBC came back good. We're still waiting on more details from the fungal culture, that's supposed to take 3-4 weeks. Should I take her in to the vet for another check up due to the potential exposure to whatever the mice could be carrying?
My inclination is that (1) once I change papers daily that's pretty much the only thing I can do other than put down traps or tell the landlord (who might call a pest service which might use things toxic to Kappa); and (2) that I don't need to bring Kappa to a vet since she recently tested in good health so on the off chance that she was actually exposed to anything, she should be able to fight it off, and I'll keep my eyes open for symptoms and bring her in at the slightest sign of anything. (Note to self: weigh Kappa tomorrow.)