Rescued wild mouse with URI - 2 years ago

by zoonyx Mon 04 Jul 2022, 10:33 am

Over 2 years ago, not fully knowing what we were doing, we rescued a wild mouse found as a tiny baby well before his eyes opened. He is fully tame, sits and watches TV on the sofa, good recall even to his name. He's part of the family basically, but he's now really old and poorly Sad

Pretty sure it's a URI with the noises - clicks, snuffly nose sounds and coughing. He doesn't eat anywhere near as much as he did and no longer likes mealworms. Thinking he was just dying we have managed to get some food into him by offering him cheese (yes.. I know, but it's all he would eat, and only a tiny bit).

We took him to a "normal" vets who while mostly disinterested did prescribe metacam (which he likes) and baytril (Which he does not!). We're also using a nebuliser with F10SP dilution twice a day for 10 mins each.

He's not really got better, and if anything the sounds have got slightly worse. He is still fully mobile, if a bit slow, he climbs, runs around etc.

So some questions

1) Is there anything else we can do? Someone mentioned doxycycline - is this orally administered? We don't think it's fair to give him injections - would you agree?
2) How do we know if/when to take him for his "last trip" to the vets? We don't want him in pain but we do want to give him the best chance.

by michelelaforte9@gmail.com Fri 08 Jul 2022, 9:43 am

My breeder mouse just got prescribed azithromycin liquid for her URI from some excellent experienced expert mouse vets. I put the 0.03 ml on a Cheerio once a day and she eats it. All my mice love Cheerios so it is an excellent way to get them their liquid meds. It sounds like he needs an antibiotic and right away. I don't think doxycycline is the correct medication for an URI. Please don't give him cheese because that could lead to pneumonia if he is already having trouble breathing and coughing. Plain regular Cheerios without sugar or frosting are nutritious. I have to drive 4 hours to see my mouse vets but it is worth it. As long as the quality of life is good, that is what matters as far as knowing when they need to go to mouse heaven. It is very difficult when that time comes but animals should never suffer because it is so painful to let go. Good luck with him. He sounds like he gave you a lot of joy.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Fri 08 Jul 2022, 12:01 pm

Another thing you might want to try (if you haven't already) for a mouse with a weak appetite is baby porridge. The consistency can be adjusted by the amount of liquid (water or juice) you use to prepare it, so if you're worried about your mousie's hydration just make a more watery porridge. You can also add a bit of honey or maple syrup to make it more enticing, to possibly encourage mousie to eat more.

by Sponsored content

Rescued wild mouse with URI - 2 years ago

Rescued wild mouse with URI - 2 years ago

Re: Rescued wild mouse with URI - 2 years ago

Re: Rescued wild mouse with URI - 2 years ago

Re: Rescued wild mouse with URI - 2 years ago