Mr. StripeyPants bolted off of his gentle resting spot, purring and catching some z-z-z-z’s on Liz’s side this morning. I knew he’d heard a noise. With the frigid, stony, -24 degree skies, and all the creaking and popping ice on the roof this weekend, I got up to see what the fuss was. The kitchen cabinet was propped open, contents splayed all over on the kitchen floor, Pants’ butt sticking out, tail wagging with a fury.
After further investigation, there is was: a Bigelow Mint Medley herb teabag with chew holes, ant pile of tea leaves stashed in the corner, and a trail of mouse droppings under the sink. If you followed the droppings, they created a pebbly map, cairns along a super highway to the garbage can. And when Liz peeled back the plastic, there it was: the chewed ear off the fire red top of a Wendy’s chili order. Yes, our mice love Wendy’s chili!
There’s a mouse in the house! We’ve got the contents of the cabinet laid out on the floor as I write. And now we’re trying to decide how to plug the hole around the PVC pipe where they are making their grand entrance.
We hate to use traps. Any other ideas?
In the meantime, I’m off to go deal with the mice. And Liz just piped up from the kitchen, “Isn’t it comforting to know that Mr. StripeyPants’ totem animal is Mr. Mouse?!”
-posted on red Ravine, Sunday, January 20th, 2008
This post just woke up a memory of a dream I had last night about a white mouse with pink eyes crawling into the bedroom from a crack in the floorboard. The mouse was mangled, not bleeding but definitely hurt if not dead. I wanted to get up and get it, but in my dream I couldn’t wake up enough to get out of bed and get it. I was relieved the mouse was not alive and running around the house, but I was also disturbed that it was there by me.
What a weird dream. Of course, the kinds of mice that come into homes around here are never white mice with pink eyes. (Although we did bring one of those into the potting shed where Baby lives the first time we had to feed her, and then the mouse got out and we eventually put him out in the field, shortly after which we saw a hawk going after something right near where we left him.) Also, we don’t have cracks in the floorboard. And, as far as I know, we have no mice right now. Hmmm…maybe I was dreaming about Mr. Pants’ mouse.
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BTW, we used mouse traps this summer when we had a rather bold mouse in the house. He was gray and pretty large. At night a few times when I was up past 11p, he came out and started crawling across the built-in bookshevles, onto the fireplace, across the mantle, onto the bookshelves on the other side of the fireplace, slowly making his way around the perimeter of the great room toward the kitchen. I couldn’t believe his audacity. It seemed as though he just couldn’t wait for me to go to bed. Well, Jim set up the traps and the next night he was gone. Poor mouse. But a mouse in my house is just not acceptable. And, those poison boxes seem way more horrible. At least the mouse trap, if set up properly, is instantaneous.
One would hope Mr. Pantselot would take care of Mr. Mouse for you. Give him a few more nights, and I bet he will.
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Steel wool and duct tape, QM. Or is that not what you meant by “figuring out”? Tape can fix just about anything. We have an actual hole in our bathroom floor (and a deep suspicion that our ventwork needs re-working), and a piece of mailing tape is successfully keeping the critters out.
@ybonesy – Disturbing dream. Nevermind the imagery or the real-life connections, those dreams where you can’t quite wake yourself up suck.
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ybonesy, amazing dream. I haven’t had that vivid of a dream about an animal for quite sometime. What do you take it to mean?
Here’s some info from the Medicine Cards on Mouse Medicine. The active word for mouse is Scrutiny (or paying attention to details):
Some messages from the reversed card:
Well, now that I read all that, maybe the message from our mouse in the house is really for us! Start working on the details of the house! The rest of these loftier goals will fall into place if I focus on sweeping the hogan. 8) Chop wood, carry water.
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sam, steel wool and duct tape. What else! I had not thought of the duct tape, even though we have a big old roll of it in the tool room. Yeah, I’m going to see if we’ve got some steel wool around.
Liz found some spray insulating material for the hole. And we’re getting ready to tackle the project. We do need something for the spray to stick to – maybe steel wool. We have to create some kind of mesh around the hole.
ybonesy, I do think Pants will get it if we leave the cupboard open tonight. Kiev is actually a better mouser because she lived outside for a while before she came to Liz. But for some reason, she wasn’t interested in the cupboard at all this morning.
