# Diabetes in Mice



## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

Please could someone tell me the symptoms of diabetes? One of my does drinks a lot of water, and her urine smells. A friend (from this forum) wondered if it could be diabetes. Is there a special diet I could put her on to see if it helps? 
Living in a rural area, it's very difficult to find a local vet who specialises in small animals, so I am looking for some advice first.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Drinking a lot. A LOT a lot. Frequent urination. Normally they're obese too, or mine was. She also had an eating problem. Make sure she has a constant supply of water even though she seems to be drinking tonnes. Avoid mixes with added sugar/molasses if you think she really is diabetic.


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

If the urine smells strongly it is unlikely to be Diabetes - usually the urine is so dilute it doesn't smell of much at all.


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

Thanks for the info. The strong-smelling urine might have been a reaction to the food I was giving them (PaH mouse museli). I now make my own and, although she still drinks a fair bit, the smell has mostly gone.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Hmm. I fed PaH mouse muesli for some time, and never got smelly wee. But then, different mice react differently, little buggers XD. I'd also look at what else you've changed.


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

Only one of my mice was affected, so perhaps she was allergic to something in the mixture. Perhaps she had a slight infection which cleared up of it's own accord. Whatever. Thankfully it's stopped now - there was a time when I thought she was a male in disguise; marking her territory! I tried mating her, but no litter resulted - perhaps she does have a male hormone (only joking).


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Lol! Females do scent mark when they're in new boxes. Mine are stanky when they get shifted about.

Glad its cleared up for you


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

Kage - thanks for letting me know. I have asked if females mark their territories, and was told it was virtually unknown. I'm glad that someone else has noticed the same thing. Perhaps it wasn't the food after all - by the time I changed it, my doe had become accustomed to the cage (that was three or four weeks after I bought her).


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Huh. Yeah I'm pretty sure they do. Not as much or for as long as males, but to establish themselves... Mine are nasty about their territory though, so perhaps it depends on how territorial your does are.


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## Gill (Sep 16, 2011)

I didn't mind her marking the cage too much (although I wasn't very keen on the frequent cleaning); it was when she decided that my jumper was part of her territory that we fell out! Very useful stuff, Febreze.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Oh, yeauch, yes. I had a buck, one of my favourites, pee on my head once.


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## Galaxy (May 25, 2011)

I had a buck when I was a teenager who drank alot & was obese & his urine was like toffee. He died shortly after I got him.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

Thick urine could be a UTI, also. So could really stanky urine and drinking lots of water. But it sound to me like she was just marking.

My buck thinks making me smell like skunk-pee is funny. LOL.


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## Shadowrunner (Sep 26, 2011)

^ ^ there are two types of diabetes in humans. Not sure about mice.

I know in people that your body starts eating itself because the carbs cannot be used (those are used first)
Then the body breaks down stored fat instead, finally it starts cannibalizing the protein (heart large muscles) So you may in fact end up with a thirsty, poor coated,thin mouse. But that's just speculation on my part. <3 either way I'm glad your girl is doing better.


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