Mouse came to live with us as a friend for Whisper. She had a home lined up which fell through, so I felt it was
meant to be. From the moment she arrived she adored Whisper and couldn't wait to get in with him. He on the other
hand wasn't so keen initially and made her work very hard. She would wander into his area and he would chase her out.
Mouse would retreat to her space with a surprised look on her face as if to say 'How could he be so mean!'
After a few days he would allow her into the general area, but not the condo. Once again he would chase her out and she would run off and watch him from the safety of her litter box. A few days later and the condo was permitted, but only if she wasn't sitting in a spot he wanted. Unfortunately she thought the second level was pretty good and that just happened to be Whispers afternoon siesta spot. By day 8 however, she had finally won him over and he decided she could groom him (I know.. very generous of him). Of course Mouse thought this was wonderful and promptly attached herself to his hip! Whisper couldn't move without Mouse. I wondered if that would irritate him as she was very young and he was used to adult buns as companions. He didn't seem to mind at all, in fact he thrived under her gentle adoration.
At about 3 months I noticed a 'bubble' on Mouse's stomach. I thought it felt like a hernia as it would dissappear into her stomach and I could feel a small opening behind it. Since I had to take all the buns down for their Calici shots the vet had a look and agreed. We decided it wasn't causing any problems so would wait for her spay and fix it at the same time.
During this time Mischief came to live with us. Mouse accepted him straight away even though he is a quarter of her size.
They make a funny group when they're all piled in together. Mouse is over 5kg, Whisper nearly 4kg and Mischief just over
1kg.
It seems we named Mouse well as she has proven to be very quiet and shy. Even after months with us, she would still prefers not to be handled too much, though she is curious enough to come sniffing and nudging when I clean out their space. She, like Rocket and Sophie, like to make sure I don't mess up her stuff too much.
Mouse showed no signs of hormonal misbehaviour that I had experienced with my other girls. Regardless, at nearly
6 months she went in for her spay and to fix the umbilical hernia. Since she has proven to be quite highly strung,
Mischief made the trip with her and kept her company while waiting for the operation. She recovered well, though was
obviously a lot sorer than my others have been due to the extended surgery and cutting. I kept her inside for a few hours to recover
from the op and then let her go out with her friends. I know most vets will recommend keeping them alone overnight, but
with Mouse's disposition she was fretting more inside with the household noise that she would have with the others.
Whisper however, decided that she didn't smell right and promptly started nipping at her and chasing her away. I still
had the half enclosure set up for Mischief's introductions, so Whisper spent the night in the bachelor pad while Mischief
kept Mouse company. We put an extra sheepskin in the top of the condo and she spent most of the night cuddled up there. Ten days later
we took her back to remove the stitches. Not a common occurance here as most of my buns have managed to remove their own after
a few days.
Despite being extremely shy, Mouse is very inquisitive. She keeps a close eye on everything I do,
including brushing Whisper and Mischief. She will sit by my side occasionally nudging either them or me as if to say
'Are you done yet?'
When I finally let them out of my evil grip, she will go over them inch by inch and groom all that nasty
human smell of them so they're fit for polite bunny company again. I even get to stroke her sometimes these days.
Of course this is always followed by her sprinting into the other to tell them how brave she was. Naturally, I'm not
nearly so scary when I have the nightly vegies or come bearing rose petals to munch on.