Gyrations Of The Little Japanese Waltzing Mice
David Bunch
It takes long and arduous training and study to make a ballet dancer, or any other dancer of professional calibre. For my part, after many attempts, I despaired of ever becoming an accomplished partner in the waltz. And so I confess that I look with some envy upon the gyrations of my little Japanese waltzing mice that prove to be born dancers without benefit of the Blue Danube or other musical inspiration to terpsichore. Now, of course, it is not quite accurate to say that these beautiful little creatures "waltz". They do not stand up on their hind legs and hold hands or put their forelegs about their partner. But, just the same, the word waltz is as good as any other for the twirling, prancing and circling antics of these little fellows, whose greatest delight seems to be dancing through a sort of playhouse put in their cage.
In the past year, while I have been breeding and experimenting with these fascinating little pets, I have counted as many as two hundred and fifty complete revolutions made without pause by one little adult. And they will circle about an object an equal number of times without stopping to rest, or, seemingly, losing their sense of equilibrium. Nature certainly has endowed these creatures with peculiar, fascinating and outstanding characteristics. To answer the question of why these mice behave like spinning tops, anatomists and physiologists have advanced various theories. As far as can be determined they appear to have originated in China or Japan and to be the result of a process of selective breeding. At least we know that, aside from being deaf and having the dance habit, they are normal and attractive little pets for anyone.
A full grown adult waltzing mouse is smaller than the ordinary mouse of the pantry and the common white or albino mouse. They are beautifully marked in black and white, and are dainty and cleanly. The markings vary widely, giving them individuality that the white mouse cannot claim, and in this way one is able to recognize one from the other in a group. Although I have loved and, from childhood, have bred a variety of small animal pets, I do not believe that any have given me so much enjoyment for so little trouble. A small box for a cage, a nest to sleep in and a playhouse are the only things necessary to keep a pair of these little fellows happy.
For two or three of them a wooden box about sixteen inches square with ordinary window screen on the top and one side fills the bill admirably as a cage. The floor of this I cover lightly with sawdust or fine sand, preferably the sawdust. For a nesting box I provide them with a box about four inches square filled with some soft material such as tissue paper. Cotton does not seem to work because they get tangled up in it easily. Life for the mice seems to be made much more enjoyable if they are given a playhouse.
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