So far, we’re going to start with disinfectant and then to plug the hole. More to come…
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Sam beat me to the punch. As I was reading the post I remembered that I used to use steel wool & duct tape also.
That is the best solution. Even brillo pads for a temporary fix until you get the steel wool. D
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Well, Liz took some woolish green mesh for a background, plastered it over the hole with some spray caulking and insulation. We’ll see what happens. For now, it’s got to do.
She’s watching the Patriots and the Chargers. I just loaded a Slow Cooker Chicken & Pasta Soup into the crockpot. Now off to do some writing.
Pants got into a little trouble when he dipped his paw into the caulk. We had to chase him down and clean off his paws before he took a lick. I don’t know what was so good about that caulk! Off to write.
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QuoinMonkey,
At the risk of offending anyone’s totem, I have to say this.
Use a trap.
If you plug up the hole and the mouse is on the inside, you have a problem.
Seriously, I cry when I empty a trap, but use a trap. And use something between you and the mouse when you pick it up, like a plastic bag. Put on a paper ‘respirator’ when you clean up the mousey poops, too.
Hantavirus is no joke.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hantavirus
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leslie, that’s a scary link. I had forgotten about that outbreak. It seems primarily connected to the western deer mouse. I think these are gray mice. But we will be careful! If we still see the droppings after tonight, I have a feeling we’ll be buyng traps. (Liz is shaking her head, yes, we will.) But we thought we’d try this first.
I have used traps before and am not opposed to them. I say to the mice, live and let live, as long as we each stay in our own homes. But I know they can be a problem if you don’t get them under control early. We’ll keep ya posted.
I wonder if cats can catch HPS. Or if their systems are immune to that stuff since mice are their prey. Had not thought of the question before.
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LOL! I don’t know if a cat having a mouse for a totem animal is such a good thing.
We used sticky traps when we were cat-less. I didn’t like them, but at least there was no poison to worry about. The old-fashioned snap traps are probably more humane (?), but not as reliable as the sticky traps were.
That said, Izzy (one of our kittens) has gotten herself tangled in a sticky trap or two (I thought I’d gotten them all, but didn’t). She learned to enjoy water after the first sticky trap encounter. I filled up a small sink with warm water and she’d dip her paws in there to get the sticky stuff off. Now I have to fill the little sink for her every now and then so she can enjoy a warm water bath.
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Ditto on the snap traps. They are quick. I was going to suggest the steel wool and caulking, but I got to the post late today. I have tried poison – yes it’s cruel, but when they die for some reason they don’t smell. The glue traps are good, but if you aren’t careful, other things can get stuck to them (be careful how you store them) and that stuff is a bit*& to remove from your fingers. I considered a cat, but my son is too allergic to cat hair.
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LOL, leslie, on the offending comment. You always make me laugh.
I kinda hope Mr. Mouse went out through where it came sometime last night. That way its been nothing more than food for thought in a blog post.
Either way, keep us posted, QM.
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Jackie, I’ve heard that about the poison and the not smelling. How strange. I wonder what happens there.
These various approaches remind me of one more. For a family cabin in the mountains, we use what we call a “noisy box.” It emits this absolutely annoying sound, so it’s only used when people aren’t around. But it works in keeping those mice and rats away, too.
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That is a scary link to hantavirus, but if you hadn’t heard of it, it served as a ‘cautionary tale’. I think the likelihood is narrow, but who knows?
And the second I hit the ‘submit comment’ button, my mind went to the questions…”too scary?” “can the cat get it?”
I have a very ‘live and let live ‘policy about critters in the house. Wolf spiders can stay unless thay take up residence on the doorknobs. I draw that line on that behavior 🙂
All this mouse trap talk has put me in mind of a funny story I need to tell…
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LOL. leslie, you make me laugh, too. I am curious now about whether the cat can get it. I might have to call the vet and ask her, just to satisfy my own curiosity. BTW, you have Wolf Spiders? Holy cow, what are those things?
Liz and I were watching one of the Harry Potter movies last week and Hagrid (Great Keeper of Keys and Grounds) was surrounded by spiders. We decided right then and there that Hagrid’s totem has got to be spiders.
Jackie, thanks for the tips about the sticky traps. I have a feeling we’ll use the old fashioned snap traps if it comes to that. I’m kind of old fashioned. What is that about the no smell thing? I had not heard that before.
