# Urgent help regarding mouse



## louise15 (Apr 12, 2012)

Over the years I have had many pet mice but I have never seen this condition. The other morning I found that my female mouse Matilda was favouring her left side, almost as if it were too heavy to walk properly, and she kept walking around in circles. I got her out and handled her for a bit and she seemed to settle down but today, I walked in and found that she was panicking and going around in circles without stopping. She's carrying on with being a mouse, i.e. drinking water, eating food, playing (as much as she could) and sleeping. We had to introduce the mice to a block where we put near the water bottle as every time she went for a drink, she would topple over onto her side. This was put in so she could have some stability and something to lean on when she wants a drink.

I never find her sleeping outside which means that she remembers where her bed is. There are five other mice in the cage with her, including her blind sister Lottie.

Could this be due to nerve damage? Could she have had a stroke? I have never seen anything like this before and I don't know what to do. I know some of you will tell me to take her to the vets but at the moment I can't afford to take her as the economy isn't really in our favour at the moment.

Please get back to me asap. 
Thanks.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

It sounds like she has an inner ear infection (this affects balance). To clear it up you need to start treating with antibiotics straight away or it could become permanent. If it does then it can seriously impede normal functions like eating, drinking etc and mean that the mouse has to be put down.


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## kellyt (Nov 23, 2011)

Could be a stroke but it could be an ear infection. If its stroke then I would imagine if she is continuing to be unbalanced then there won't be alot of difference or improvement in her condition. 
Is she showing any signs of head tilt? That can also be a symptom of ear infections. If it is an ear infection and you want to try to treat her then get her to a vet ASAP as often an ear infection can worsen and could become neurological which is very difficult to treat.

Personally it may be kinder to say she has had a good life until now and cull her to prevent any suffering.


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## MissStitches (Mar 31, 2012)

Like the other users have said, there are a few reasons why circling happens, but the most common is ear infection. However, it could be a genetic neurological disorder (in which case, you will NOT want to breed this particular mouse). It could also be high frequency noises which you may not hear, although that is extremely unlikely. High frequency noises can sometimes cause damage to a mouse's ear.

I'd say the most important one to look out for is an injury to the foot or any other part of the mouse on its afflicted side. Check its legs, ribs, and neck, and make sure that each of them are completely fine. If not, then that's the problem. If they are, I'd take your mousie to a vet to either get antibiotics or figure out if it was a stroke or any of the other reasons mentioned above.

As terrible as it may sound, if it is a neurological disorder or a stroke, it's not likely that you can fix it. If that is the case, it may be more humane to cull it. It's not okay to let an animal suffer like that.


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## louise15 (Apr 12, 2012)

Hi, thanks for the quick replies.

Her condition hasn't improved and her head has started to tilt. Her eye changed from red to a milky pink. She's also still eating and drinking as normal so it's not affecting that. There's also a ramp in the cage where the food and water is so I've scattered food around where she's sleeping as well as getting her out and putting the water bottle near her if she can't get near the water bottle. I've also started to noticed that she's rolling around (could this be due to an ear infection?).

She often panics but whenever I get her out and hold her close she settles down. I know this may sound selfish but I want her to be as comfortable as possible if she has limited time left surrounded by her mouse family.

I'm going to contact the vet asap to get an emergency appointment so hopefully we can get her back to normal.
Thanks.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Milky eyes=blindness, I would hazard a guess that the infection has moved into her eye as well or that she scratched her eye with her lack of coordination, also resulting in infection. Depending on how quick it get's treated will depend on the long-term damage. With so many mounting problems and how it has now been going on for a couple days, I'd pts this little mouse.


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## MissStitches (Mar 31, 2012)

I know you seem to want to make her comfortable, but it seems like there's not much coming back from this. I'd seriously suggest culling her rather than letting her suffer. It's not advisable (nor is it good) to keep a sick/injured mouse when you know they're going to die. Culling may sound brutal, but it is a quick release from any pain she may be feeling.


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