GRAPHIC PHOTO!! Nightmare among my mice, help!

by Oreoandfriends Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:06 pm

WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO

I don’t even know where to begin with this, I’m pretty shocked.
I had 2 sibling female mice in an 800 square inch bin cage with plenty of toys, food, water, etc, they were very close and did everything together. Tonight when I went to check on them, one of my mice Blossom wasn’t out like she normally was. I checked around the cage to find her and quickly came across her dead mangled body in the center of the cage. Her head was eaten off and there was a lot of blood (it looked and smelled pretty fresh). Worry

This isn’t the first time this has happened, I properly introduced these 2 mice to my lovely senior mice in need of more company earlier this year and 2 weeks later I only found the fur and tail remains of them both (I made a post about this when it happened). The 2 other mice (Blossom and Sprig) were perfectly healthy and happy after the incident and I assumed the 2 older mice died and were eaten after the fact.
This time I can’t pass it off so easily. Blossom was a healthy, young mouse and seemed no where near the end of her life. I know female mice are extremely social, but at this point I don’t feel comfortable housing any other mice with her, especially considering how close these 2 were up to today.
I feel like a terrible mouse owner right now and I’m really not sure what to do anymore, is it a bad idea to keep her solitary for the rest of her life out of safety or has this just been a lot of crazy coincidences? Any responses are appreciated, thanks.

by Oreoandfriends Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:08 pm

GRAPHIC PHOTO!! Nightmare among my mice, help! 74510410

Here is a photo of Blossom. There are a few seeds around her because I scatter fed Sprig before finding her body, they aren’t bugs or anything.

by Tiffanieptrck1 Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:53 pm

You need to put graphic warning in the title because what comes up(at least for me) front and center is the picture

by Oreoandfriends Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:00 pm

Tiffanieptrck1 wrote:You need to put graphic warning in the title because what comes up(at least for me) front and center is the picture

My apologies, I fixed it! I’m really sorry about that, I’m having trouble thinking straight right now.

by River Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:10 pm

It's hard to say exactly what happened. It could be a coincidence, or they could have fought. Did they ever bicker before today, maybe too often? Any excessive grooming, or other weird behaviors?

I think this is a hard (and traumatic) situation to go through. I don't think I could fault you for whatever decision you make, and I'm not sure what I would do either. This isn't your fault, though. Not at all.

by Oreoandfriends Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:19 pm

River wrote:It's hard to say exactly what happened. It could be a coincidence, or they could have fought. Did they ever bicker before today, maybe too often? Any excessive grooming, or other weird behaviors?

I think this is a hard (and traumatic) situation to go through. I don't think I could fault you for whatever decision you make, and I'm not sure what I would do either. This isn't your fault, though. Not at all.

Thank you for the response, I appreciate it. I’ve never seen them bicker in the months I’ve had them and they were extremely close. They always got up together and even ate next to each other, I’m really heartbroken over this. I may be attaching human emotions onto her but as I’m typing this Sprig sleeping right on the area that Blossom died, I think she’s pretty lost without her and I’m not sure how I can help her Sad

by Floopsy Mon 16 Nov 2020, 8:04 am

My deepest condolences. Unknown for sure what happened, but it will be okay. Being with other mice still might make her happiest, but that might be too uncomfortable for you now, which is completely understandable. Very confusing and hard time to go through, but just give it time as you still know what would be best for you both.

Also would appreciate an update on Oreo, if you still have him? Curious if his scratching subsided and how often he saw the vet.

Take care!

by Oreoandfriends Mon 16 Nov 2020, 10:46 am

Floopsy wrote:My deepest condolences. Unknown for sure what happened, but it will be okay. Being with other mice still might make her happiest, but that might be too uncomfortable for you now, which is completely understandable. Very confusing and hard time to go through, but just give it time as you still know what would be best for you both.

Also would appreciate an update on Oreo, if you still have him? Curious if his scratching subsided and how often he saw the vet.

Take care!

