Aussie Finch Forum

The subject sounds harmless but as yet I am unsure myself. Today I found in one of my aviaries a bundle of mice predigested a in pile in the middle of the avairy floor. I am not going to put up a pic as its not to my liking , but it has me worried that something maybe lurking under my aviary.

Next to the remains was a mouse hole a little larger than normal, so in a mad a panic I thought crap a snake I looked High and low looking for the culprit , I counted the birds all were presnent all baby quail accounted for . Then I thought NO its in the nest box for the bourkes parrots so ducked out undid the box went back in and stuffed the entrance hole with a rag and procceded to exit out of the aviary to have a look , as I put it down I heard the baby bourkes and was relieved it wasnt in there.

So I put the nest box back in , with a rake in my hand I moved all the brush again just to check still nothing , so I figured it had a good feed got out of the tunnels and couldnt get out so it went back out the way it came in and had to lighten the load, it must have a bit of size to it as some of these mice were huge. so anything that looked like a mouse hole was blocked up with fine blue metal.

My footings go in to about 40cm as its very hard clay and gravel, but I did notice as I have been concreteing anther 30 cm and 40 cm deep around the perimitter there was a mouse hole so hope fully it comes out the way it got in. I would love to know how deep snakes can go under ground as it has me re thinking the footings...as half my problem is that I probably built over existing mouse colonies as i didnt think to bait prior to.

But on a good note the mouse activity has gone from one of the cages . What gets me is I didnt think a snake could go down a small mouse hole... pete

I dunno what snakies would be normal around your area, but our stimsons at work aint that wide.... lol.

I'm guessing you would get dugites??

We have only seen a dead one (not me the outlaws) 2 years ago, in the bush next door , the neighbours have only had a sw carpet python in the pool 6 years ago and we have alot of goannas blue tounges and race horse and king skinks and they wouldnt fit down that hole , I am thinking dugite but have not seen any live ones in the 2 years we have been here...oh besides a blind snake I dug up when I was doing the footings way back then ... pete

I'm kind of doubting you would have bits of mice left if it was a snake too... send me the pic..

Would it be small enough to get through the roof of the aviary like a bird of prey regurged?? ewwwwww

nope a whole mouse . but that is a thought if it slipped under the corrigated iron ...Pete

As I also have more bush than neighbours round me. I have snakes every year. Gwardars The snake men who kindly relocate them for me when hubby is away, confirmed that they will follow the mice into/through their network of holes. Have only had the "leavings" regurgitated (yuk) Mostly the snakes once they have had a mouse or 2 and a drink from the water bowl will search until they find an exit and go back where they came from. These guys vary in size from the thickness of a pencil to that of a stout stick. Unfortunately it seems to be the bigger ones that come into the avairys. Quail are usually safe as they seem to know not to move while the snake is present. And finches mostly do the same. If is fledglings on the floor that are at risk. Witnessed a young Zeb calling for a feed being swallowed last year. Hubby is going to narrow the gaps round the doors.
LML

Sure it's not the mouses bigger cousin. I had a mouse hole in the aviary on the weekend, flooded, filled, & waited, but nothing, yesterday it had been redug, so I repeated the process, today, bigger hole, & half eaten baby Cordon on the floor. This afternoon flooded the hole, & out came 2 half grown rats, They've gone to god, but I don't know were the rest of the family are, or where the hell they got in, no holes in close proximity on th outside, nearest rat hole is over 3 meters away, & another aviary in between.

Vr it regurged a whole adult mouse and about 6 small ones, still think snake as have been on look out for rats when I baited mice in my roof last ,something died and made a horrible smell up there and I dont want to look and its been 2 months.

the up side of the matter is I have had no mouse movement in any of the aviaries for 2 days...maybe one problem solved an another started. I have been all over the avairy floor and anything that looked like a breather or a mouse exit had a big pile of small blue metal covering it....pete

Pete,

It may have been a suicide pact after they heard us talking about mouse proofing on the week end

Cheers
Brett

Here is the culprit a 4ft plus dugite , any body want it..I still didnt catch the bugger he went back out the hole he came in on ....and for those that may ask I did squeel like a little girl and had to change my dacks..... Pete