Mice

[Asheka]

So cute! I tried to rescue a baby mouse when I was younger. Cats had gotten him from somewhere. Sadly, he didn't make it. He was probably half the size of this guy though.
Good luck!

[wodesorel]

Good luck!! He's so adorable. I'm glad he's older, he has a fighting chance. I think the hardest thing to do is to leave them alone so they don't get used to people. I still remember the way Lucky would run off the second she saw one of us, but you could see her whiskers sticking out from her little hide because she wanted to watch us. It was so hard to not go over and offer treats to get her to calm down. I was actually thinking of this thread a few weeks ago when my one friend called me when someone brought a baby deer mouse into her pet store to see if I would foster it, but I had to turn her down because of my allergies and the cats. If it does get to be too much, wildlife rehabbers will help with these, they took that little guy.

[CallaLily]

Thanks! I may just look into that. He started refusing food from me and just dashed around in a panic before huddling up in a corner terrified. Being afraid of me is good but I also didn't want to stress him so much every feeding. So I have a shallow jar lid in there with oats and quinoa soaked in kmr. I snuck a peek at him and caught him eating on his own. The dish will go once he's weaned. I've also sprinkled a little bird seed and dried mealworms around in the bedding because I've read at this age (or soon) they start trying out solids.

[Asheka]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and the little guy!

[CallaLily]

S/he is doing well. Eating (both kmr and solids), pooping, grooming, making a mess of the tank every few hours. Here's a quick pic I snapped while cleaning up.


I really try to disturb him/her as little as possible but I don't want to leave wet bedding in there too long. I switched to half paper towels and half paper based bedding and tp. I'm still needing to replace the paper towel a couple times a day. But his eyes are bright and he's looking well.

[Asheka]

yeay!

[Nia]

Aw he/she is a cute and a pudge lol. Yea the bottle cap is how I helped one that the hubby found. He lapped it up out of the cap really well. Nursing pinkies is really had and very stressful...well mostly for the person doing it lol. I was always afraid holding them to tight and hurting them lol. I nursed one successfully and she was a lucky lil girl. Her mother just kept pushing her away, no one knows why. My friend called me and I went to pick her up to give it a try. Lucky I had small eye droppers around lol. Hope that your lil one makes out good too. He looks old enough to be both drinking the milk and eating solids soon.

Sorry I have been away so long I am currently nursing a cat that is 19yr old and paralyzed from the waist down. He is doing good though. Eating, drinking, going to the bathroom normally, and well spending his days catnipped out . He walks around and snuggles pretty good for his condition I just have no idea what is keeping him going at this point. Probably the fact that I have him on catnip 3-4 times a day lol. He is happy and manages to get himself off of the bed he just needs help coming up sometimes. For his age and condition he is doing great atm. He keeps trucking on lol.

[CallaLily]

Yep, she has been eating solids as well as the kmr up until now. I've weaned her off the kmr. There is still a jar lid with water but no more food (kmr) dish. Solid food is (and has been) sprinkled around in the bedding for her to find - bird seed, grains, dried mealworms, the occasional live mealworm or cricket. Very soon she'll be ready for release. Notice I'm saying she. I was able to get a good look today as she huddled at the bottom of the tank under paper towels during cleaning and she is a little girl.

[CallaLily]

Thought I would update this thread.

Wild baby mouse was successfully released.

Cheeseburger is doing pretty much the same. Bit of a head tilt still and when she gets very excited, like when she's running on the flying saucer, she circles. But otherwise she acts like a normal mouse. She and Bacon have been with me for coming up on 16 months. Bacon is the same old Bacon, btw.

We passed our one year "gotcha" anniversary for Twix and Hashbrown earlier this month. Twix has developed a small tumor under her right front leg and has developed a bit of a bulge in one eye. I was just at the vets with her today and it's something we're monitoring closely. If the lump starts causing discomfort or grows very large, we'll discuss removing it. If the eye worsens, we'll be back in. Hashbrown is great. Still my chubby girl.

Daryl has had an ongoing issue with inflammation in/around both eyes. We've been to the vet many times, tried different treatments, I've tried different cage setups, scrubbed everything down, etc. There are days it looks a little better, but then it gets worse again. Never fully healing. He's finishing up a second round of antibiotics now. I don't see him fussing over it at all but then I don't watch him all night so that is a possibility. I'm willing to hear out any ideas, if anyone's dealt with a similar issue. He is still eating, drinking, playing, grooming, etc normally. Here's a picture:

He's about 12 months old now (with me for 4).

