Mouse in cage

[Holly the U2]

Since my birds really only sleep in their cages, I switched the to AE 32x24 dome top cages, now there is about 24 inches from the floor to the seed guards.

I could not believe when I did my normal check on the before I went to bed to find a mouse in the bottom of Stewie's cage. My first thought was how did it get in there, can mice climb?

if so how do I stop it. it really freaked me out to think my birds are not alone in their cages at night.

has anyone that has had this problem, if so, what did you do?

I've read to grease the legs with Vaseline?

 

[MikeyTN]

Mouse trap! When I used to live out in the country side I had that problem. The only way to stop it is to eradicate them completely.

 

[Siobhan]

We have a few mice every winter and I actually saw one of the cheeky little beggars climb into my tiel Freddie's cage and help himself, while Freddie was in there. Freddie wasn't disturbed by it. I used poison but I felt really bad about it. I made sure the poison was in a place where the birds couldn't possibly get at it, but after I found two of the mice in the middle of the floor dying, I decided no more poison. Traps are dangerous for your birds if they get down on the floor at all. They make humane traps that don't hurt the mice and won't hurt your bird. Use peanut butter for bait, and then just take the trap far away and let the mouse go. Please, PLEASE do not get a glue trap. For one thing, it's a horribly cruel way to kill mice. For another, it's another terrible hazard for your birds.

 

[Holly the U2]

my son said he just watched one climb up the PVC pipe that i use to hide the thermo perch cord,
he said dad, it shimmied itself right up up the pipe and into the bottom of the cage.

 

[Christinenc2000]

Don't use poison please

Story of an Owl Killed by Rat Poison

Posted by Becky Smith
Feb 13, 2013 10:05:00 AM

 

[Holly the U2]

just seen this

House mice can:

"jump as high as 18 inches (46 cm) from a floor onto an elevated surface"

that's crazy

 

[Scott]

Don't use poison please

Story of an Owl Killed by Rat Poison

Posted by Becky Smith
Feb 13, 2013 10:05:00 AM

Thank you for posting this, Christine. I witnessed a beautiful owl die many years ago. Knowing my love of birds, a neighbor called me to observe an owl behaving most unusually; stumbling on the ground during daylight. Under closer examination, the beak and chest were flecked with droplets of blood, yet there was no visible sign of trauma. Minutes later, it passed, and the source of bleeding was obvious via the opened beak.

Most rat poisons contain warfarin (blood thinner) as active ingredient, and it is not fully metabolized by the intended target. An owl eats many rodents on a good night, and thus can ingest a lethal dose. The process of internal deterioration leading to "bleeding out" must be terribly painful.

Glue traps are horrific, and have unintentionally trapped birds. I have found the best prevention is the meticulous sealing of every entrance to the dwelling, not leaving doors open, and keeping the cage as clear of discarded food as possible. (yeah, right, birds are not very tidy!)

 

[Christinenc2000]

We get mice and use traps. No way to get rid of them unless we did trap them .