This article is from the WSSF 2011 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

Priya Nadathur, Cincinnati, OH, e-mail
Q My daughter Meera Nadathur (age 10) just got 2 pet mice for a 4-H Small Animals Project. She wants to get in touch with someone who knows how to train mice and befriend them. We live in Cincinnati, OH. Could you give us some local names to contact about Fancy mice? We appreciate your help.

A We have lots of information on our web site on mice in general on our Information Pages and on show mice on our Standards page that may be of help to you.

We have a section on our Links page on various types of Training

There is a club back east that may have members in your area for pet/show mice: the East Coast Mouse Association [see the Breeder page] with a forum “Mouse Lovers”. [no longer in existence, 3-22-16]

There is a U.K. forum where you can learn about mice called “Fancy Mice Breeders” that is very good though geared more for breeding and showing. Karen Robbins

Update: I thought you might like to hear that I won a county level award for my Small Animals 4-H Project! I used the good ideas you gave me to teach my mice tricks and they performed a live show in front of the judges. When I went to set up mystuff for the County Fair booths, I found out I had won the award. Thanks for your great ideas. Meera.

Congratulations! Glad to hear AFRMA was helpful in training your mice!

New Note: A new club on the east coat, the United Mouse Club may be another source for people looking for mice. They also have a forum The Mouse Connection.

Phone call to Dale Burkhart
Q I got a phone call from Amanda Davis in Denver, CO, who wants to run a rescue for rats and needs info on how to go about it. Do we know of any rescues that can give her some pointers?

A Try the following rescues. They have all been around for a long time and are non-profit. The first is a rat-only rescue; the last two take in all kinds of small rodents:

• Rattie Ratz, located in Woodside, CA, since 1998; covers San Jose to Sacramento
• Wee Companions, located in San Diego, CA, since 1998; covers the San Diego area
• North Star Rescue, located in Novato, CA; covers the San Francisco Bay area

Plus we have many more rescues listed in the AFRMA Directory. Also, read the “Rodent Rescue” article on our web site. Karen Robbins

Mary Carman, facebook
Q I have 4 male rats, all of which are happy and healthy. I’m not interested in breeding, but I am interested in rescuing some rats . . . any ideas how to start this?

A There is always a need to rescue. I would start with getting the cages and set-ups of course. And remember that with rescue will come vet bills at times. So, if you’re willing, and I admire your passion for it, set up a website and advertise your rescue. It won’t take long and the rats will come. Also, keep in contact with local breeders. They get a lot of e-mails from people wanting to surrender rats to them, but almost every breeder will not rescue because they breed and it’s a serious quarantine issue to do both (unless they have a separate building to do so). So they would be happy to refer these people to you. You and the breeders in your area can really work together to make this work. Amy, Camarattery

Natasha Millikan, facebook
Q I am interested in finding solid literature about mice. There are a million mouse care books but I want something more scientific and factual. Does anyone know of a book just about mice and rats? Of course I’m also interested in a picture/coffee table book if there are any! Ideas?

A AFRMA has information about breeding and genetics in our “Breeding Rats & Mice” book and “Mouse Genetics” book that you can purchase. We also have the “Rat Genetics” book for those looking for rat genetics information. There is a wealth of general information on our Info pages on the web site. Our AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales newsletter back issues have lots of various mouse articles you may be interested in as well. So, it depends on what scientific and factual information you are looking for as to which book(s) would suit your purpose. For a coffee table book, try a self publishing site such as Lulu, Blurb, Bookemon, etc. Our Mouse Official Color Standards Book and Rat Official Color Standards Book have great photos but this is geared to the person breeding and showing. Karen Robbins

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