Thank you so much. I’ll watch Sprigs behavior, if she doesn’t seem happy I’ll most likely reach out to my local mouse breeder and work on getting her some friends (and watch them very very closely). Like I said in my last reply she’s sleeping in the spot that Blossom died so I think she’s pretty lost, it’s hard to watch.
Also thank you for remembering Oreo! Unfortunately he passed away a couple months back from old age. He went to the vet a total of 3 times and we both concluded that it was most likely barbering since there were no mites on the skin scrape and it was unlikely to be allergies. I got some topical ivermectin from the vet for his more mangled spots and he eventually stopped scratching quite a bit! Near the end of his life his ear was healed and there was only a small bald spot on his neck.

by Peachy Mon 16 Nov 2020, 2:13 pm

I know it’s hard to believe because it’s happened before, but I’d really bet your mouse died and the other tried to clean up. I’ve had mice that routinely ate cage mates after death. There was a period when I hardly got to bury anyone because all I would find was a tail. Disturbing but natural. Once that mouse passed it hardly ever happened anymore.

I’ve also had mice that were young just pass with no warning. I had two litters around the same time in January, and by May three of the babies were gone. No warning signs at all. Two boys from Petco were with me for a month before they died. One boy from a small, local store was around for four or five months. A beautiful yellow lady adopted from a shelter no older than 10 months. None of them seemed sick, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have anything going on. Mice are so badly bred and inbred that there’s no telling what they have going on. I know how that can make it hard to move on.

If you can become comfortable trying again I would try friends again, especially if your girl bonded to her old friend. Get two.

by Tiffanieptrck1 Mon 16 Nov 2020, 2:18 pm

Oreoandfriends wrote:
Tiffanieptrck1 wrote:You need to put graphic warning in the title because what comes up(at least for me) front and center is the picture
My apologies, I fixed it! I’m really sorry about that, I’m having trouble thinking straight right now.

No need to apologize (to me at least) .I thought I would warn you so that others would not be surprised like I was. I am sorry for the loss of your mice. They are little and short-lived but they still find a way in your heart.

by M O U S E Mon 16 Nov 2020, 4:24 pm

I can't tell you about the cause of death, especially if she was acting fine. I can, however, validate what Peachy said about rodents eating other deceased rodents. Hamsters do this too. They eat the carcass in order to prevent the smell from being discovered by predators.
You aren't a bad mouse owner. I can tell you really care about your mice, and it wasn't in any way something you did.

by Oreoandfriends Mon 16 Nov 2020, 4:59 pm

Peachy wrote:I know it’s hard to believe because it’s happened before, but I’d really bet your mouse died and the other tried to clean up. I’ve had mice that routinely ate cage mates after death. There was a period when I hardly got to bury anyone because all I would find was a tail. Disturbing but natural. Once that mouse passed it hardly ever happened anymore.

I’ve also had mice that were young just pass with no warning. I had two litters around the same time in January, and by May three of the babies were gone. No warning signs at all. Two boys from Petco were with me for a month before they died. One boy from a small, local store was around for four or five months. A beautiful yellow lady adopted from a shelter no older than 10 months. None of them seemed sick, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have anything going on. Mice are so badly bred and inbred that there’s no telling what they have going on. I know how that can make it hard to move on.

If you can become comfortable trying again I would try friends again, especially if your girl bonded to her old friend. Get two.

Thanks for the info! I think that’s probably what happened, especially considering she has no wounds on her at all. I think I’ll try contacting the breeder so I can get her some company, she doesn’t seem to like being alone already. Sad

by Oreoandfriends Mon 16 Nov 2020, 5:01 pm

M O U S E wrote:I can't tell you about the cause of death, especially if she was acting fine. I can, however, validate what Peachy said about rodents eating other deceased rodents. Hamsters do this too. They eat the carcass in order to prevent the smell from being discovered by predators.
You aren't a bad mouse owner. I can tell you really care about your mice, and it wasn't in any way something you did.

Thank you, I really appreciate that. The first female I lost was completely intact so I think I just assumed they'd always leave the body alone which is obviously not the case. It gives me a little more peace of mind!

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