I saw the absolute cutest little exotic animal this weekend.. it was a Sugar Glider and they look like little bush babies with big eyes.... they have membranes almost like wings and they can jump ( glide ) for many feet in the wild. In captivity they can jump about 5-6 feet.

The man selling them had them trained to jump from the top of the cage to his shirt and then open his shirt pocket and climb in! They were so cute! I want one.. but they are not cheap = $175 and they recommend having two (ouch!) so I'll probably stick with my black lab although I can't train him to jump into my pocket!

Has anyone else ever seen one of these cuties?

http://www.sugar-gliders.com/images/tela.jpg

Yeah, I've seen those several times in the past...seems like there's always a booth of them out at the State Fair. They are really cute, though.

My question is, what is the point of having one of these guys versus a dog or cat? Not quite as snuggly or affectionate, ya know? Plus, if it gets underfoot...ACK!

Yeah, he kind of does remind me of a rodent.... speaking of which, I am deathly afraid of .... yesterday was like a show on America's Funniest Home videos..

I was taking a shower and my little guy starts pounding on the door.. both him and I have soft spots for anything in pain and I could tell he was distressed by something.

He tells me through the door, there's a mouse caught in a trap and he heard it crying from upstairs.

Panic ensues... my heart starts beating.. hubby, responsible for all things mouse related, is gone, out of town.

My 8 year son calls dad to get mouse release advice which included waking up big brother ( who is a self professed rodent wimp as well - hates them) he refuses to help.. so, we are stuck trying to solve this problem ourselves. I nominate him to be the one to release the mouse, he declines.

Now you have to know that even the sight of a mouse running 20 feet away has me scrambling for high ground and screaming like a banshee.

The mouse was only held by his tail, I discovered (thank God!! - I couldn't bear to see the carnage) but he was yelping and dragging the trap around frantically.

My 8 year old and I mustered of every ounce of courage we possessed... I prepared by putting on winter gloves, grabbing an industrial sized pair of 12 inch bbq tongs and a long flat head screwdriver... my son was in charge of holding a paper bag open so I could deposit the attached screaming rodent into the bag, release him outside and try to release his tail..

Sounded simple enough.. what ensued was nothing less than slapstick comedy.. looking back now, I can laugh but at the time, I was scared to death!

I finally got my nerve up to try to grab the trap with my tongs leaning over as far away as possible.. unfortunately, the mouse didn't like those huge metal teeth coming at him and started frantically running and squeeking, of course towards me! Oh no.. I'm pushing my kid out of the way and hiding behind him, kid is pushing me back towards the mouse both of us screaming like stuck pigs.

Eventually, when I calmed down and when my heart stopped pounding I attemtped to pick up the trap, the tongs wouldn't close all the way, so the poor mouse was lifted a few inches and dropped repeatedly! I sucked at this.

I couldn't get him in the bag, so like a deranged mechanic, I finally just went after the trap and used my long screwdriver and lifted the metal - freeing the mouse, in my house!!

Good job mom, now we have a free and probably pissed off mouse running rampant through the kitchen.

Reliving this story has just changed my mind on my Sugar Glider.. he does look like a mouse!!

LMAO! While reading that story, I got this mental image similar to the squirrel scene in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Ha, ha... Madmonk - easy to laugh at my suffering! Next time, I'm calling you over! LOL

Yes, it was pretty funny, I do wish that I had the video... that poor mouse, being lifted up and down and dropped repeatedly (thankfully, it was only an inch or so ) .... sheesh. I don't know who was screaming louder, me, my son or the mouse!

It did remind me of the squirrel too! I need to go watch that movie again...

In a strange way I feel a little bit proud of myself... I finally overcame my fear just a little bit.. I don't think I've ever been that close to a rodent before.. but of course, now when I walk in my kitchen, I start clapping my hands and whistling to alert the freed mouse that I'm coming so it can hide and I won't see it. I'm hopeless.

Poor mouse. He's just wants a morsel here and there. Karried is hoping to scare it into a heart attack.

Seriously, I'm totally sympathetic to you having mice in the house...that's no fun at all. But I'm also a champion of live traps. I think about some of the alternatives, and it grosses me out to think about having a dead animal in one of my cabinets. ugh. I just got the willies thinking about it. Like the glue sheets? How freakin disgusting.

Call an exterminator! But make sure you put away your Sugar Gliders first...you don't want him mistakenly spraying your new pets!

Ooh! A better solution! Get a CAT! In fact, it's Cat Month at the OKC Animal Shelter...all cats are only $25. There are some dandy kitties over there, too! Adopt a new friend and have pest control all in one. More than you can say about your black lab, huh? :D

Yeah, my lazy stare at critters black lab... he wouldn't chase something unless it smelled like a T-bone!


Karried is hoping to scare it into a heart attack.

Actually, yesterday, I was the one in need of a defibilator! LOL


I hate traps too....

My former cat was awesome! She is no longer with us.. we fear she was the victim of a wild animal... the hunter was hunted and she was a great hunter - at least based on the amount of mice we now have around, I never saw her get a mouse.. a hummingbird one time ( which was so sad) but yes, I am thinking about getting a kitty. A mice loving one.

Please come see us at the OKC Shelter then! We've got tons of kitties and they need homes!

And, if you're interested in another dog, I have a favorite over there who REALLY needs a happy place to live. :D