# new mouse sneezing....



## jburgess (Mar 23, 2011)

ok got a mouse 3 days ago, took her to the vet yesterday because she was sneezing....he wasent sure he wanted to put my 8 week old mouse on antibiotics due to her size(0.02kg) and age.... says baytril causes bone malformation in growning mammals and that he was unsure if tetracycling would kill the good bacteria in her gut... so i took her home with the option to call him back tommrow and get some tetracycline if i wanted to...

i have her on carefresh, which i read is not so good... but i dont want to stress her out again.. first she was shipped, the taken home and put in a temporary container until i had my 33 just so perfect... then taken to the vet!! sounds stressful! do i take the carefresh out and stress her out some more.. her sneezing doesnt seem to be getting better or worse.. she is alert, no eye problem, coat is shiney.....

What do you suggest?? im a newbie mouse parent and want my cute new baby to be a happy healthy little beast! Thanx!


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

Hi. Two things to say here. Carefresh is`nt great (I`ve used it and both my girls had breathing issues with it). I would remove it and get her onto something more suitable. If your in the US, I hear Aspen is better? In the UK, Bedxcel, Megazorb and Aubiose are three of the best. All horse supply beddings.

Your vet was correct about the baytril in young animals but sometimes it`s worth risking when they have constant sneezing issues, although you also need to consider that this can be brought on by stress and all the moving around and travelling can do this to a mouse. It can calm down itself once the mouse/mice have had time to settle, but if it does`nt, they need to be on baytril until symptoms go and even longer to make sure the antibiotic has finished off it`s work and reduced the bacteria causing the problem.

If you do need to dose Baytril, give her two to three drops three times a day for a week. If her symptoms persist, keep going for another week until you don`t hear her sneezing. Baytril is best dosed for longer periods than just one week and dosing it slightly higher in mice works better aswell. If your little girl is very small and young though, a lower dose might be best because of her age, but never put it in her drinking water. Baytril is best given orally on a very small piece of plain digestive biscuit or something the liquid can soak into.

Is she on her own? This can stress mice too, especially if she`s used to being with her cagemates, so a friend or friends for her is important.


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

If your vet has Convenia (a cefalexin) they could try that, dose is 0.01-0.02ml subcut every 3 days or so. Doesn't have the cartlage problems and intestinal issues of baytril and the tetracyclines. (I'm a vet).


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## jburgess (Mar 23, 2011)

i will call today and ask about the other antibiotic! Im in canada and meds are pretty restricted! i was wondering about a bare floor in the tank... she has lots of hay balls and cozy cubes... she only sleeps in the cube not in the substrate.... would provide a pee area in a container at the opposite end for her to pee in...?? just trying to think of ways to reduce dust... we have aspen here but im allergic to touching it i get all itchy.... She is alone at the moment, i had to work on my hubby pretty hard to get her so im hopeing to add another little one in 4 weeks, sounds like a long time but we'll see how fast i can convince!

Thanx again for your help!


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