Robin, that’s such a cute story about Izzy, dipping the paws in the warm water. Who is Izzy named after?
ybonesy, that noisy box actually works?
Well, we just ate the Slow Cooker Chicken & Pasta Soup and it was out of this world. Liz also made some oatmeal cookies which are cooling on the racks. Now we’re watching the Packers and the NY Giants in that freezing weather. BTW, we’re for the Packers!
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What harm does one little mousie do??
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_spider
I erroneously called my spider friends Wolf spiders, when indeed they are Jumping Spiders. Either way, I can hear people running sceaming from the room……
One little mousie, two little mousies, four little mousies, sixteen little mousies….
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LB, I guess that depends on your point of view. One mouse – not so bad. Multitudes of mice – well, I have to reconsider. So far this morning, no more mice after we plugged the hole. But last night, Pants had taken up residence in the hallway, staring at the floor next to the kitchen sink. I don’t know if he can still hear them running around in the crawl space or not.
leslie, those Jumping spiders look pretty Wolfy to me. Spiders don’t bother me too much, as long as they aren’t crawling on me. When I see them in the house (if they are the big ones), I trap them in a glass jar and take them outside. It’s way too cold for spiders here right now!
BTW, Spider in the Medicine Cards is about Weaving – the web of life:
Kind of fitting for Martin Luther King Day today. Ah, what harm might a little peace do, too.
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Izzy isn’t named after anyone, QM. When I saw the kittens, before I’d even decided for sure I’d adopt them, the names Izzy and Bella came to mind. The names suit them. Izzy is a little bit crazy, in a cute way. Bella is a little more dignified and classically beautiful. They are so close, doing just about everything in tandem, that having halves of one name (Isabella — Izzy & Bella) suits them.
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Robin, Izzy & Bella sound adorable. I assume they are siblings? I have a friend who took on two kittens (who are now grown) and they were sisters. Emigre and Kaia. They were the cutest things, very close. Emigre got sick a few years ago and passed away. Kaia seemed to go through a grieving process but now is okay. It’s amazing that animals also grieve in their own way. I don’t think it was a human projection.
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I discovered a few years ago that I was terrified of mice –who knew?- and after I stopped hyperventilating, ran to Home Depot and overbought everything they had for mice. I got stuff for rats, too, you know, just in case. So it was only mice. Still. There are these green poison bars (also used by Orkin BTW) that they nibble on, hard, green and waxylike. I don’t understand the process and didn’t realize they weren’t leaving an odor. Until the day one got caught in a snaptrap and had started to stink up the basement after just 24 hours! For those of you who respect all forms of life, well, it isn’t pleasant what happens. For those of you who want the offending mice out of your space, the poison bars were effective.
Best of all is to find out how they got in and plug the hole however small. It’s better to keep them out than to have to deal with them once they are inside.
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I bought a device to plug into the wall that is supposed to emit high-frequency sounds that scare off rodents. I actually bought it hoping it would deter bats… that didn’t work. It was actually intended for mice, though. Then, a mouse chewed through a bag I had sitting on the floor immediately beside the device.
Snap traps from here on in.
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Jackie, thanks for the clarification. Sorry, but I had to chuckle at a couple of places. 8) Ugh, I’m not up for the stinky stuff at all. I hope it doesn’t come down to either one – traps or poison. I’m just hoping we’ve plugged the hole around the pipe well enough. So far, so good.
pmousse, that’s funny. Guess the mice like the high frequency dance. Those things must work on the same idea that those electronic dog fences work on. Hmmm.
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I just have one more comment. J & I had to put the poison stuff at our camp, since it will be vacant until at least the end of April. Let’s face the facts. If it was -24 degrees there who can blame the little mouse for seeking shelter? They will find a way inside no matter what. However, we had a bad experience when J & I lived in the old farmhouse for many years. We used poison & one died between the walls. Talk about stink! Anyhow if you & Liz are that serious about it set the traps. I will say though the 3 cats, especially Mr. Stripey Pants, should do the trick. Our one eyed cat, Uno, is the best mouser we have ever had. Mice know when cats are a threat. D
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OMG, it died between the walls! That is terrible. How long did the smell last before it finally went away? That’s a scenario I want to avoid at all costs!
