Albino mice

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I think my daughters female albino mouse is sick. As pictured she kinda stops and pants like this for about 5 minutes several times a day. She has what looks like blood in her right ear. And she seems to have weight gone I can feel her spine when I have her up and smooth her down. We got her in March 2018 from a local pet store. The other two mice in the cage with her seem perfectly fine. They even look like they are grooming themselves better than the albino is


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I agree, & unless you want to spend a lot of money at the vet to help her, euthanasia may be kinder than letting it go on. May also be something contagious to the
other mice in the same cage. Was she an adult mouse when you bought her? Sometimes even female mice fight (blood in ear?), which causes stress & that means
lowered immunity to other issues, contagious or otherwise. Not sure the vet can fix this anyway -they don't often work on rodent pets because owners don't want to
spend the money on something so (forgive me) "replaceable". At best, mice don't generally live longer than 2 years, so if she was an adult when bought, she might
have been a year already, & like anything else, lifespan varies by genes, luck, good care & not being exposed to diseases & parasites. She is obviously sick (weight
loss, not grooming, panting) but I can't tell you exactly what ails her, nor whether or not any treatment will help, but she shouldn't be kept with the others. Like us &
other animals, mice can get cancer & all sorts of ailments, & the odds go up the older they are.

Check the teeth: Make sure they are not overgrown due to malocclusion. If the teeth are sticking out crazy or at weird angles then cut them as far back with scissors as possible and add wet food to the enclosure.

If the teeth are fine and the mouse is sick. Your best bet is to separate it out, put it in a quiet place, and offer it liquid Ensure (original flavor).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I agree, & unless you want to spend a lot of money at the vet to help her, euthanasia may be kinder than letting it go on. May also be something contagious to the
other mice in the same cage. Was she an adult mouse when you bought her? Sometimes even female mice fight (blood in ear?), which causes stress & that means
lowered immunity to other issues, contagious or otherwise. Not sure the vet can fix this anyway -they don't often work on rodent pets because owners don't want to
spend the money on something so (forgive me) "replaceable". At best, mice don't generally live longer than 2 years, so if she was an adult when bought, she might
have been a year already, & like anything else, lifespan varies by genes, luck, good care & not being exposed to diseases & parasites. She is obviously sick (weight
loss, not grooming, panting) but I can't tell you exactly what ails her, nor whether or not any treatment will help, but she shouldn't be kept with the others. Like us &
other animals, mice can get cancer & all sorts of ailments, & the odds go up the older they are.

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Thanks I’ll isolate her then. Seeing as they are usually huddled together. I am not sure if the age when bought I bought her with another female but they have never fought that I seen. I hope she gets better :(.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Check the teeth: Make sure they are not overgrown due to malocclusion. If the teeth are sticking out crazy or at weird angles then cut them as far back with scissors as possible and add wet food to the enclosure.

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I’ll check now when I go to isolate her thank you


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BTW, what is the temperature in the room? Mice don't tolerate heat well because of their high metabolism. They need to stay below 80* at least.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

BTW, what is the temperature in the room? Mice don't tolerate heat well because of their high metabolism. They need to stay below 80* at least.

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They are in the living room and it’s not really hot there at the moment as there is a breeze coming through the window today.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Check the teeth: Make sure they are not overgrown due to malocclusion. If the teeth are sticking out crazy or at weird angles then cut them as far back with scissors as possible and add wet food to the enclosure.

If the teeth are fine and the mouse is sick. Your best bet is to separate it out, put it in a quiet place, and offer it liquid Ensure (original flavor).

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Checked her teeth and they don’t seem overgrown. But I have her isolated now


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Parsons483

They are in the living room and it’s not really hot there at the moment as there is a breeze coming through the window today.


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They do best at lower 70's, fyi. Over 80* is not an option.

It’s under 70F because it’s reading as 20C. but I have her isolated in a more shaded part of the house. She’s been like this for a couple of days so I don’t think it’s that. The other two haven’t changed still just as active and healthy looking as always.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

They do best at lower 70's, fyi. Over 80* is not an option.

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Oops replied below in another comment


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She's old. Put her down an tell your daughter the truth or lie, you know what's best.

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Originally Posted by 303_enfield

She's old. Put her down an tell your daughter the truth or lie, you know what's best.

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Does she really seem old? I have no way of knowing how old she is


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Parsons483

Does she really seem old? I have no way of knowing how old she is


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Cannot tell from photo online...but she might be, as I said earlier, & mice age pretty fast. I wonder if she had been used for breeding before sold as a pet? That matters.

But age or illness, I really wouldn't bet on her living long att. When they lose weight like that, & their sides get a little concave & they breathe like that, it doesn't end well. Sorry...I doubt a vet can do much att, but it's up to you if you want to try, or feed a special diet, etc. All the best...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Cannot tell from photo online...but she might be, as I said earlier, & mice age pretty fast. I wonder if she had been used for breeding before sold as a pet? That matters.

But age or illness, I really wouldn't bet on her living long att. When they lose weight like that, & their sides get a little concave & they breathe like that, it doesn't end well. Sorry...I doubt a vet can do much att, but it's up to you if you want to try, or feed a special diet, etc. All the best...

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Thank you. I’ll see how she is tomorrow and then decide. But so for there has been no improvement :(.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Parsons483

Thank you. I’ll see how she is tomorrow and then decide. But so for there has been no improvement :(.


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I think you said the room is well under 70*? Make sure she has extra bedding...she's used to having the others to keep warm with.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I think you said the room is well under 70*? Make sure she has extra bedding...she's used to having the others to keep warm with.

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I got a temp monitor probe placed in her enclosure so I can keep an eye on it thanks again it’s currently at 68Fahrenhight.


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I've had this problem with pet store mice before. Sometimes they just lose weight and die. Unfortunately it is contagious, so it is a good idea to separate her from the others. I hope they haven't already been exposed. If you can already feel her spine she probably won't make it, but there's still hope for the others.

Sometimes antibiotics help, but not always. If you don't have a vet available you can get fish mox over the counter. Dosage for rats can be found here on the Rat Report website. You can reduce the dose based on weight to make it small enough for mice.

Hope she pulls through. If you decide to add anymore mice in the future it would be best to keep them in quarantine (away from the others) for at least a month to make sure they're not sick before you add them into the same cage with the others.