Strange black and white hamstery thing!

[tired]

Knocking down walls, and came across a strange looking thing curled up fast asleep within the stones of the wall, it was quite big about the size of a rat, with little pink ears, black and white in colour with a mediumish tail, which had sparse black and white hairs on it, curled around itself. 

No amount of prodding woke it,

Any one got any ideas as to what it was?

Unfortunately, didn't get to take a photo, so if anyone has any clues, they would be appreciated!

Just wondering if maybe this is what is possibly keeping us awake at night, running around in our bedroom, and on the roof!

[Pierre ZFP]

Ooooo you've got edible dormice! 

Not good really, do some searches for 'Loirs' or 'Dormouse' and read the horror stories

Edit : I did a search for you here

[tired]

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o124/twister_021/DSCF0049.jpg

Can anyone do anything with this, for some reason when I copy the IMG link, I cannot paste it in!

I don't know what I am doing wrong!

Anyone help at all?

Anyway, this is a picture of what we found in our wall, is it a Loir?

I do have another picture that is a little less fuzzy if someone can tell me why I can't paste the link in, and help me rectify it I will then put it on!

Thank you

[Bugsy]

[IMG]http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p211/Bugbear2/DSCF0049.jpg[/IMG]

[Cat]

 

How's this?

I right clicked on the photo, selected "copy", and then pasted into the mail.

EDIT, doh, Gary beat me to it, so I've deleted the photo from my mail.

[Bugsy]

Snap...................................................[:D]

[tired]

 

This is the other picture... after much trying.

Title a bit misleading now that I have looked at it again, when it was in the wall, it looked black and white, obviously its not.

 

[Pierre ZFP]

So if they're 'edible' dormice, how do you cook 'em?  And how many do you need for a decent meal?

[dogwood]

I think what you have there is a Lerot not a Loir. (Or to quote Monty Python  " An ex lerot it is no more it has snuffed it")

The only pictures I could find are these The top one is a Loire The bottom a Lerot

Dogwood

 

I have just been told by a friend a Lerot is a garden doremouse a Loir is an ordinary doremouse

Seuls les loirs et les lérots (Eliomys querconus) disposent de deux terrariums dans cette zone de l'exposition. Ces derniers peuvent également passer à leur guise de leur grand terrarium principal à un autre plus petit. Le premier est aménagé avec une grosse souche pleine de cachettes, une végétation semblable à celle des loirs, un nid en bois et une petite souche suspendue. Le second terrarium leur propose d'autres cachettes naturelles ainsi qu'un nid en bois.

[chris pp]

List of French mammals, French; English, Latin.

http://www.planetepassion.com/LISTS/mammals_all_france.htm

Photos of Loir & Lérot in the photogallery.

http://www.planetepassion.com/photo_gallery.htm

Chris

 

[Higgy]

I have mentioned this before but our friends who have a holiday house in the Correze have been trying to get rid of their Fat Tailed Dormice for 3 years. They hibernate and wake up May/Jine and yes they are noisy at night being nocturnal.

Best of luck getting rid of them, they can get through the smallest of gaps and make runs behind the walls.

 

[Dick Smith]

The Romans, of course, popularised eating the glis-glis, or Gliris.

Simple enough recipe to follow:

Stuff the dormice with minced meat of whole dormice and minced pork, pounded with

pepper, pine kernels, asaphoetida, and liquamen. Sew up, place on a

tile, put in the oven, or cook, stuffed, in a small oven. May also be rolled in honey and seeds before cooking.

Dormice were kept in small pots and fattened up until they couldn't escape. The pot was broken to get the dormouse out.