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I can’t remember how long the smell lasted, but we narrowed it down to the cabinets that were above our stove. I will have to ask J to be sure. Has the mouse been back? At least you are not being over run by stink bugs!:)D
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QM, BTW, check out this link D
http://www.pestworld.com/
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diddy, that’s an interesting link about hard to get rid of pests. I read what we are supposed to be doing for the mice and I think, thus far, we are doing it. Liz went around and sealed some of the other cracks and holes she had seen. It’s surprising how small of a hole they can get into:
Mice can squeeze through spaces as small as a nickel.
Rats can squeeze through a space as small as a half dollar.
Has the mouse been back? Nope, not inside. But Kiev is still listening at the sink once in a while. So a few might still be hanging around in the crawl space. I haven’t heard one since we sealed up the hole. But the cats still seem to be able to hear them once in a while.
Hopefully, since we’ve cut off their food supply, they will find another place to play. And I trust if they are in the house, the cats will take care of them. So far, so good.
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BTW, I didn’t see those Stink Bugs you mention at that Pest Control link. Did you? Those things are gross looking. The first time I had seen one was when you showed me the one at your house in November.
I remembered the slimy snails (are they called snails? or something else?) on the sidewalks in Pennsylvania. But not the stink bugs. As far as I know, we don’t have either of those critters here. I guess it’s too cold for them. 8)
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The stink bugs started showing up in large numbers 2 years ago. A lot of people we know are also being invaded in their own homes. R3 had sent us a great website to visit on how to rid ourselves of them. Most of the products we looked into were far too expensive. J went to a local supply store (generally they only sell to professional pest control companies) but thankfully they allowed him to purchase the “cure”, however, because they hibernate during winter, we will most likely have to deal with them when warmer weather arrives. Our cats won’t even mess with them! D
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Smart cats! 8)
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QM, you got that right! Oh, & BTW, There is a link on that website titled “Think before you squish” with stink bug info. D
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Mice, I hate when they get in the house. Every fall they look for a warm place to stay. They can get in almost any crack . They used to come in where the gas line comes into the kitchen. They love the stove , it’s warm and they make nests from the insulation. They also love your draws to nest in. I have plug ins that emit a noise we can hardly hear that wards off spiders ,mice, etc. It works most of the time. If they were born after the plug in was in place they get used to it and may not leave. However if they come into it they are warded off.
I use mouse traps. When we had Callie , our outside cat, I never had a problem. She was the best mouser.
When I was around 6 or 7 I felt a rat run across my bed. We lived in the country and we had mice and a rat now and then. I was scared for a long time. Mom thought I dreamed it. If I did it was real to me !!! Now everytime I see a trail I set a trap right away before they have a family.
QM I hope you get rid of your mouse, I would thind your cats would take care of it for you. I hope you feel better soon also.
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UPDATE: well, last night at 3am, both Kiev and Mr. StripeyPants were perched by the kitchen cabinets. They finally went to bed. This morning we woke up to a chewed through garbage bag – the mice are back!
We had duct taped the area around the pipes and placed some wool mesh behind it. But there was one place where we ran out of mesh. That’s where the little critters chewed through. Crafty little guys.
So we’re going to the hardware store after work for some steel wool. And someone at Liz’s work offered to loan her a few traps. We’re going to try the steel wool first, and then re-duct tape the holes. If that doesn’t work…well, I’ll keep you posted. Snap!
We’re not too worried about them getting into the house with 3 cats, and the mouser that Kiev is. But under the sink, they are partying up a storm!
BTW, it was -17 here this morning. Like someone else commented, I can’t blame them for wanting to get inside!
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I too have found that I have a mouse (found evidence last week). I placed poison along the trail where I found the “evidence” and where the dog couldn’t get to it.
Although I would prefer to catch the mice and let them loose outside I know that catching one is not going to do the trick – to quote Leslie “One little mousie, two little mousies, four little mousies, sixteen little mousies…” I have resorted to using poison. The mouse grabs the little morsels, takes them back to the nest and they have a feast. Soon they go to mousie heaven. As for the odor that depends on where the nest is, you may have an odor for a few days (that is a good time to fill your house with the fragrance of baking cookies, burning candles or a nice stew).
Good luck with the mice (notice I used the plural). I hope you can take care of the uninvited guests before they do too much damage.
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QM, someone is going to loan a trap? What kind of trap is that? I’m picturing those little wood and metal snap traps. Surely something more loanable than that ; – ).
