Stuck

So like the day before I got back from my staycation, we had a mouse escape from its cage at work.

And I had had the passing thought that maybe he'd gotten stuck in one of the pest traps that we have around the store as we have those to catch...well mostly bugs, but occasionally wild mice that somehow get into the store (though it's really only bugs and the occasional loose reptile) 

But I never had a chance to look in the traps and the thought passed from my mind...until Monday when I realized that there was a 'smell of death' in our breakroom. 

I'd actually noticed the smell on Saturday...but hadn't placed it specifically as a 'death' smell. I'd thought that maybe someone had cooked something smelly in the microwave or something. 

But a scent doesn't last until monday if it's a food scent. (Not unless it gets burned I suppose)

And unfortunately, when I checked the trap in the break room....

The mouse was in it.

Dead.

Y_Y;;;

No wonder the place was starting to smell. *exhales* And I felt really bad that I hadn't checked the traps earlier because maybe we could have saved it.

Fast forward to today.

We had a shipment of new mice come into the store yesterday.

And I'd asked my coworker how they were doing this morning since I worked an evening shift.

And she responded that all six of the mice we'd gotten in were still there and getting along great.

So I was like "Great!"

And went on with my day...

Until I got to closing down the back rooms where the new mice are kept.

And when I opened the cage...I was surprised to only see five mice in the cage. 

Not six.

But my coworker had specifically stated that there had been six mice this morning.

And after checking through the bedding to make sure that the mouse hadn't buried himself within...I had to come to the conclusion that this mouse had somehow escaped his cage.

My guess is that, since this batch was younger and therefore smaller than previous batches of mice...that he may have actually managed to squeeze between a tiny gap in the top of the cage and the metal lid above as the main cage is made of plastic and over the years some areas have been worn down from previous occupants chewing on the plastic.

In any case.

It still meant that we had a mouse loose in the store. Again.

And remembering what I'd found on Monday, I decided to do a quick check of the same trap in the breakroom to make sure the mouse hadn't ended up there.

The plan was to check the trap and then write a note to my associates to let them know we had another mouse loose in the store and to check the traps daily just in case.

I never got to the note writing part.

Because when I opened the sticky trap in the breakroom...there was the mouse. Stuck to the sticky stuff.

And still alive. :S

I can't imagine how stressful that would be to get stuck to something and be unable to escape. Pretty sure the poor mouse was stressed out of his mind.

In any case, I grabbed the trap with the mouse and rushed it over to our vet to see if we could free him from the trap.

Thankfully, using some mineral oil we were able to get the poor thing loose.

Though with the stress of being stuck to the trap for who knows how many hours....

It's uncertain if he'll survive the stress or not.

I'm hoping he will.

I was careful to try and rinse off the mineral oil as best as I could and dry him as much as I could before placing him in a more secure cage to recover.

But only time will tell if he'll get over the stress of being stuck to that trap.

:( 

Still crazy that it happened twice in a week...finding mice in those traps. *exhales* Hopefully we don't make it a third time any time soon. 

Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi