(not mice), but Fancy Rats are extremely susceptible to tumors. It sucks. More rats I’ve owned have died of either cancer or respiratory illnesses than old age.

Bonus shot of my boy Finn:

Can’t fire me if you can’t find me!

Just install HA and try it out! It’s a lot easier to do than you might think. Every vendor or connection type has its own Integration. Most integrations can be set up through the UI very easily. I have dozens of integrations.

And the automations have had a lot of work the last few years. They are getting much easier to set up in the UI without having to worry about code or yaml.

Here’s the guide I’ve used. Super easy to do in ESPHome. I’ve only tested it, but it seems to work very well.

https://smarthomescene.com/guides/how-to-create-thread-devices-with-esphome/

The ESP32-S3 has become my standard goto device. If power usage is an issue, the ESP32-C3 is a great option. And the ESP32-C6 opens up Thread capabilities. I recently picked up a device with an ESP32-P4 that I’m wanting to play around with some more.

Arduino, ESP32, smart home automation. I could talk for hours. I’ve started to get into PCB design this year, and I’ve had a lot of fun with it!