# Help for the pear-shaped mouse?



## Brightspark (May 22, 2011)

I've just adopted my little Nim (photos on the New/Existing Mice board to come soon  ) from the animal shelter where I work. She's exactly a year and four months old today. She was born in the shelter, adopted out and recently surrendered back to us, so we know her exact birth-date. She has had at least sixteen babies that we know of, and almost certainly many more, and they've left her quite... I'm not even sure if it's so much pear-shaped as just _round_, lol. She's not pregnant and she didn't lose weight or change shape at all in the weeks she was in the shelter.

So I have a couple of questions, so please take pity on the mousie newbie. Firstly, are does inclined to 'lose their figures', so to speak, if they've had a million litters? The other possibility is that she's just fat, but it doesn't really look like obesity to me... more that she just _is_ that shape. And my second question is whether there's anything I could or should be doing to help her become a little less spherical, or whether at her age it's better to let her be and enjoy what time she has left.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

She's old enough that she may start losing weight on her own in the next few months, but it could also be a reproductive system condition. There are a couple that might give her a pear shape, but I don't remember the names. You should try a search of the health part of this Forum, as this sort of thing has been discussed more than once. One of them involves fluid retention, if I remember correctly, and the other might be fibroids....I'm not a vet, vet tech, or student, but we do have a couple on this Forum now and then, I think.


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## Brightspark (May 22, 2011)

Someone suggested (without having seen the mouse) that it could possibly be a tumour in her abdomen. The thing is, though, it's not like one lump, it's evenly distributed all over. If it were a tumour, should I be able to (gently of course!) feel for a lump?


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

Not all tumors are whole, round lumps like we think of them, and they aren't always big enough to feel when they are. Tiny little lump tumors can spread into a thin film all around inside the body. That said, there could be soooo many things going on here, most of which are not cancer, and a few of which aren't too serious.

While most does go back to a similar shape after pregnancies, if they over-eat when they're being offered extra-nutritious foods, that weight can be hard to lose. Pear-shaped isn't that weird for an overweight mouse, but feel along her spine. If that's standing out despite the extra weight, I'd lean more toward something accumulating in her belly (fluid, fibroids, tumor), but if her spine isn't sharp-feeling under her coat, you're more likely dealing with extra weight. It sounds odd to have a mouse who's had a zillion litters but is still quite overweight, but perhaps if the food were sugar-heavy, it could happen.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Obesity in mousies is usually caused by genetics, and is most common in light colored meeces. Generally, it's not related to diet or lack of exercise. If you feed too much fatty foods, then I guess that might help maintain the obesity, but in my experience obesity in meeces has little to do with diet. Some mammals, including people build up fat within the abdominal cavity, in between the organs, and it's very hard to lose.


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## Brightspark (May 22, 2011)

Thanks guys, that's very encouraging  It seems a little strange to be hoping for obesity as an outcome, but I'll take that over a tumour any day! There is nothing sharp or bony whatsoever about little Miss Nim - she definitely has a bit of padding going on all over, not just her abdomen.

She's never shown a lot of enthusiasm for wheels (had one in the shelter and hardly ever touched it; I bought her one just yesterday and she got on, wobbled around a bit and got right off again) so I'm thinking maybe a mouse ball to help her get a bit of exercise. On the other hand, though, I'm wondering whether at her age it would be better to let her just enjoy being a fat, happy old lady.


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