# my sneezing mouse!



## Mouse Girl (Dec 2, 2010)

i got my little man out today for a cuddle and as i was holding him he was constantly sneezing i listened to him for a while and his breathing seems normal he just keeps sneezing he wasn't sneezing when i checked on him later in the day but when i picked him up he sneezed again can anyone shed some light on this situation i'm really worried!


----------



## jessilynn (Jul 9, 2010)

He has a URI. Take him to the vet for some meds and he will be better in no time


----------



## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

I agree. But what litter do you have him on? I ask because many of the so called `safe` litters on the market are anything but for mice. Mostly because mice (and rats) are far more prone to respiratory infections due to mycoplasma that they are born with. It never really shows signs and can stay subclinical, but sneezing is either a sure sign of allergy to litter/bedding, or respiratory due to this bacteria, which mice carry in conventional stocks.

Baytril will be prescribed usually and the dose is 0.01ml twice a day, although some vets just say how many `drops` to give daily. Just take a tiny piece of rich tea biscuit or plain digestive, drop the bayrtil onto the broken end and let it soak in. Wait until the mouse is up and active and looking for a treat and just give the piece of biscuit to him. Watch that he eats it all, hence mking sure you only give a small piece (about 5mm in size) and no bigger.

The quicker you get him onto baytril the better. Sometimes mice will sneeze for a while and recover, but it usually comes back, or will just slowly worsen. So it`s best to hit the effects hard now rather than wait. Don`t worry too much about it as he should recover fine once he`s been on medication orally for a week. If he`s still sneezing after say, four to six days, he`s not responding to the Baytril and may need another treatment. Many do respond to baytril though. Keep him on baytril for at least two weeks if he shows improvement.


----------



## Mouse Girl (Dec 2, 2010)

thanks for the advise i've changed his bedding to shredded paper and he wasn't sneezing this morning i think that the pellet bedding he was on befor may have been too dusty if the sneezing starts again he's off straight to the vets. thanks for putting my mind at rest


----------



## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

That`s great. I don`t know where you are located, but if you do a search for beddings like Bedxcel or Ecopetbed, there are online companies that will deliver a 20kg bale for under £15 and it will last you ages! These are horse beddings and are made of small cardboard squares. Very safe and mice love them. Also look around your area for horse/farm supply stores as they sell these bales for around £5.00 each. They really do work out cheaper than the small beddings/litters that pet shops sell.

You can line your lads cage with thick newspaper too and change this every few days aswell as using it shredded. Try and air off the newspapers in a box outdoors to allow the inky smells to evaporate. It really does help.

Try to avoid litters like:
Shavings/sawdust
Megazorb
Carefresh


----------



## Mouse Girl (Dec 2, 2010)

thanks i do actually have a horse so it wouldn't be costing me much if i changed the brand of bedding i was going to use newspaper but figured that it would stain his fur.


----------



## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

Oh, that`s handy! Check out your suppliers and hopefully, one should be able to get you a bale of Bedxcel or a similar cardboard litter in your area? It really is the best litter for mice I feel and it goes a long way. I only do half cleans and spot cleans, so I throw away half and keep half the old litter and add in some new. Male mice prefer this aswell as they like to have their own scent around.


----------



## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

I use megazorb its made from virgin wood pulp, sterile all organisms destroyed at 500c, very absorbant , no smell ,Double dust extracted thus no sneezing very economical £6.29 for 85ltrs available from Farmway.


----------



## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

I used Megazorb years ago and hated it! I found it stank ( it had a smell of chicken manure) and was dusty. The fact that it`s `wood` pulp and not paper based (even though it resembles mulched paper) it`s not. I find Megazorb and Carfresh much the same really. That`s why I love the cardboard litters better. They are much, much better. No smell, except for just the newish smell when you open the sack but that can be aired off and it`s paper based anyway! Good absorbency too given that it`s paper/card squares.


----------



## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Yes well maybe years ago it might of been like that racingmouse but methods of processing and the product can change.Farmway sell pallet loads of Megazorb it was initially for horses as it has no dust for there breathing that is how the price is low because they buy alot in from northern crop driers and it is ideal for small animals I do agree carefresh is vile but everyone to there own choice, carefresh some people may love it.


----------



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I really liked Megazorb when I had rats, it was a lovely soft bedding with no issues arising from it. I did not like the cardboard squares however, I found they went all slimy after being wee'd on and had no odour control whatsoever. You probably wouldn't notice in a cage of pet does, but as a breeder with a lot of animals I found it sucked.

Aubiose is a very nice bedding for animals that find life difficult on woodshavings. It's made of hemp, very attractive and smells lovely. I used it for my rats and it did a great job, and I know a lot of breeders who use it for their mice.

Sneezing does not mean he has an URI - something as simple as a strange smell can make a mouse sneeze. If he is otherwise healthy and you can hear no rattling or clicking in his chest when you hold him next to your ear, I would imagine it is something external that is irritating him. Could be his bedding, air freshener, insense, cigarette smoke, a new animal in the house, anything.

Sarah xxx


----------



## AnnB (Jan 14, 2011)

I use Aubiose for my mice, they love it although I have to say it makes ME sneeze when I'm cleaning them out.


----------



## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Yes ive heard aubiose is very good I couldnt get that where I live .


----------



## yyoung (Mar 30, 2009)

Geordiemice... you can Aubiose from Greens in Morpeth. It is a horsey type place opposite the station. Also I juust got a bale of Aubiose from Farmway in Hexham.

I have guinea pigs and mice and like Megazorb for the pigs and Aubiose for the mice and it goes a long way and lasts for ages.


----------



## Mouse Girl (Dec 2, 2010)

i'm starting to think my mum may be responsible for the sneezing she keeps spraying airfreshner in my room so maybe that's what it is i don't know what her problem is mousie smell is better than most animals smell!


----------



## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

Air-sprays should be kept well away from mice as they release phenols into the air. Your mum should just open the window and close your door. I won`t have sprays in the house because they irritate MY nose never mind the poor mice! You don`t want sneezing triggered off by irritants or it could spiral into allergies and more health issues.


----------



## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

Thanks yyoung I meant to call in at Farmways on Thursday when I took Mum to hospital but I drove straight past it lol I get megazorb from there isnt it very reasonably priced I love it.


----------



## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

I order my Aubiose online and it usually comes within 2 days. Lasts ages


----------



## geordiesmice (Oct 26, 2010)

I have 3 sacks of Megazorb now in the shed its only 10 miles up the road to Farmway,I get everything there.


----------



## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

I tried a sample of Aubiose that I was sent from a member on another mouse forum earlier in the year and although the mice never reacted to it and I thought it was okay, I switched back to using Bedxcel cardboard squares. I originally thought of mixing the two, but I have to order Aubiose online. I can get a 20kg sack of Bedxcel delivered locally. Aubiose would be my choice over other substrates right enough if I had to choose, but the main reason I like Bedxcel is that I know it`s paper based and does`nt cause the mice any reactions. Even though Aubiose derives from the Hemp plant, I still was`nt too convinced about it`s texture as it seemed to still have small shards of.....what resembled wood splinters, but I know it`s not wood.


----------

