Sunday, April 06, 2008
Mice Are Nocturnal
You know, being a "dungeon master" and game designer, I should know such trivialities - such as the period of activity of certain animals. Not that this ever stops game designers from having nasty giant rats from attacking at all hours. I guess giant rats aren't as nocturnal as their normal-sized cousins.
But I digress. I was speaking of the common mouse. Which is, in fact, nocturnal. And I was perfectly aware of this particular bit of trivia. But there's knowing, and then there's understanding the ramifications of such information.
You see, when you allow your daughter to be gifted with a pet mouse from a girl in the neighborhood (who had, in turn, inherited it from her college roommate), the whole "mice are nocturnal" thing just kinda resides in the brain as a piece of trivia. Along with other bits of academic knowledge, like knowing that Death Valley averages only two inches of rainfall per year, or that Christopher Columbus sailed from Europe in 1492, or that James Monroe was the fifth president of the United States.
But when said mouse has a very noisy little mouse-wheel, the ramifications of it's non-diurnal activity cycle become fully understood. First of all, it manages to wake up the entire family with the question, "what is that noise?" firmly in their sleep-addled brains. But more interestingly, said noise and the presence of another active creature in the household in turn freaks out the dog. Man's best friend now feels the need to alert the masters of the house constantly that there is something going on in the eldest daughter's bedroom.
Now I have a much better understanding the meaning of "nocturnal." It's educational. Life should be filled with learning opportunities. And I have learned a little bit more.
Now I only hope that we all can learn to deal with (and ignore) our new resident who is well and truly nocturnal.
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 10:48 PM (Permalink)
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Heh Heh,
Hamsters are nocturnal as well. Gerbils however, stay awake when there is the most activity, so if they get a lot of stimulation and playing with during the day they will tend sleep more at night.
Too bad that hamsters are WAY cuter and cuddlier than gerbils :)
Brian
Hamsters are nocturnal as well. Gerbils however, stay awake when there is the most activity, so if they get a lot of stimulation and playing with during the day they will tend sleep more at night.
Too bad that hamsters are WAY cuter and cuddlier than gerbils :)
Brian
@John - this is definitely in the cards now that the hardware stores are open. Though I think the bulk of it isn't axle noises. Although the dog and everyone else had a much easier time of it last night.
@Chrysophrase - I never had either growing up. Which probably explains why we were deluded into thinking that this might be a "Good Idea" for our daughter when the opportunity presented itself.
@Too Mad - We actually discussed this. However, I expect that our dog would eat the cat. Whether this would be before or after the cat ate the mouse and the goldfish (which was SUPPOSED to die within a week... and now its been almost a year...) we don't know.
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@Chrysophrase - I never had either growing up. Which probably explains why we were deluded into thinking that this might be a "Good Idea" for our daughter when the opportunity presented itself.
@Too Mad - We actually discussed this. However, I expect that our dog would eat the cat. Whether this would be before or after the cat ate the mouse and the goldfish (which was SUPPOSED to die within a week... and now its been almost a year...) we don't know.
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