I did wonder with the name Elliott....but he's neutered so that explains things!
Where do you get the hemp from? I'm using woodshavings at the moment, but I'm all for improving the time between clean-outs!
I give my gerbil dried mealworms (I assume you mean dried....or do you mean live?!
) and yes they aren't very nice! They really smell. I haven't given the mice any yet because when I first got them I gave them some millet seed (they love it if you give it to them as a whole head...I think it's like the mouse version of a donut!) and they got diarrhoea, so I thought I'd give it a while before I tried anything else that was new....but I think that time has come!
Mine are called Lola and Bambi
I was sure Bambi was a runt because she was so tiny, but she's nearly caught up with Lola now! She's a champagne tan (if you google it there's a good picture) but it's sort of pinky grey, with an orange belly. I'm still trying to work out what Lola's official colour is, it's a sort of ginger and white banded. What colours are yours?
I was lucky with mine in the sense that we got them from a new little pet shop that has opened here, and the young guy who runs it wanted to find small local breeders, so the mice were already tame when I got them. Bambi still gets a bit nervous, but she soon calms down. I think it's great that you rescued yours, I would have done the same had there been any near me.