# ✟ Respiratory Infection or Allergic Reaction? ✟



## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ This is my first time owning mice. Long, long ago I had a hamster but I barely remember the care and treatment portion of her life.
Currently, I have three mice; two girls and one boy. At one point they were all three housed together, but upon learning that one was male I promptly bought another cage and gave him his own little bachelor pad. I was wondering if I should introduce another male just so he wouldn't be lonely for the rest of his life, but before I had the chance to really consider I noticed he was making strange noises.
Sometimes I thought he was chewing on food but then I would realize he wasn't. When I picked him up today it seemed as if he were sneezing? I recall hearing mice are prone to respiratory infections and so suddenly I am very concerned.

So far the other two mice, who live in the same room as him but different cages, appear to be fine. Of this I am quite glad. I am unsure of exactly *how* much I should be worried over my mouse's sneezing, and if I need to get him to a vet or if this will just pass. I will admit to burning 'odor control candles' in my house because we also have a cat and two dogs. I am also into meditation so I burn incense quite often but never in the same room as any of our animals.

My question: Could the odor control candles or incense be the cause of his strange sneezing or do I need to take my mouse to the small care veterinarian? Or are there other factors I should be watching out for? Like scented hand soap or lotions I might use that could cause him to sneeze while being picked up? I'm curious because the other two mice haven't been affected.

Please share your knowledge with me! I'd appreciate it ever so much! ✟


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

1) You basically cannot introduce another male to your existing male. They fight horrendously, and it would be a death sentence for one or both mice.

2) Most of the sneezing-causing things I've heard of with mice have been bedding. What are they kept on? If it's dusty, that could easily cause sneezing. Or, if it has aromatic oils (cedar chips, for example), you could what that does to the lungs of rodents. That said, sneezing, particularly if you can listen to his breathing (put him up next to your ear) and hear any kind of rattly nasty noises, is in my experience usually RI. If he looks well, I'd assume dust-related. If he looks poorly, say with hunched back, pinched waist, labored breathing, or even just his fur looking ratty, I'd guess RI. At that point, you could either go to the vet and be prescribed antibiotics OR pick them up from a feed/vet supply store and mix them up yourself. The latter is cheaper, but not for everyone.


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## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ Well he got the name Grumbles for a reason- he sounds like he's grumbling when he breaths. I wouldn't trust myself to self medicate my animals, so I'll probably take him up to the vet tomorrow. 
He's hunched over in a ball in his igloo, peering out through squinted eyes and sneezing every now and then. Especially when disturbed so it's nice and quiet in the house right now. The more worked up he is, the more he sneezes.

Bedding wise, it's called CareFresh Natural and it's what was recommended to me. The package says its made of cellulose fiber free of inks, dyes, clay and any other chemical contaminants. It kinda smells like cardboard that has been torn to pieces, but it says it's 'easily composted'. There is a bit of dust involved whenever I change the bedding, but I thought there was dust with all beddings. It's the exact same stuff I use in the female's cage and they're all snuggled up under it doing fine. So I guess it could just be an individual allergy if it was an allergy?

And yeah that's the majority of what I was reading about male mice. Some people claim they can get two strange males together but I don't want to test it.  ✟


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

I haven't had any trouble with CareFresh. I use the Ultra white stuff. Other folks have mentioned dust problems from it, but if he's squinting, hunched over, etc, he sounds sick. :/


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## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ Is the Ultra White less dusty than the 'natural'?

I've got a friend that works at Banfield Pet Clinic, which works on all sorts of critters, and is going to get me in tomorrow so we'll see. I'm just so worried about my poor boy... I attach to my animals rather quickly for some reason. I hope respiratory infections aren't too serious and that it will be easy to fix. I'd hate to have to say goodbye to him so quickly... ;___;  ✟


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

It does sound like a respiratory infection. Based on how long he's had it, he might have scarred lungs that always make that sound, but you can cure him of the actual disease.



> 1) You basically cannot introduce another male to your existing male. They fight horrendously, and it would be a death sentence for one or both mice.


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## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ I'm glad it can be cured. ^^ If I could I'd take him right this second to be fixed up but unfortunately they're already closed since it's after 5pm. I'll rest easier tonight knowing that it's not deadly unless ignored.

And I won't try to introduce him to other males, but I wish he didn't have to spend his life alone, especially since mice are so social. My two girls are all snuggled up next to each other like best friends and he's all alone in his little igloo. Best I can do I suppose is just interact with him myself as often as possible. ✟


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

You could ask the vet what it would cost you to have him neutered once he's healed of his RI. Some charge an arm and a leg, while others do it fairly cheaply. The materials cost is quite low, but since it's not a common procedure, most places mark up a lot.


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## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ Wait, you can NEUTER mice? ...how dangerous is it I wonder? (To clarify I figure you can neuter most any creature, rather I did not know people practiced it on mice.)
I would love for him to be able to live with the girls and them all be a happy little colony and not worry about babies. I'll definitely inquire about that tomorrow and get their take on it. ✟


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I wouldn't waste your money neutering a mouse. 
If you want your mouse to have a friend, once he's healthy again, get him an african soft furred rat as a cage mate. They're $5-$10 instead of the $100+ you might spend on getting your mouse neutered.


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## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ I wouldn't even know where to find that species. I don't think most pet stores sell them because I've never even heard about them before... But that would be lovely having a friend for him. Just as long as they didn't fight. I'm assuming that if I got a female African soft furred rat that they couldn't breed? I wouldn't think so if they're different species but I just want to make sure... ✟


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## Lady Rothsbane (Sep 5, 2011)

✟ Dropped him off this morning. They have to keep him for a few days but they're optimistic it's not too bad. Which makes me ever so happy. I must reiterate that I attach quickly to my pets and view them as family members.
But It got worse overnight. Now whenever his sniffs to air you can really hear it. D8 Funny though, he was intent to run on his wheel while everyone in the veterinary office was watching. xD All the nurses thought he was just 'darling' as they put it. He must have been putting on a show for all the ladies there. ;3 That's my boy.
I hope it wasn't something I did though. I'll just be more careful, wash my hands before I touch him and after wards with non scented soaps and take extra care to make sure the door is never closed in the room so that the air can fully ventilate. I actually like him more than my two girls that live in the other cage, probably because he is more calm and doesn't bite. But he's just a sweetie anyways.

Is there a specific soap or cleaner anyone would recommend to clean the cage with? Currently I was told to use 'washing up soap' which apparently translates (In American) to dish soap... Which I don't see how that's disinfecting the cage properly.
I also don't really like the scent of CareFresh natural... kinda smells like cardboard so I'll probably switch him to a shredded aspen bedding.

Any suggestions on what I may or may not want to do with bedding/water (currently he gets bottled water because of the heightened chlorine and metal content in our water) to help keep him and the girls in the other cage healthy? As I previous stated, this is my first time owning fancy mice so I'm not the most informed, although I have been reading up online as much as possible. ✟


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