EMERGENCY! MOUSE DYING

by MouseHouse101 Wed 12 Sep 2018, 7:19 pm

I have a 14 week old mouse who escaped from her cage without me realising. When I went in there this morning she wasn't with the others. She must've escaped sometime on Monday when I was cleaning her cage. After realising she was missing my mum found her huddled presumably dead in the corner of a very deep laundry sink. The sink is a meter away from the cage and she must've fallen into it. We got a box to bury her in but when I went to pick her up she was barely alive.

This was about 2 hours ago. She was in shock and freezing so we tried to warm her up and using a medicine dropper gave her some water. She's extremely thin. We cut open a blueberry so she could lick up some of the juice. She could hardly move at all. Only one eye is open. She is very small anyway as she is a rescue.

Now she is improved and even walked a bit. I have separated her from the other mice in case she picked up any other illnesses. She seems most comfortable while she is touching me. Is there anything else I can do to help her chances?

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Thu 13 Sep 2018, 8:03 am

The poor little one probably had hypothermia, hunger, and dehydration. Not to mention a terrible fright!

My usual advice for jump-starting the eating and rehydration process is to mix up some baby porridge. The multi-grain powder with added vitamins and minerals is probably a good base food, and you can mix in a little honey or maple syrup to increase the caloric value to help her to start maintaining her body temperature. When preparing the porridge, be sure to boil the water first to rid it of chemical impurities, and keep it covered while it cools.

If she isn't keen on eating the porridge, she may need to start off with Pedialyte (or a generic equivalent that costs less but contains the same components) to get her body chemistry headed back toward balance and to keep her hydrated. Then introduce the porridge, made with extra water at first.

But keep offering her regular food as well, so you can tell when she is back to eating normally. An occasional lick of yogurt might help get her tummy back in working order too.

And keep her warm. It can be difficult for such tiny creatures to overcome hypothermia. Even if she burrows into her bedding as she is accustomed to do, she may not be generating enough body heat to keep her warm enough. So check on her regularly. A heat source (heating pad, space heater) placed nearby, or under her house -- but not in contact with it -- can boost the temperature for her if she is having trouble, but you have to watch for overheating as well. If you use a space heater, make sure it does not blow hot air at her mousehouse.

If mousie is comforted by your personal contact, then give her as much as you can. It may not be practical for you, but my little mouse April used to climb into my shirt and snooze inside my camisole, right next to my heart, for a few hours a day while I was at work. Maybe until your little mouselet gets her mojo back she will need a little inside-the-shirt time to feel comfortable. If so, you must be extremely careful every second she is there. It is so very easy to injure a mouse when it is on board like that -- injure or worse. So be very careful if it comes to that.

Really, if it was just a case of hypothermia, hunger, and dehydration, she should be able to recover just fine. Keep us advised. We care.

by MouseHouse101 Fri 14 Sep 2018, 6:07 pm

Thanks for your reply. I had her sitting on my lap with a hot water bottle covered in a couple of towels. She has recovered completely which is a miracle. I still think that she could have a heart attack or something because of the shock but for now she is good!

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