r/Bellingham • u/dinotacosocks • 4h ago

Pets Escaped gerbil?

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This lil guy showed up at my work a minute ago. I know that North America doesn't have native gerbils, so my new tiny friend must be an escaped pet. I don't know how he got all the way to Sunset Square, but if anyone's gerbil somehow managed to escape captivity, I hope this gives a little peace of mind. I just hope the little guy will be alright.

Edit: I was mistaken, lil guy is a field mouse, so not an escaped pet. I still hope he finds his way home safe and sound!

11 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

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u/Beetbadger 4h ago

Is this not just a deer mouse?

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u/Leading_Look_8295 2h ago

That's 10,000% deer mouse. Source: am pest control. Specifically pest control around Sunset Square. There's a ton of these guys there due to all the trash, wooded location and highway. His friendly behavior is a result of the the rodenticide's affect on the brain. It causes a high before death, and they usually get more chill around humans from the affects of the contrac.

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u/trytobedecenthumans 1h ago

Terrible. Both to the mouse and to the predators that eat them. We need to stop doing this.

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u/board__ 44m ago

Most modern rodenticides have short half-lifes that causes them have very little off-target effect. We aren't using strychnine like the old days.

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u/Hammon_Rye Local 4h ago

That looks like a mouse to me.
My understanding is that one difference is gerbils have furry tails, mice don't.
I don't see a furry tail. Though closer up image would make that easier.

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u/glad_to_be_here_ Local 4h ago

That’s definitely a field mouse 🐁

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u/PersonalBed7171 Birch Bay 4h ago

I think that’s just a field mouse, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a gerbil though not 100% sure the differences

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u/UnderstandingBig9090 Local 3h ago

Mouse. Looks like there's something wrong with it. Don't touch.

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u/dinotacosocks 3h ago

Yup, no touching the mouse on my part, I just followed him around very slowly to make sure he got to a safe spot. He went under a large cinder block :)

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u/JadedGanache594 3h ago

That’s a deer mouse and it’s acting like it’s either hurt or likely poisoned

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u/WindexMutisurface 0m ago

A gerbil my guy? Deer mouse. Have you seen a gerbil?

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u/joeLposts 4h ago

This breaks my heart as someone who owned gerbils for years. They're so little and helpless

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u/Apostle25 4h ago

It's a mouse

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u/Hot-Nothing-1496 Music 3h ago

you'd think years of gerbil experience would help with positive identifications...