# Mouse looking a bit ropey



## PeachnZelda (Feb 23, 2012)

My (petshop) momma mouse has weaned her babies now but she is looking increasingly worn out. At one point, she had a bit of a sneeze. I've not heard any sneezing for over a week, but she is quite thin - I can feel her spine - and doesn't react quickly to, for example, being woken up. She also has marks round her eyes like she's been rubbing them.

She's still eating fine (especially porridge) and is pretty active, climbing around etc once she is awake. is there anything I can do about this apart from keep feeding her tempting things, rehome the babies so there's less competition/crowding and keep an eye on her?!

It could potentially be to do with having babies at a late age, as I have no idea how old she is but was fully grown (and pregnant) when I got her. Is there any way to age a mouse?!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'd check for mites, and treat her anyway for parasites in general. I'd also start an enriched diet with more protein and fat. Scrambled egg is good, as is cooked rice with whole milk or half and half (or cream top milk if you can get it). If she continues to sneeze or gets wheezy she'll need to go to the vet.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

I'm in agreement with moustress. I'd like to add, though, that I've seen this happen with pet shop does as well. They just aren't bred for their ability to maintain condition through stress, so even after a first litter, they're worn out.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Lagaie: I always expect the worst no matter how good a mousie looked in the store. You never know the history of a pet store mousie, much less its pedigree, or even it's age or whether it's been bred. So, I routinely give treat them for parasites and give them the best of diet for awhile just in case they survive the quarantine period.

That having been said, I've gotten pretty good at picking store stock that turns out health after a few weeks about 75% of the time, and even occasionally mature to be something I'd use for breeding.


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## PeachnZelda (Feb 23, 2012)

Mm thanks. well I never would have bred her given the option. That said, her offspring look the very picture of health now, very glossy coats and bright eyes, crazy active... Perhaps, unfortunately, at her expense.

I think I'll take her to the vet. He didn't even charge me for the last visit, so I don't feel bad going again so soon. But then... Idk they all got a bit stressed out last time they went and I don't want to give her more stress :/ I'll give them a bit more protein for a while and make sure she gets her fair share.

I really don't know what to do about mites - I can't get ivermectin pour on - everywhere I've seen it in the UK requires a herd number etc for the cattle. I have an ivermectin small animal spot on meant for animals 50g or more (more than my mice!) so maybe I could just dilute that to 1/2 for the adults and 1/4 for the youngsters?


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## AnnB (Jan 14, 2011)

Look out for a product called Xeno 50-mini. It's a spot on treatment suitable for very small animals including mice. Your vet should stock it and can probably sell you just the one pipette at a time or you can buy a box of 9 pipettes online.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

The Spot-On should work just fine. I'm not sure about the dilution; I think it needs more than half dilution. I'd go with four or five parts water to one part ivermectin solution. changing the bedding more often will also cut down on the number of mites you could potentially have in the tank.


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## PeachnZelda (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks guys. I'm really worried about her now. Thought I'd attach some pictures to illustrate:




























She's not got very fast reaction speed now and she's sneezing again, think I'm gonna have to get her to the vets though I'm not even convinced she'll hold out till then


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

If it helps at all, I've had does who looked much worse than her who got better. Best of luck at the vet's. I'm not sure what they can do, but maybe something.


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## PeachnZelda (Feb 23, 2012)

Laigaie said:


> If it helps at all, I've had does who looked much worse than her who got better. Best of luck at the vet's. I'm not sure what they can do, but maybe something.


Thank you, it does help  I'm hoping they'll give me something for her respiriatory problems, as I imagine this is the main root of things. The others seem to be fine.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

I find if they have had an R.I for a while, it's very hard to cure. They seem to get better with treatment but within a few days of coming off the anti-botics, they go down hill again, their system basically can't cope without it. But a vet will have a better idea of how to treat your mouse. good luck.


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