# Mouse with head tilt, infection or neurological issue?



## Catten (Apr 17, 2016)

So, this isn't my mouse, but she is at the pet store I work at. We don't sell pet mice, only feeders (I always recommend frozen/thawed but I know some snakes won't eat that), and while they get the same level of husbandry care as everything else in the store, they get significantly less vet care because losing one here and there isn't a major problem financially for the store. Unfortunately it's unlikely this girl will get to see a vet but I can probably ask to have her euthanized by a vet if necessary.

However, I would like to know if she has a chance at living with this head tilt. If it is neurological doesn't that mean she can live a relatively normal life? I have little experience with mice but I have had a lot of experience with rats. I never had one with a head tilt but I have read a lot about them, and I'd think mice are similar.

You may ask why we don't just sell her off as food, that seems like the logical thing a store would do. I've been trying very hard to make sure she doesn't get sold as food, mostly because she bites harder than any mouse has every bitten me (and a lot of the mice at work have bitten me). She is very violent and will attack and go after your fingers and hold on hard, and I am worried that if she is sold as food she will kill the snake. On the other side of that coin though is what else can be done with her? We rarely sell the mice as pets, and nobody looking for a pet mouse is going to want one that bites that hard. But I feel like euthanizing her is wrong if she can live just fine with the tilt, so that's where my main question comes from.

What is causing the tilt, and can she live relatively comfortably with it? If she won't be suffering to keep her alive then I will probably just buy her and let her live out her life with me. I don't mind if that means just giving her food and water and a clean cage once a week, with very little actual interaction with her. I'm not sure if she'd need a friend, I know mice are social but I'm worried she'd attack another mouse since she's so hostile.

I have a video of her behavior from a couple days ago, she hasn't changed much since then. I can't seem to get the video to embed in the post properly, but here is a direct link to where you can watch it.

http://vid1241.photobucket.com/albums/g ... tuvlxg.mp4

Some days she sleeps most of the day and runs in circles when you wake her (she sleeps in her food dish in this cage so I have to wake her to give her new food). Other days she is up and moving around, constantly erring to the left but still quite alert. It looks like she is very stressed and upset about this situation, but I can't tell if she is suffering from any pain. I'd also think a larger living space would make her a little more comfortable. She does seem to get caught in loops where she can't seem to stop running in circles. Would placing items throughout her tank for her to bump into help her not get stuck running in circles?

I'm not sure how to tell the difference between an ear infection and a neurological issue, if there is even a way to tell from just looking at her. If it is an ear infection, how can I treat it? I've read that children's liquid benadryl can help? I don't really have the money to take her to a vet, but if I can make the rest of her life more comfortable I'd like to be able to help her.

If it is a neurological issue, there's not much that can be done, correct? Just give her a comfortable living space?

I also wanted to ask about housing. I have a large sized critter keeper, would this be ok to house a single mouse in? I do have a ten gallon tank I could use but the critter keeper is much easier to clean. If the keeper won't be sufficient space then I can use the tank, but I'd think she isn't going to be doing a lot of moving around since she seems to get disoriented so easily. I'd expect I also shouldn't give her much things to climb, I wouldn't want her to fall and hurt herself since her movements don't seem particularly controllable a lot of the time, so floor space is probably more important. I have read mice are perfectly happy with food, water, and nesting material, is this correct or do I need to give her more stuff to do?

Should I see if she can live with a friend? Since I know female mice are social and normally like friends. I can try putting one of the other healthy mice in with her for a little while and see if they get along. We do have a larger critter keeper at work I can do this test in so that they're not too cramped, she's just not in it now because occasionally we get sick hamsters and because they are pets, and thus worth more money, the hamsters get "priority" and thus get the bigger critter keeper. We need to have one open just in case a hamster needs it, but I can borrow it for a few hours if necessary. I work tomorrow for 5.5 hrs, would this be enough time to judge if she will live happily with a friend? If it's an ear infection can she infect the other mice? Could I keep her as well as friend in the critter keeper I have or is it really just too small?

I really just want to give this girl the best chance she's got. I'd hate for her to kill a snake if someone tried to use her as food, and I'd hate for her to live out the rest of her life in the store in a tiny cage, with lots of stressful sounds and movement all around her. If she can live with her head tilt issue in relative comfort then I would like to give her a place to stay, but I also want to make sure I give her adequate housing. And of course, if euthanizing her is the better option, I can ask my manager if we can have her euthanized.

I really appreciate any advice I can get! Please help me help this mouse!


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## Daisy&amp;Peach (Apr 13, 2016)

Poor thing 

The most common reason for this behaviour is an inner ear infection. If it is an infection that has caused the mouse to run in circles, then it is probably already quite advanced. If you've ever had an ear infection then you'll know that they are very painful. If severe enough, mice can die from inner ear infections. The other causes (i.e. brain tumor, stroke etc)are much less likely, and are not treatable.

The kindest thing to do would be to take the mouse to the vet and get her on a course of antibiotics. If this is absolutely not an option, then personally I would have the mouse put to sleep. Living in pain and spending my time running in circles sounds pretty miserable to me. You have to use your own judgement here on what you think is best, I don't know the mouse, and have never seen her in person, so I cannot assess her quality of life.


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## Catten (Apr 17, 2016)

She was euthanized. Yesterday I could see that she was in a lot of pain and I couldn't let her suffer any longer than necessary. Thank you for the advice, I know how to catch this issue early now if it happens to pop up again!


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## Daisy&amp;Peach (Apr 13, 2016)

Thanks for caring about that mouse Catten, even though she wasn't yours. At least she is at peace now.


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