A Russian-speaking Twitter user with the nickname @virilvi, who lives in Germany, found a half-alive newborn rodent on the road in early October. The girl assumed it was a baby field mouse, and seeing that it was still moving, she decided to house the little animal.
She wrote: “The universe certainly has a great sense of humor. I was very angry with myself because, as you can imagine, it was the mouse that I lacked for complete happiness. I thought he wasn’t alive anymore, and I wanted to move him out of the way, but he moved his paw, and that’s it, I couldn’t go further.”
On her Twitter, the girl tells how she is taking care of such a sweet little creature and shows the mouse’s development in photos, leaving her followers in love.
More info: twitter.com
Meet the little mouse that was thought to be half-alive
Image credits: @virilvi
Bored Panda got in touch with @virilvi to get more of a backstory to how she found this little mouse. “I’m an amateur wildlife photographer, so from time to time, I do early morning walks to photoshoot local birds and animals. On October 7th, I was on my way to the fields when I saw a little mouse lying on the road. It showed no signs of life, but when I leaned over, it moved its paw a little, barely noticeably. I just couldn't leave it there alone, small and defenseless.”
A Russian-speaking Twitter user shared how she took care of this little mouse she found
Image credits: @virilvi
"It refuses to explain its smallness because it fell asleep after drinking formula. The mouse has grown teeth, whiskers, and character, and indignantly pushes itself away from hygiene procedures with a cotton swab. It eats well, goes to the toilet, and scratches and taps amusingly. Hasn’t opened its eyes yet. Survived the first day."
She shared: "On the second day, the mouse managed to eat, sleep, and swear at me terribly when I washed it"
Image credits: @virilvi
"The mouse started to open its eyes a bit overnight. Grew fur and a tummy. It won't tell me which species it is, so I still don't know for sure whether it's a mouse or a rat. It appears to be satisfied."
We were wondering what the initial thought was running through this woman's head when she found this little mouse. She shared: “I had to act quickly because newborns do not have the ability to keep their body temperature. It was barely alive, so I really had probably a few minutes and immediately took it into my hands to warm it up before we could get back home. I knew that the chances of saving a newborn animal are low, but I truly believe that life is a miracle and every living creature deserves a chance to live, so I decided to try.”
“Day three: covered in decent hair, opened up its eyes and looked somberly at what was happening”
Image credits: @virilvi
On day four, Virilvi updated: "the mouse has become very talkative, squeaking, clicking, and tapping"
Image credits: @virilvi
"It loves to sit in my hands, discovered yesterday that it can fall asleep in my shirt pocket after meals and now regularly takes advantage of this opportunity."
After a long time, we finally have not only a gender but a name too. The Twitter user shared: “It took a while to understand, but now I’m really sure she is a girl. So I named her Brunhilda - in honor of the famous female character from heroic legend. This little mouse, brave and daring, fought for its life as a real shieldmaiden, so I think she deserves this name.”
“Day five: It seems they still don’t suspect that I’m a mouse”
Image credits: @virilvi
The user shared on Twitter: "It's a feral animal of course, so mistakes are prone to happen while trying to determine its exact species, however, I think the secret is out!"
“The concept of self-feeding is met with little enthusiasm, learning to eat porridge and grains from formula. Cheerfully presents cheeks for scritches.”
On day six, the user shared: "it asked to take a picture so everyone could see how powerful the whiskers are!"
Image credits: @virilvi
"The mouse changed into a luxurious fur coat, sleeps a lot, and happily walks out of the house in my arms. For the first couple of minutes, it fusses with concern and squeaks (I would like to think, from the joy of meeting). Still does not like to wash.”
Image credits: @virilvi
“The pipette-fed mouse is not only coping but also living (mostly in a dream) its best life. Being responsible for something very small and fragile, especially in such a dark time, helps a little to not go completely crazy. Keep going.”
Getting a pet, no matter how big or small, affects your life. We asked how Brunhilda has impacted this woman's life. She shared: “The first two weeks were the hardest because newborn animals need to be fed every 2-3 hours (even at night). I had to set several alarms, prepare the formula, change the hot water bottles, feed her and do the belly massage (essential for digestion). I was very worried because I really wanted to save her. It felt like a very big responsibility - a small life depended only on me.”
"During the last few days, the mouse focused all the growth into its ears and is starting to look more and more like a little forest mouse"
Image credits: @virilvi
"Strongly dislikes the sound of flowing water and being blown on, but well, who would like that? When we find out its gender, it will get a name."
The user continued describing the journey on Twitter: “Mouse sleeps anxiously in my pocket because it heard a magpie chirping through the window and panicked"
Image credits: @virilvi
"Yes, the whiskers are still a mess, but well, no one is perfect. It feels like all the main primary risks have been overcome, so it will continue to grow up normally.”
One of the pictures was captioned like this: "When someone on the internet says that you're an ordinary mouse, a stinky pest who doesn't deserve love, ew"
Image credits: @virilvi
“And you’re like, excuse me, can you tell me where I can chow down on some seeds?”
Image credits: @virilvi
“Watched my tea party, saw a fallen crumb, darted like hungry lightning, and grabbed it, but could not figure out what to do with it next. Therefore, he had to just stand stupidly, spit it out and embarrassingly run into my pocket.”
Time has passed quickly since the mouse was barely alive. We asked for updates on her life now. “It's been almost a month since I found it. I have cats and dogs but have never had rodents, so I had to read and learn a lot to make sure I’m doing everything right. Unfortunately, animals raised like her will no longer be able to exist in the wild. So I also faced an ethical question - is it possible to keep a wild animal at home? After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided that I will be able to create all the necessary and comfortable conditions for my mouse. So she will stay with us.”
“The mouse says: take a picture of me as smug as a mouse who got into the grain!"
Image credits: @virilvi
"Had lunch, put his belly on his knees, and was satisfied. Rejects apples, respects pumpkins and walnuts, and drinks water. It seems that the mouse has begun to handle thermoregulation himself, so I plan to finally quit using the heating pad.”
The user shared her memories: “I look at the first photos and only now do I understand how little chance it had to survive"
Image credits: @virilvi
"Many thanks to everyone for your empathy and support. It’s amazing that everything turned out this way, and I don’t regret anything!”
Image credits: @virilvi
“An innovative invention and a fashionable accessory – a removable pocket for the mouse (a sock clipped with a stationery clip). The client is satisfied and rests after a hard day.”
Now, the little mouse is celebrating three weeks from the date of finding
Image credits: @virilvi
And lastly, @virilvi added: “I’m stunned and moved to tears by how many people became interested in this story, cheered, commented, and advised me all along the way. During the difficult and dark times we all are going through, it really restores my faith in humanity. My whole life, I have been a great animal and nature lover, like my parents and grandparents. I literally dreamed of working with animals and talking about it. So I want to thank all the people and my subscribers from the bottom of my heart - by supporting a little mouse, you really supported my dream.”
Image credits: @virilvi
“Sorry, the model slept through the deadline. All we have for today is a touching ear at sunset.”
Here is what people had to say in the Twitter comments:
Image credits: @douglas_symone
Image credits: @KimThor93328499
Image credits: @uRbcSS7yBJPUyd5
Image credits: @anbellana_
Image credits: @remi_mccoy