🐭 Meet Huckleberry 🐁 another cute little fluff-ball that needs my care

This is Huckleberry,

and cheese isn't actually too good for him.

 

 

But I din't know that yesterday, when I first found him. That poor little thing, barely the size of my thumb. But he seemed desperate enough and he did actually give it a try anyways.

 

 

But let's start from the beginning, yesterday afternoon. I was done working on my latest cuddly steem-project, @catnet, the newest update was working without any issues and the token was doing better on the market than I could have hoped for.

Delighted with the progress, I decided I could do with some fresh air. There's also some new #googlyeyes in town that I hadn't taken any good pictures of, yet. The late afternoon sun might give the place some good lighting, or so I had hoped, it was time to take a nice little walk across town with @hazel420.

Almost at our destination, the weather suddenly changed. A thunderstorm was approaching fast and we tried to find some shelter when we literally stumbled over little Huckleberry stranded on the sidewalk.

 

 

He was shivering and slowly stumbling across the sidewalk all by himself. The rain had already set in and it was getting chilly fast. We couldn't find a nest or any other seemingly safe crevice nearby that we could have guided him back to. Lacking better options, we decided to just pick him up for his own safety first.

I had expected a bit of a struggle, but the poor little thing didn't even mind at all. As soon as he felt the warmth of my hands he actually started to relax. The shivering calmed down and he didn't attempt to get away at all. He was still panting, but he curled up, and I think he actually fell asleep on the spot!

We rushed back home through the pouring rain, my hands gently wrapped up to create a warm and sheltered nest for the little run-away-rodent.

Back at my place, we tried feeding him some breadcrumbs and bits of cheese. He gave everything a nibble, but he seemed to have trouble with solid food, he was definitely hungry, though.

I have zero experience with rodents, but the internet luckily knows it all! We quickly learned a few things:

• Huckleberry is only maybe 10-14 days old, he hasn't even opened his eyes yet!
• He still needs to be fed milk because he can't really deal with solid food yet.
• Can't use regular milk, though. Baby mice are lactose intolerant, or to quote @isnogud: "He's a bloody hipster!"
• Hand-raising a baby mouse is quite the ordeal.
• They can develop life threatening constipation and need belly massages to be able to poop.

So now there's that. I'll be feeding a little baby mouse lactose free milk and electrolytes through a tiny syringe every few hours and administer gentle q-tip massages for the next week or three?!

I think I'll have quite a handful to take care of with this little guy.

 

 

But I don't even mind at all, it's been a super rewarding experience with that cute little fur-ball so far. He's been gaining back some strength and after a feeding he will occasionally attempt to start a little excursion on his own.

I can see how that little fellow got lost in the first place... curiosity killed the cat, but luckily Huckleberry is safe with me now!

I named him Huckleberry because he obviously ran away from home. Hazel wanted to call him Fievel, but I like Huckleberry better and according to the urban dictionary that name fits him like a sleeve.

He has a little cardboard box filled with tissue paper that he can call his new nest now. It's wrapped in a heating blanket to give him comfort, but his favorite sleeping position by far, is being cuddled up tightly in my left hand.

 

 

I'll keep you updated on his progress here or with a few @snaepshots. I hope he'll get to see his new mom for the first time when he starts opening his eyes in a few days! [UPDATE: He opened his eyes already!]

Yes, his new mom... that would be me. I bring the milk.

I'm also not sure if he might not actually be a she.

But Huckleberry makes for a good girl's name, too.

 

 

---

three kittens, a bunny, and countless googlyeyes

that's me... and now there's Huckleberry, too

_{fraenk loves you!}