The Three Blind Mice

Last Thursday Franco asked me if I wanted to go with him and Paola (the Italian intern) on a trip to a secluded beach in Half Moon Bay. Background: it was Paola's last week with us and she hadn't seen much of our coastline or the ocean. Also, Franco is into nature and goes around taking pictures of critters and plant life and then finds the scientific name of everything. I think part of the fascination is because he's from Italy so our land and critters are a little different. He even submits his photos to scientific classification websites.

The excursion was also so Franco could chisel some fossilized shells he found in a cliff at this beach. We left at 2:30 and I got to ride in Franco's spacious inside yet compact outside Element (His is silver.)

Well, let me tell you, that beach was secluded. It was just beyond Pomponio Beach, with no parking lot, just a little side spot that would fit one parked car. He said we had to go down a trail but it was more like a ravine complete with a huge pipe going down it that we had to jump and lean on to keep our balance over the trecherous rocks and gaps below. There was a windy down-sloping trail too, but it was overgrown and Franco helpfully identified poison ivy for us, oh, right by my thonged bare foot. Odd field trip.

When we got to the bottom, it really was a lovely secluded beach. The weather was warm enough to ditch my light jacket but once we walked out beyond the crevice opening of the beach, it was windy enough to cause some uncomfortable sand storms.

Freedom! Paola and I frolicked away. The water was freezing. Franco took us to where the fossilized shells were. They were stuck in the cliff all right. If I can find a pic he took I'll add it. Found it:



He started chiseling away but the shells were like powder and would disintegrate pretty easily. We explored a little cave at the end of the beach and found some more shells on the ceiling so I helped him get those ones. Also delicate.

Then we thought we'd explore the other side of the beach, the half to the right of the opening we had first come out of. Oh fateful day.

Halfway down that side someone said "Look!" And this little guy was lying there.

We looked closely and he was still alive. We didn't see any nest around, only beach and a cliff with holes in it about 15 feet up. I thought he might have fallen out of the hole in the cliff. Franco thought he must have fallen from the top of the cliff but I thought that much of a fall would've killed him, even if he only weighs 4 grams. Then we found another one about 5 feet away, again still breathing.

We finished walking that side and I was still worried about them. On the way back I looked for them, thinking we could use a shell to get them back in the cliff holes, although we weren't sure that's where they came from. But the holes were too high up, even for Franco. So I put them in my pocket determined to take care of them a little bit.

Then we found a third one!

Their eyes were all closed and they weren't moving much, just babies.

When I finally got home I did some research on what to feed them, etc. I fed them warm human baby soy formula frequently at first and they started getting stronger. Now one is doing pretty good and the other two must either be younger or runts. I have them in a nice cage and have a little carry cage too. I've been washing my hands and being careful but today I'm buying gloves and maybe a face mask too. They can carry some scary diseases. I hope they get strong soon and able to fend for themselves. Then off to the woods they go!

Their eyes opened on Friday and Saturday, so that would make them about 2-3 weeks.

Last night I fixed up their temporary home. They've gone from a shoebox to a throw up bin to a little carry cage to a decent sized cage. They're very curious and cute and absolutely love their little exercise circle thing. They're pretty tiny still so they're not very good at it though.

I just hope they're doing ok right now. I didn't bring them to work today to feed them at lunch time. I gave them food last night and they started nibbling but I don't think they've figured out the water bottle. I left them mouse food and a tiny dish with water but now I'm worried it might not be enough. I didn't want to put too much water in case they drown.

Here's a pic so you get an idea of their size. This was the Friday, the day after the evening we found them:



Thanks to Franco for the pics.

I'm worried about them missing today's feedings and staying warm but not too warm. I left my electrical heater on low and the window cracked open. Hopefully that will amount to warm-but-not-too-warm. There are so many things that these little guys can die from, you have no idea. Besides all the predators, they can die from choking on too much formula, aspiration (formula in the lungs), and not being able to burp. They might get too hot and then get dehydrated. They can also die if you overfeed them so you have to keep track of their weight and do calculations.. Oh, the list goes on. And I'm worried about myself about getting some deadly mouse disease. Sometimes it's good to be hardnosed. I hope they make it and I stay healthy. I will try to take precautions on all accounts and get them back into the wild as soon as I can.

So that's your update.