Don't touch my stuff

This week I discovered that Kevin doesn't particularly like "the big hand" going inside his cage.

I thought we were making good progress toward him being held, so I attempted to pet him while he was inside his cage. If he ran off, all I had to do was stir up the bedding on the floor of the cage a little and he'd come running back to make me stop.

He tried to nip at me a couple of times as if to say "No, we'll have none of that. Beat it!" No broken or even scratched skin, but they were definitely his teeth that I felt. It was still kind of cute. He was getting a little too excited, so I gave him a few treats and left him alone.

No more of this

Last night i tried a different approach. I've stopped giving him treats by allowing him to climb up to the door and hang out to take them from me, and instead I am now putting my hand inside the cage to give them to him. I think he just needs to get used to having my hand in the cage to build more trust.

Kevin, one week later

Kevin is getting better about coming to the cage door for treats. I tried to pet him a few times last night when he climbed up to see if I had anything for him. Needless to say, he dropped back into the cage and scurried off quickly. :)

Kyle and Kaitlyn came over for dinner and had fun giving him treats. We had to coax him down though since he seemed more interested in sleeping.

Later in the evening I tried putting a seed in my open hand and resting it on the cage bottom. He approached very cautiously to smell my hand. He even tried to nip my finger once; I felt his teeth brush against my finger. One thing I noticed, and Kaitlyn also noticed, is that he squints when he's taking food from you. I think that's a sign that he's still a little bit afraid.

More progress

Last night, for the first time, I was able to put my hand inside the cage and give Kevin a couple of treats, as he hid inside the tube to his eating area. He doesn't seem to like the sunflower seeds as much as I expected. I had hamsters when I was younger and they loved them. Pumpkin seeds and, what I think are, watermelon seeds seem to be his fav.

Even when I don't have treats for him, I hold my fingers near the cage so he can get used to me. He doesn't run away as often.

He still fills his water bowl with bedding. I had to clean it twice this morning before I left for work. I need to find something better soon.

I should also mention that Kevin has his own Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/kevin_the_mouse/

Yyyyep... why not.

Slow progress is still progress

On Tuesday evening, I made my first real attempt to hand-feed Kevin treats through the bars. He accepted them without too much trouble and came back for more many times, but he tends to run off to eat them. He's very quick.

More treats please!

He has a really bad habit of filling his water bowl with bedding and I have to clean it out and refill it. I need to find a small water bottle that will fit through the bars of the cage. Pet Valu didn't have anything suitable.

This evening I hand-fed him more treats through the bars. I feel like he's getting used to me now, but I'm still not confident enough to attempt to pick him up for fear he'll jump out of my hands and get lost in the apartment, or worse, hurt.

2 Days with Kevin

I managed to clean Kevin's cage on Sunday. I waited until he was in another area of the cage, then disconnect the other parts and cleaned them. He's still very skittish. When he smells my fingers or I put my face near the cage, he scampers off to his eating "room". I would too if I was him.

This morning, I left small strips of paper towel in his cage and he used them to "wallpaper" his sleeping quarters. I gave him a full sheet of tissue later in the evening and he managed to figure out how to get it up to his sleeping area; he dragged it backwards up the pipe. Smart little guy.

Meet Kevin

Today I adopted Kevin from the Ottawa Humane Society. He's 6 months old and was born on March 16, according to his papers. He cost me $10 and they included the cage. I picked up some food while I was there for $9.

The adoption process was easy and fairly quick. They had a few other mice to choose from, but I think when they said I'd want Kevin once I saw him it gave him an advantage. :) They said they usually sit his cage on the counter and he's active all day. When I was leaving they asked me if I was going to keep his name and I said I would. It suits him.

I walked to the nearby Pet Valu later in the afternoon and purchased some treats and fresh bedding.

I'm not even going to attempt to pet or pick him up for a while. I've had hamsters and a rat in the past, so I know how to approach the situation, but he's way more skittish and fast than they ever were.

Bikes are all working... knock on wood

I brought the rear rim of the Allegro 1X to the bike shop to get a spoke fixed. I had expected the work to be completed early Saturday so I could get in some riding but it didn't happen until after 4pm. $35.31 later it's fixed. What a cost difference in comparison to getting a spoke fixed on the Neo Carbon. Of course, it's too different shops; one specializing in electric bikes and the other regular bikes. They may claim that e-bikes are just like regular bikes, but they're not when it comes to repairs. That's something to keep in mind if you're thinking of getting one.

I discovered the obvious on Friday as I rode the Neo Carbon home and I saw that I had almost double the charge remaining in the battery than I usually do. Changing my riding style takes all the credit for that. I've started coasting as often as I can, whereas before I would always pedal, even downhill, to get to where I'm going faster. What a difference. This should have been obvious right from the start. Duh. :)

I need to ride 28.6kms per day, every day, for the entire month to catch up on my Great Cycle Challenge goal of 750kms. I've switched to a longer route to and from work that should help make up for lost time, but it's only going to help if the weather cooperates every day. Fingers crossed.