# Problem with mice



## Kylie (Aug 3, 2009)

My past two mice have died.

The first one, named Mouse, was extremely tame, which I figured was just because she was young. But after two days or so, she was not active at all, really. She'd just sleep and eat. Before that, she'd run around a little, at least. Then it seemed like she had a hard time moving. Her back was always rounded (she never stretched out) and she never ran. I had her for a total of six days before I found her lying on her back. :[ 
This is Mouse :


















My second mouse, Hermione (haha), however, seemed perfectly healthy. She was at a good weight, healthy, tame, active. I had her for 13 days or so before she died. 
And this is Hermione:


















I'm really sad about the both of them.
:[
So, it could be something wrong with how I'm taking care of them.
But I did the same thing with my first mouse and she lived the normal length of time. 
I sanitized the cage between all three mice.
I fed them pet-store mouse food. Changed the water. Used pet-store bedding and toys.
I have no idea what's wrong but hopefully I'll have a new mouse soon, that will be healthier. 
Any ideas?

Thanks!


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## Maplewood Stud (Jan 2, 2009)

hun, can i just ask if it was a pet shop u brought them from... and if so have u told them that uve lost both mice that they sold u.. x


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## Kylie (Aug 3, 2009)

Yes, it was. But I never told the store that they died.
:/

Mouse was from the same litter as razelamy's mouse, Sandy, though. And Sandy seems well.
I don't know though.


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## Maplewood Stud (Jan 2, 2009)

i dunno, its just seems to me that u havnt done anything wrong...so they might have already had something making them poorly when u brought them home from the petshop and the "stress" of moving to a new home might of just made it worse... x not meaning that in a mean way as it may sound x i would tell the petshop though, not that theyll admit it was thier fault, but it may give them a kick up the bum and get them to start checking their mice.

pet shops really p*** me off, i went in our local one the other day and there was a tank full of babies that were tiny and some didnt even have their eyes open, anyway i went and got the guy and asked how old they were and of course he didnt know. i explained they were too small and should still be in with their mum, he made a big point of saying the mum was in there - but she wasnt!! at that point i was asked to leave as id asked him to let me take them and he got the hump!! PRAT!!!

so the point im making is just be careful with petshops, i brought my original 2 from a petshop and theyre still here now - but if i knew what i knew i wouldnt of brought them from there x


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## Kylie (Aug 3, 2009)

Wow. What jerks!

thanks.
:]

Hopefully my new mouse will be from Sandy's litter anyways.


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## Erica08 (May 20, 2009)

I would let the petshop know I bought mine from a pet shop and mine are very well. Our store PETCO is really good about caring for there animals if they so much as have a watery eye or just seem off they are put in a back room and watched they also offer refunds if something happens in the first 9 or so days.


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## razelamy (Jul 8, 2009)

Yeah, we got Sandy, Hermione, and Mouse all from the local Petco. I really like Petco. The Petsmart that we have charges rediculous prices for their animals just to make sure they're not feeders. Which is stupid.
I can't figure out what's wrong with Kylie's mice =[
Sandy has always been fine, and so has my other doe Irma.


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## DomLangowski (Oct 2, 2008)

Have you checked them for mites / lice? have you checked if they have diarrhoea?

I have found all of these things quite common for badly bred pet shop mice which are all killers. If you do get any more from a pet shop try and watch out for these things cause they could indicate poor health.


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## demon_x_slash (Oct 3, 2008)

Leigh Amber - could I please ask you to call your local RSPCA and report that pet shop? They do take calls seriously and if you were asked to leave after expressing concern at the age and treatment of the animals then that's a serious worry. Let your local council know as well; they are the ones that issue licences to operate, and if there is evidence of mistreatment then that licence may be revoked.


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## Mari (Jul 21, 2009)

A few years ago, I had gotten a couple of mice from a larger chain store Stateside.  Both of them seemed perfectly ok. After a couple days, they seemed a little less active, but no obvious symptoms of something really wrong (no discharge, sneezing, diarrhea, sores, mites, etc). The next day, they were both dead. I sanitized everything that could be and bought new whatever couldn't and returned them to the store which gave me replacements. Same thing happened. (This is how I ended up with rats years ago, mind you. I thought mice were just that frail at the time!). Anyhow, after talking to someone that worked there, I found that their mice were constantly plagued with all kinds of problems that they could not irradicate. I'm sure they came from the breeder, but no amount of quarantine or treatment helped. They had respiritory infections, horrible scabs and skin issues (no mites) that would not heal, etc. Even with vet treatment. So, needless to say, I don't think pet store mice, for the most part, are the healthiest things, on the norm. I highly doubt you did anything wrong. As Leigh said, I am inclined to think you had sickly mice from the get go and the stress from moving probably just esacerbated the problem. They don't go from completely healthy to dead in a matter of a couple of days without severe neglect or overheating or something major. They really are fairly hardy. Also, to let you know, these large chain stores do not breed their own stock, but ship them in from a supplier. They travel in a truck for days and for miles and miles. It doens't always leave them in the best shape upon arrival. 

Sorry about your little ones. The best of luck to your new baby.


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## Kylie (Aug 3, 2009)

DomLangowski said:


> Have you checked them for mites / lice? have you checked if they have diarrhoea?
> 
> I have found all of these things quite common for badly bred pet shop mice which are all killers. If you do get any more from a pet shop try and watch out for these things cause they could indicate poor health.


Yeah they didn't have any noticeable problems like mites/lice or diarrhea.


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## Kylie (Aug 3, 2009)

demon_x_slash said:


> Leigh Amber - could I please ask you to call your local RSPCA and report that pet shop? They do take calls seriously and if you were asked to leave after expressing concern at the age and treatment of the animals then that's a serious worry. Let your local council know as well; they are the ones that issue licences to operate, and if there is evidence of mistreatment then that licence may be revoked.


Will do.

And thanks Mari!
:]


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Maybe the environment is stressing them out. Being moved can be stressful all by itself. I always give the new mousie a day or two to settle in before I try to handle it. If the mousie is still skiddish, I lure it to The Hand with treats. You mousie should be in a quiet location with no drafts and subdued light.


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