# my Favourite doe just died



## Teenybits (Jun 3, 2016)

I saw her buried in the shavings. I had placed 2 does together as I am guessing they are pregnant and would be having a litter soon.. Eager to see her pups and there she was. I read another thread that says mice could die from heat. We always have hot days and today isn't particularly hot. First a male died suddenly (also buried in shavings), then the mice with wound problem, then this pregnant doe and I just notice another doe with her sides kinda sunk in like "c" in reverse direction. I decide to just change all bedding to paper litter for now; was using chipsi Super which is actually a horse litter. I had used that for my hamsters with zero issue. I am trying my best .. The breeder didn't have these problems; I wonder where I gone wrong  but yes experimenting with life can be heart-aching. it's still a life; regardless the size.

I saw also another younger doe in another bin with nose injury, will see how she is tomorrow.


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## Lilly (Nov 21, 2015)

Sorry that you are going through all this 

Other than the one with the wound did the mice have any signs of illness? Maybe it is something contagious going around or maybe a reaction to the bedding or something else.


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## Teenybits (Jun 3, 2016)

No, there isn't any sign... What are some signs though that I could make note of? The person whom I took the mice over from, mentioned he didn't experience these .. Then mice on corn cob and bulk-pack hamster food. Gosh, I thought I was trying to put in more efforts and facing this (which didn't happen before?) .. So I wonder if I ought to just follow what he did. Hamster food isn't exactly right diet for mice isn't it?


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## Lilly (Nov 21, 2015)

Hmm

What bedding are you using?
What food are you using and is there a chance of it being contaminated with something?
Did they seem wet like they were too hot?


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## Teenybits (Jun 3, 2016)

Was using chipsi Super (softwood granular)

Food wise, it's all human grade (oats, rice, buckwheat, pearled barley) And parakeet mix from petshop. Well past few days, I add a few dry dog food randomly (Pedigree as I could not find dog food that has lesser protein content).

No, the two that died isn't wet though.

Anything fishy?


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## Lilly (Nov 21, 2015)

Softwood I thought was bad, or is it just pine/cedar?

Other than that I have noticed some parakeet mixes over here tend to have quite a few various oils, like citrus oils and things but no idea if that would apply or cause any issues....

Sorry I can't help you more, I hope you manage to figure it out and don't have any more issues


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## Teenybits (Jun 3, 2016)

Well, i used that bedding for my hamsters (robo, Syrians with pups) and they are all ok. So I didn't think much about it.

On the bird food, this is http://www.millbryhill.co.uk/bird-produ ... -35755.htm the one I am using. I don't see any problems too.

Yes I hope all will be ok. Will bring them to vet later and see what happens.


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## SilverWings (Jan 27, 2016)

What type of cage do you keep them in? The buried in the shavings for some reason made me think of a behaviour I used to see in my bunnies when I had them (many years ago). On hot days they would push the shavings away and lie on the cooler cage floor in the dent they made in the bedding. Anyone know if mice do something similar? I'd imagine the plastic bottom would be cooler than the wood bedding, maybe they were trying to cool down but made it worse covering themselves up?


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## Miss Mousekewitz (Jul 15, 2016)

Oh, sorry for your loss 

Recently a vet suggested that if mice die mysteriously I should store their bodies into the fridge until bringing them to a vet or larger clinic where they can do an autopsy. This is a way how you can tell what happened afterwards, but of yourse it's not a nice good bye....
Another possibility is to collect poo (as much as you can) and analyse it in a lab to see if there are any parasites.

I also use the chipsy bedding, here we also have chipsy bedding for mice. Wrong bedding can cause allergies, but it shouldn't kill them. On the other hand, infectious microorganisms can come along with all kinds of things: bedding material, food, toys, and other housing equipment, it doesn't really depend on the kind of equipment, but the microorganisms just get in here and there during production. What you can do is, clean your cage with disinfection (but let the smell get out before letting your mice back in), then take all your housing equipment and also bedding material and first bake it for 1 hour at 100 °C, and then put it in your freezer for one day. This is a horrible lot of work, but a good way to prevent having unwanted creatures living with your mice.

I just looked up the medication I used for a mouse that had dermatophytosis, her wounds just looked like the ones you posted in the other thread. I know it's too late now, but it might help you if you see that kind of wounds again in future: I had itraconazol to kill the fungi + an antiobiotic with Enrofloxacin. For the wound healing itself I used several homoopathic things and sprays. 
The thing with the fungi is that if you don't kill them they start to affect more and more inside the body, that's why in the end they can also cause death. Sometimes they are also inside the body without symptoms and they only show up, all of a sudden, because the organism has some kind of stress (bad environmental conditions, weakened immunity, sudden changes in environment, etc.)


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## Teenybits (Jun 3, 2016)

They are kept in plastic bins with wired mesh on both sides and holes on the top cover. They might have been buried in shavings by the mice that is in the same bin. It's my Guess.

Chipsi bedding for mice? Chipsi ultra? Chipsi family? Not all the range is available here. Chipsi Super is more absorbent than classic ones and very good w odour control due to its capillary structure of granular form. Anyway I change to paper based w baking soda (for odour control) for now.


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## ThePetekeyPrep (Jun 1, 2016)

Teenybits said:


> Anyway I change to paper based w baking soda (for odour control) for now.


Never use a bedding with baking soda! Baking soda is absolutely toxic to mice. It's basically poison. Last year, tons of animals in the USA died from Carefresh with baking soda. I advise that you change it ASAP. For now, you can use shredded paper or towels, or just layer towels/newspaper until you can get your hands on a safe bedding.

I'm sorry for your loss.


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## Teenybits (Jun 3, 2016)

Gosh, thanks for sharing this.
Considering back to nature paper litter then but it's getting more and more expensive


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