We have mouse traps set up still in corners here and there in the house, all from this past fall when we had that one bold mouse. I think we had two mice, or at least caught two mice. So far the traps are clear, but the cheese and/or peanut butter in them has long since evaporated. I guess we could put them away until we need them again.
Good luck with the mouse, QM. My money is still on the cats, although I’ve moved it over to Kiev.
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QM, use the traps! Make sure that they are out of reach of the cats. I have a lot of respect & love for R3, however, in this matter I must disagree with the idea of poison & come on R3, bake some cookies, burn some candles, or a nice stew? Your friends will enter your home & let’s say that you bake some peanut butter cookies to help overcome the smell. Trust me,they will smell both odors & will not want to even taste your cookies! The mice do not always take the morsels back to their nest. Then you need to locate the place where they have perished. I know about the humane traps & that would be great. But sending a mouse off into -17 temps is a very cruel death indeed. If you don’t take care of the problem now you will end up with a real problem. D
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R3, thanks for your insights. Though I have to say, I was thinking about Mouse Stew when I read them. 8)
Last night, we bought a big old thing of steel wool. I held the flashlight while Liz pushed it down into the holes that were left. Then we used this metal type tape that is used to hold ducts together. It had an awful smelling glue. But this morning, so far, no new holes.
The cats are still going wild though. I guess they still hear them. I’m not apt to do the poison thing. I’m too afraid the cats will get into it. If the steel wool and metal tape do not work, well, Liz is bring some snap traps home after work!
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I’m back to follow up on There’s A Mouse In The House. I realized this morning that the cats are no longer hanging out in the hallway or sniffing at the cabinet doors. I think the mice are gone. [Read: Fingers Crossed!]
Here’s the follow up – after we plugged the holes under the sink with steel wool and the duct metal tape, we found one more hole next to a phone jack above the kitchen counter. Pants was camped out there and we soon realized, What! Another hole!
We plugged that hole with steel wool and duct tape (until we can get some caulk). Then we set two luxury traps – they are De-Con snap traps that are completely covered plastic boxes. Kind of a trap condo.
Anyway, we set up one in the heater room, one in the attic where we saw some trails – so far, no mice. We used peanut butter because that’s what the trap package recommended. Last night, Liz took the trap out of the heater room. We still have to retrieve the one from the attic. No mice so far.
But it looks (so far) like the duct metal tape and steel wool has done the trick. And I guess it doesn’t hurt to have 3 cats. All for now!
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QM, Hooray! Funny, I had briefly signed on earlier & thought about your mice issue & how we hadn’t been updated. The steel wool & duct tape were always the method I found most effective. The snap traps you purchased sound very cool! If the mice didn’t go for the peanut butter, I would say your problem has been solved! D
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Maybe the mice intuited all this talk about traps and poison, and they decided to hoof it on out of there while they had a chance.
QM, your mouse trap condos (although in my mind, I picture them as lofts 8) ) sound quite luxurious. Ugh. But I just had a thought. Are they more like mausoleums?
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Well, they are plain black, enclosed, only one door in, and if you enter, chances are you’re not coming out alive. 8)
Leave it to Liz and I to have intuitive mice! Gosh, that just fits, doesn’t it?! [chuckle]
diddy, I hope we have been successful. If the duct tape, steel wool, and snap traps didn’t work, we might have had to resort to Jackie’s and R3’s suggestion (which sounds like it worked very well for them). For now, until I see a new hole or hear a new nibble, I’m considering the problem solved!
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Do you hate to use all traps or just the spring tension traps? I avoid the spring traps because of my kids. The shock and live traps are much safer since they can’t break your fingers. I’m thinking about getting one of those Victor Multi-Kill traps. Have you heard anything about them?
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I dislike the spring tension traps, Martin, but that’s the kind we always used. I hated using them when we had to; fortunately, our mouse problem only lasted until we got rid of the mice that were already in the house. We haven’t had any since, so I’m pretty clueless on any of the latest ways to trap and/or kill mice.
I have to say, I’ve gotten a bit tougher since having a snake. Just last week we fed her (the snake) the first rat of the season (post hibernation). Ugh, we so dislike doing that, but then I remind myself that it’s the food cycle. She has to live, and in captivity that’s how she survives.
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