# Bucks freezing cold then dying?



## Demonic Hope (Jul 1, 2013)

I have a group of 10 week old bucks. They were abandoned by their mother at 2 weeks old and I hand-raised them. The 7 bucks have all lived together happily in a 30 gallon bin cage with a second level. No fighting. So that wasn't the issue.

Bedding: Kiln-Dried Pine. Bag has been used for two tank cleanings without problems and all animals are on it.

Food: Been on the same batch for several weeks. Purina Little Wonders mixed with Wild Harvest Mouse blocks, Native Earth 18% blocks, and rolled oats with a handful of Taste of the Wild dog food.

Cage: 30 gallon bin cage.

Room Temperature: 72 degrees.

Two days ago I found Triton an Agouti buck dead in his tank. He had no injuries, no blood on him, he'd been happy and healthy hours before. I passed it off as a freak thing.

Last night when checking on them before bed I noticed that Jakey a PEW was lying in his igloo and not moving. He was ice cold to the touch but wasn't shivering or anyways. I put a heating pad under half his tank and left him with water and food close by.

This morning I woke up and Jakey was dead. Again no signs of trauma, his eyes were open, he wasn't twisted like he had a seizure. It honestly looked like he had just dropped dead.

I checked on his brothers and found 3 or the 5 remaining boys the same way Jakey had been. They were lying on their sides, cold, not interested in food or water. I took them out and placed them in a box with their two healthy siblings. I put a heating pad under them and syringe fed them a bit of peanut butter mixed with warm goat's milk. They didn't even fight to be fed. After about ten minutes they started to shiver and move around. And after about an hour they were back to normal and bouncing around like usual. Playing and grooming both me and each other.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on it? Their sisters from the same litter are doing totally fine in my female colony.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Well, with the cold season being here (at least for me!) is it possible they are in the way of a draft?


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## Demonic Hope (Jul 1, 2013)

Frizzle said:


> Well, with the cold season being here (at least for me!) is it possible they are in the way of a draft?


No. They are far from the window and door and I've not been able to find a draft at all.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

Sounds like upper respiratory infections that they're hiding well. Mice don't like to let you know they're sick, because they're afraid that something will eat them (reasonably). This means they pretend they're not sick for as long as possible until they just can't anymore. When you get one cold like that, I'd recommend they be pts. I've only ever had one recover, out of an awful lot of mice that otherwise die painfully from infection. Putting the rest on antibiotics can help to stop the spread.


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## Demonic Hope (Jul 1, 2013)

Laigaie said:


> Sounds like upper respiratory infections that they're hiding well. Mice don't like to let you know they're sick, because they're afraid that something will eat them (reasonably). This means they pretend they're not sick for as long as possible until they just can't anymore. When you get one cold like that, I'd recommend they be pts. I've only ever had one recover, out of an awful lot of mice that otherwise die painfully from infection. Putting the rest on antibiotics can help to stop the spread.


Wouldn't I hear snuffling or something? They're breathing sounds fine. They aren't poofy and they are nice and sleek. The ones who were cold this morning seem fine now. They are eating and playing like normal.

Though it does make sense. I have a gerbil that is on antibiotics for an URI. I wash my hands between tanks but I guess they could have gotten the bug before the gerbil showed symptoms. They use the same play pen.

My vet is sorta useless when it comes to pocket pets. He wanted me to rub vicks on my gerbil's chest. :roll: but I'm gonna run them by tomorrow and get antibiotics.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Sounds like moderate to severe hypothermia. I don't know what 72 is in celsius but it doesn't sound that cold. There are other reasons that you can be more susceptible to it though.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Have you checked for lice? Years ago when first got in to mice I had two mice go like that, fine one day then limp and stone cold, they both died and on close inspection they had loads of lice. Lost another while treating for it.


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## mich (Sep 28, 2013)

I have seen a few mice (not mine) that have felt extremely cold (almost like they have been in a fridge) cold. I m not sure what causes it. Mice should always have a moderate temperature. Im not sure of their right temperature. Someone might know. Sorry to hear about your mice dying.


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## YuukikoOgawa (Jul 26, 2013)

I lost my favorite fawn satin buck in a similar manner a couple of weeks ago myself. He was fine one moment, then about half an hour later he was just as you said: completely cold, unresponsive, could barely see any sign of breathing...we ended up trying to cull him as humanely as we could.

I completely spaced out on the necropsy (I haven't learned how to do them myself, but there's an Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital right down the road that I've taken mice in for annual check-ups before), so I'm still not positive about why he died. The best guess my sister and I could come up with was that he had some sort of lingering head injury (he was moved to a spare quarantine bin after my dumbass cat knocked the glass tank he and his mate had been in off its shelf) that just finally caught up with him somehow (like a blood clot, stroke, etc.)...but I honestly hadn't even thought about lice as a possibility.

What are the signs of lice, normally? Should I start treating the rest of the mice for them, just in case? What treatment do I use?


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