Lab Mice

-
Two cages side by side, an aging and/or injured mouse in each.

We had recently separated our remaining mice, as Bitey (also known as Bully, Bruiser, and all around Bad Mouse) was relentless in his attack on the other, whose name is either Bobby, Frank or Fred, and, post-injury, called Bleedy.

Bleedy deserved to live out his days in peace, and so we set about arranging the former cockroach cage for Bad Bruiser. Subsequent days were easier on Bleedy, if a little slow. With no one to chase him, Bleedy, whose wounds were healing but whose fur was falling out, spent much of each day sleeping. Meanwhile, Bad Bitey was often found scratching his head, which looked mangier by the minute.

What a way to live--and die, I thought, passing them on my hourly pilgrimage to the laundry room. Not much time left, and some of the spunk is gone. Maybe they could cohabitate once again, peacefully this time?

Yesterday I put them in the same cage. The mice were not consulted in this decision.

Two cages, side by side, with both mice in one of them... chasing and squealing. Almost immediately.

I figured I'd give them a little more time, and then, if Bleedy started bleeding again (or just before), I could return them to the former arrangements easily enough.

Because maybe they actually prefer the calm, quiet, scratch-when-you-need-to life. Maybe fighting all the time is tiring.

And maybe I was projecting a little when I decided to spice things up.

Maybe because I haven't been physically able to box for several weeks now, and have instead been mall walking with the elderly (who are faster).

Simon came home from school that day and first thing, after asking how the mice ended up together (once, when a lid was left open, one was found on top of the other's cage), separated them.

They're back to sleeping and scratching.

I've taken up water exercise (with the elderly).

Maybe this is how it's supposed to be. At least for now.


Comments

  1. LisaJanuary 6, 2012 at 1:11 PM

    Bitey and Bleedy, yikes! :) I'm far too wimpy for that sort of thing. I hear the water exercise thing is da bomb -- do you like it? Does it appear to be helping?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amy PhillipsJanuary 6, 2012 at 2:34 PM

    I LOVE the water class. Absolutely. It's the best thing, especially for me right now. I can do things on water that I'm not allowed to do on land (don't read too much into that).

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Why

-
Simon, who is 11, isn't doing particularly well in math. The other night, we sat at the kitchen table to work on the multiplying and subtracting of mixed numerals, and what I discovered upon looking closely at his test was that Simon actually does understand fractions, for the most part. So when I say he's not doing well in math, this means, actually, that Simon is not slowing down enough to do well in math. The theories he's got down, for the most part. The motivation to do well, he does not. We reviewed the concepts, and then I stressed the importance of taking the time needed to do a good job. We talked about why grades are important, as faulty a system as that may be, and why he needs to try to get those grades up. And then I brought up diabetes. Diabetes is the elephant in every room, even though the type 1 diabetic himself was elsewhere in the house. A calculator there, test strip here, vials in the frig. With diabetes, I told Simon, we do much the same kinds of math...
Read more

Getting Rid Of The Children's Pets, One Lonely Creature At A Time (The Video)

-
Theo, age 8, spent the summer collecting frogs and tadpoles from a nearby creek. With the help of his friend Ethan, who is 9 and can answer any and all questions on amphibians, Theo learned to distinguish leopard frogs from tree frogs, and studied their development daily on our back deck. Theo was so enamored with the whole operation that he wanted to purchase some more exotic strains. We visited a Pets Mart and hovered near a tank until a saleswoman came by. The right saleswoman, I should say; with disheveled hair and wire-frame glasses favoring one ear, this woman was all about the frogs. She hunched forward as if to let out a call that might travel the road back to our creek. My main concern was the amount of upkeep these $30 pets would require. "What do these frogs need, because our frogs from the creek...," I started to say, and immediately realized I had violated a sacred rule: removing the animal from its natural habitat. I tried to play it off. So did she--at first. ...
Read more

These Things Are Wrong

-
1. Our local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation hosting a pancake breakfast. Let it be known that Type 1s can have pancakes. They may eat anything they want if they inject themselves with the proper amount of insulin. But pancakes are difficult to account for, as are bagels and pizza, rice and potatoes. The glycemic index mixes with the fat content to produce a blood sugar unpredictability that I, for one, avoid when possible. Maybe I would have forgiven JDRF for this fundraiser had it not been for our one visit to their office. At an open house, they served--wait for it--chocolate cake. And soda. And boxes of chocolates. Once again: Type 1s can have their cake and eat it, too. Theo has desserts often. Yet an organization devoted exclusively to the management of blood sugars could maybe come up with something other than cake, chocolates and pop to serve. I pulled out the calculator near Theo's cake, and said, half-jokingly, "You're going to tell us the ca...
Read more