[megmaholm]

Yay update. You have the cutest mice! I hope Twix's lump doesn't get any bigger. That was the hardest part of me owning female rats - the mammary tumors.

Poor Daryl! Does he have any other symptoms other than the irritated eyes like sneezing/sniffles? Is the redness around his eyes irritated skin or does it wipe off? I don't have any advice other than what you've already tried. My first thought when I see redness around the eyes like that is a mycoplasma flareup - I'm assuming most mice have myco, same as rats. Usually that's accompanied by upper respiratory symptoms, though, and antibiotics help. Have you tried a different kind of antibiotic?

[wodesorel]

Yay on the baby mouse!

One our cats has a permanent head tilt now. He'd been acting a little lethargic for a few days and then he started walking in circles so we got him into the vet that day and it was a massive ear infection. (They do a wonderful job of hiding illness.) Anyway, the infection had spread to the facial nerves and inner ear and it progressed to the point where he couldn't stand or straighten his head. Some major antibiotics later he was healed and it's been a slow recovery. He can walk and jump normally now, but he still has a noticeable head tilt that may never go away. The damage to the nerves was too severe. I have to wonder if it's the same with Cheeseburger - pressure on the facial nerves causing her to be sideways.

Sorry to hear about Twix.

I had a gerbil end up with eyes like that when I used cedar chips not knowing any better. I would think allergy to something since it keeps recurring and antibiotics aren't helping. I'm assuming you've tried several types of bedding, or no bedding at all to see if it clears up? It could be a reaction to anything, wood, paper, glue on cardboard tubes, the cats, a food item. If it were me I'd barebones a tank using plastic and glass and slowly add things back in to see what makes it flare again.

[CallaLily]

First we did a round of baytril and a triple antibiotic eye ointment. It didn't change much. Then we tried a different antibiotic eye ointment, this one with a steroid. At first it started to get a little better but then suddenly got worse again. Next the vet gave him an anti-inflammatory shot. No change. Now we're finishing up a second round of baytril. During all of this there have been days or mornings that they look a little better but then it always gets worse again.

No other symptoms. In the beginning there was also a bit of goopiness in the one eye. That went away but occasionally it looks a tiny bit goopy. The redness is both irritated skin and some red that wipes away (porphyrin?).

The first thing I did after that first round of antibiotics didn't work was remove all wood items and switch to a different brand of (paper) bedding. When a couple weeks passed and that didn't help, I pulled out all paper and cardboard too. Scrubbed everything down, even the room, and switched to all hard plastic or ceramic things. I used fleece liners/strips which I replaced every other day. I washed wheels and tubes every other day. I washed all other toys twice a week. I washed down the tank twice a week. No change in weeks of that. Recently, I've given back these items and it's no worse, no better. Only thing I haven't explored is the possibility of it being food related. Thoughts on that? Oh and he and the girls were treated for mites (as a precaution) before this all started.

At this point the vet just wants to keep a close eye on it and I'm to call again if it gets much worse. Understandably, he doesn't want to keep pumping him full of antibiotics. This has been going on since the beginning of August.

[megmaholm]

It sounds like you've tried just about everything! That has to be frustrating, but it's good he's acting normal. I understand not wanting to keep him on antibiotics.

What's his diet like? I would think if it was food related he'd have other symptoms like itchy skin, but I guess you never know.

[wodesorel]

Food allergies in pets can sometimes manifest in unusual ways, but in mice it seems that idiopathic skin reactions are common as well.

These guys say that peanuts, sunflower, and wheat are the major allergens: http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/hair-loss.cfm

[CallaLily]

I use a parakeet mix as a base. 13% crude protein, 6% fat. To that I add things for more variety. Oats, wheat, rye, triticale, barley, spelt, dried cranberries, dates, sliced almonds, walnuts, flax seed, brown and wild rice, pumpkin seeds, dried mealworms or crickets, hemp seed. I only refill the dish once they've cleared it to prevent selective feeding (I also check the tank for hidden food). Treats are puffed rice, cheerios, Gerber puffs, bits of Nori (they LOVE this), whole wheat cracker. I offer fresh foods at least twice a week. Small bits of eggs, chicken, dark leafy greens, veggies, fruits.

Edit: Thanks! I am a member at TFM. No peanuts or sunflower seeds. Hmmm, maybe I need to ditch anything with wheat for a while. See if that helps. The peanut and sunflower thing is drilled in our heads over there. I forgot about wheat.