OOTP is a small animal rescue and sanctuary in regional Victoria.

We specialise in the care of domesticated mice, rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. Under special circumstances, such as with orphaned babies, we may take in wild rabbits, hares, rats or mice. We are also able to offer care to captive-bred Mitchell’s or Spinifex Hopping Mice.

We do not take in ferrets, birds, fishes, reptiles, amphibians or farmed animals, though we may be able to suggest rescues who do.

Except for captive-bred Mitchell’s or Spinifex Hopping Mice, we are unable to rescue native wildlife as we do not possess the necessary licenses, resources, and skills. If you have found a native animal in need, please contact Wildlife Victoria or your state equivalent, or if you can do so safely, bring the animal to your nearest veterinary clinic. If you're not sure if an orphaned rat or mouse is native or not, reach out to us and Wildlife Victoria for help with identification.

Any injured animals should also be immediately taken to a veterinary clinic.

If you’d like to surrender, we ask that you fill out the surrender application form located on our “Surrender or Adopt” page. Using the form ensures that you don’t leave out any vital information, which allows us to assist you and the animal(s) as soon and as effectively as possible.

Based on this information, if we determine that we are able to take in the animal(s), we will negotiate drop off or pickup as soon as possible. Please note that our pickup services are limited by location and wherever possible, you should anticipate bringing animal(s) to us.

At the time of surrender, you will be asked to confirm via signature that transfer of the animal(s) has taken place — this is done for legal and record-keeping purposes and we cannot accept animals without it.

Please note that we are a small rescue with a limited intake capacity, and we cannot take every animal that we receive a surrender application for. If we cannot take in an animal(s), we will do our best to help you find solutions elsewhere.

You can see our adoptable animals on our social media and our PetRescue account (listing animals takes time, so we may have some animals looking for homes that aren't up yet!).

If you’d like to adopt, we ask that you fill out the adoption application form located on our “Surrender or Adopt” page. Using the form ensures that you don’t leave out any vital information, which allows us to match you with the perfect companion(s) as soon and as effectively as possible.

Based on this information, we can provide care advice as needed -- it's a good idea to reach out before purchasing a new cage or food. Before your application can be accepted, we'll need to see photos of a complete and suitable living space for the animal(s), and make sure you have access to a knowledgeable vet.

If you live far away, we may be able to meet you to transfer care of the animal(s), but where possible, we like to bring the animal(s) to you. This is so that we can see their new home in person and advise on introductions to any existing, compatible animals of the same species.

At the time of adoption, you will be asked to pay the adoption fee, which is variable depending on the species, number, and details of the animal(s), and confirm via signature that transfer of the animal(s) has taken place — the latter is done for legal and record-keeping purposes and we cannot accept animals without it. You'll be given an adoption packet to start you off smoothly.

Please note that we are a small rescue, not a large-scale adoption service. If we don't have any suitable animals for adoption, we are happy to refer you onto other trusted rescue organisations. For more information about our adoption fees, process, and conditions, please contact us.

For starters:

1. If it is safe to do so, leave the babies where they are for a moment.

2. Do not attempt to feed the babies anything.

3. Do not take the babies to a vet clinic unless they are obviously injured.

Please contact us immediately so that we can provide more detailed advice and arrange pick-up/drop-off as quickly as possible.

We have a flexible and vet-guided approach to euthanasia. Our residents are individuals, and each decision to euthanise will be unique. Our goal when making this difficult choice is always to ease suffering, not ever our own convenience.

We will always advocate for our residents at the time of euthanasia to ensure ethical treatment, and we will do our best to exhaust all treatment options within the best interest of the animal prior to opting for euthanasia.

Yes! Feel free to reach out with any care questions you may have, and we’ll do our best to give a helpful answer.

We working on creating a range of articles and social media posts to provide ethical care advice on mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. For now, we have a list of trustworthy sources of advice listed on our “Resources” page.

Yes! We offer assistance with sexing rodents and rabbits through photos. Please send us an email or social media message with a clear image of the animal’s anogenital region.

Please do not flip small animals fully upside down, scruff them, or dangle them by the tail — contact us if you require advice on how to take a photo for sexing purposes.

At OOTP, we try to use language choices that reflect our belief that all animals are individuals who hold the same inherent moral value, and that they are here with us, not for us. That’s why you’ll see us saying:

“He, she, they” instead of “it”

“Who” instead of “which, that”

“Companion animal” instead of “pet” (unless using the term negatively)

“Introduced species, free-roaming” instead of “pest, vermin, invasive”

“Domesticated” instead of “domestic”

“Living beings” instead of “living things”

There are other examples, too, but these are a few that you may have noticed. We will continue to re-evaluate our language choices regularly, particularly with regard to phrasing that we still use, but which others avoid, such as:

“Guinea pig” for which others use “cavy”

“Animals” for which others use “non-human animals”

Please let us know if you notice us using any language that you think has a harmful origin, or reinforces harmful stereotypes or beliefs. We also welcome more general feedback on our communication methods.

At OOTP, we believe that the breeding and selling animals supports the harmful notion that animals are products to be bought and sold, contributes to the animal homelessness crisis, and often promotes poor welfare (such in the case of extreme breeding). All while equally deserving animals wait for homes in rescues.

Small animals are being given away, abandoned, and surrendered to rescues en masse, while thousands more are still being bred. Every animal purchased creates demand for more, whereas every animal adopted makes room for another life to be saved. It’s a choice between adding to the problem, or helping to ease it.

We are planning a detailed article on this topic soon.

Unfortunately, we are not accepting visits from the public at this time. If you’d like to support our mission, you can follow our social media, share our posts and informative articles, donate, and take care of animals in your own life.

See our “Support Our Work” page for more information.

A lot of thought went into the naming of Out of The Pocket Micro-Sanctuary.

“Out of The Pocket” reflects our desire to see so-called “pocket pets” given the level of respect and care that they deserve, and also pays homage to our private rescue background (where we were funded entirely out of our own pocket).

We consider ourselves to be a vegan animal sanctuary akin to the more well-known phenomenon of farmed animal sanctuaries, though we instead provide care to another genre of misunderstood and mistreated animals — rodents and rabbits.

To reflect the small scale of our work and the often tiny size of the residents we care for, we chose to use the term “micro-sanctuary.” In doing so, we align ourselves with the global micro-sanctuary movement, which seeks to encourage individuals to help animals in their own lives via private rescue and lifelong care.