# Female mouse smells horrible?



## pumpkinmouse (Sep 27, 2015)

I got her as an adult from a pet store a couple weeks ago as a replacement cagemate after my agouti passed. Albeit she's the perfect companion for my elderly doe, I've never encountered a mouse that smells like this. 
It's gotten to the point where if the cage hasn't been completely emptied & scrubbed clean every second day, the smell is unbearable when she pees. Her cage is in my living room & it's well ventilated. It's day 3 after the last cleaning & although she spends a good chunk of her time outside of the cage, it's an extremely noticeable ammonia smell. 
I'm at a loss. Is it some kind of UTI or is she naturally more smelly? Should I invest in some odor reducing drops? Has anyone experienced this with a female mouse? She's a larger mouse than any I've previously owned if that helps. 
ANY advice is greatly appreciated!


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

I haven't experienced anything like this, but it definitely sounds like she's got some sort of condition. I would try taking her to the vet, if possible. Does she seem otherwise normal and healthy?


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## Zamwyn (Apr 29, 2015)

Are you absolutely sure it's a doe and not a buck? Even if it's not that common to mistake them as adults, since mice can pull their testicles in, it's far from unheard of. There's also hermaphrodites. Wouldn't surprise me if they could smell like regular bucks.


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Yeeeeeessss, my first thought is that this sounds like it could be a buck :? , how sure are you of the sex? (ps, pet shop's word is next to useless)


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## pumpkinmouse (Sep 27, 2015)

She's very active & doesn't seem to do anything unusual / hasn't had any noticeable behavioral changes since I got her. 
My first suspicion was that she was possibly a male but she wasn't demonstrating any aggression or attempting to breed with my doe. I checked her underside, but being not so experienced at gendering I'll check her again now that I know they can pull their stuff up, lol. 
Thank you guys so much for your help, I'll get to the bottom of this by the end of the day I'm sure


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## pumpkinmouse (Sep 27, 2015)

She is definitely a girl. Gonna try a drop of vanilla extract in her water & see if it helps c:


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## SamOfChaos (Nov 29, 2015)

Severel years ago i had a few pet mice (does), they all stank horrible too, in just 2 days you could smell them if you got through the front door.
The Mice I have now can stay uncleaned for 2 weeks and you smell rather the cat toilet in the room then the mice, and there are 2 bucks. Till now i don't now what was the couse of this smell or why the ones now are almost odorless.


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## pumpkinmouse (Sep 27, 2015)

I actually found out she's Leptin gene deficient, so I attribute the smell to her hormonal problems as well as her huge size!
I would be super confused if I encountered another doe that smelled like that, honestly have no idea what would cause it :c I have a doe right now that smells like buttered popcorn, identical to a buck. The longer I own mice & the more I think I've learned about them they continue to surprise me, lol.

I have almost odorless girls now too, aside from miss lep*ob, lucky streak for both of us I guess!


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