I think my mouse is ill

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 1:44 pm

Hi, I'm Ana and I'm 17. My mom surprised me with a mouse from Petco from Christmas, I was pretty overwhelmed with the fact that I had a new pet, I went out and bought a big cage for them as I was given a crittertrail, and of course another mouse for her to have a companion. It was going well until I noticed the second mices eye was starting to close, there is crust around her eye and nose. I put some saline on it and hoped for the best as my mom doesn't want me to go to the vet right now. I woke up today and noticed a wound under her mouth that's pretty nasty. We went back to petco and they said it's most likely a bite wound, these were just the cashier's and NOT the vet. I don't know what to do and I'm really worried. The original mouse I bought must of bit her, but it doesn't explain the crusty eyes and stuff. I purchased some wound healer spray from Petco and they're in separate cages at the moment. Her age is unknown but she is young and the two mice are from the same litter. I never noticed any aggression because they're always cuddling in hammocks and stuff. (Not sure how to attach images)

by chiroptera Wed 30 Dec 2020, 4:51 pm

If you have a link to the image that will work, I'd definitely like to see images before I can really give more advice.

Honestly, I wouldn't take Petco's word for it regarding it being a bite wound, especially if you haven't seen or heard any aggression. Not to say it definitely isn't, but I'd want to see it to be sure.

Also, I would recommend getting polysporin or Neosporin (without added pain relief) for the wound instead of a spray. If this is what you got, I think an actual medicated ointment would be more helpful. That spray's only active ingredient is hyplochloric acid, which has been noted to kill bacteria, but doesn't actually seem to do anything else. I'd also worry that a spray like that might be more painful than a gel like polysporin.

Of course, a vet would be the best option, but if your parents won't allow you to go to one then I think some poly/neosporin would help.

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 5:15 pm

chiroptera wrote:If you have a link to the image that will work, I'd definitely like to see images before I can really give more advice.

Honestly, I wouldn't take Petco's word for it regarding it being a bite wound, especially if you haven't seen or heard any aggression. Not to say it definitely isn't, but I'd want to see it to be sure.

Also, I would recommend getting polysporin or Neosporin (without added pain relief) for the wound instead of a spray. If this is what you got, I think an actual medicated ointment would be more helpful. That spray's only active ingredient is hyplochloric acid, which has been noted to kill bacteria, but doesn't actually seem to do anything else. I'd also worry that a spray like that might be more painful than a gel like polysporin.

Of course, a vet would be the best option, but if your parents won't allow you to go to one then I think some poly/neosporin would help.

Hmm I can't link any images because I'm a new member, but that is exactly what I got, I'll use it for now until I get some neosporin, thank you Smile

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 5:16 pm

Wait I think I got it

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 5:17 pm

Ok yeah so that's my mouse snowy ^ she's wet from me putting some spray on her, and I'm holding her funny cause it's difficult to handle her, which sucks since we're having negitive interactions. I feel bad

by chiroptera Wed 30 Dec 2020, 6:56 pm

It's difficult for me to see the wound still unfortunately, have you tried the scruffing method to get a good picture of the underside of her chin?

Here's a video of how to scruff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs-ebUnPQEc and I believe there is another one somewhere in the health packet?

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 7:34 pm

Okay, I got a new picture and it looks pretty bad.. I didn't realize it was that bad. Sorry it's sideways.

by chiroptera Wed 30 Dec 2020, 8:19 pm

I would seriously try to convince your mom to let you take her the vet if at all possible, it's a pretty gnarly looking injury. If not, definitely get the neosporin when you're able to if there's none in the house. Infection would be pretty serious with a wound that big on a young little mouse.

To me it's not positively a bite wound. It very well could be, but I don't see any teeth marks or the like that say it 100% is. It's located in a really weird place to be bullying, I would think. Usually (but of course not always), at least from my own experience, other mice will go after the tail, ears, back, or limbs.

Did you hear squealing, fighting, or bickering when the mice were together? Did you see them squabbling, chasing, or fighting? And is there anything in the enclosure that might have somehow caused that injury? Also, was there blood anywhere in the cage when you noticed the wound, was it on a specific part of the enclosure?

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 8:45 pm

chiroptera wrote:I would seriously try to convince your mom to let you take her the vet if at all possible, it's a pretty gnarly looking injury. If not, definitely get the neosporin when you're able to if there's none in the house. Infection would be pretty serious with a wound that big on a young little mouse.

To me it's not positively a bite wound. It very well could be, but I don't see any teeth marks or the like that say it 100% is. It's located in a really weird place to be bullying, I would think. Usually (but of course not always), at least from my own experience, other mice will go after the tail, ears, back, or limbs.

Did you hear squealing, fighting, or bickering when the mice were together? Did you see them squabbling, chasing, or fighting? And is there anything in the enclosure that might have somehow caused that injury? Also, was there blood anywhere in the cage when you noticed the wound, was it on a specific part of the enclosure?

I looked around the cage, couldn't find any blood. Often when they slept together I heard the mouse that got attack squeaking, not squeaking in a bad way, just kinda squeaking. I thought that meant they were communicating but now I'm not sure. Like I said I'd always see them together cuddling in a hammock. Is it cause there's only one food bowl, something stupid like that? I'm not sure if anything in it could cause then harm. I have them a big saucer wheel, a thing to hide in, some chew toys, and that hammock. Also, I was trying to look at my other mouse, and I noticed that she kinda looks like she's pregnant? Here's an image. Again sorry it's sideways.

by River Wed 30 Dec 2020, 8:52 pm

At first glance, I agree it doesn't really look like a bite wound. That said, squeaking at each other is usually consistent with bickering of some sort. Most female mice get on fine with one bowl but scatter feeding may help if one has a temperament problem.
A ruptured abscess may also a possibility. I am not a vet, so this is to be taken lightly. Did you notice any lumps under her chin? Here's a link that may help if so: http://www.isamurats.co.uk/abscesses.html

If she is pregnant (she doesn't have the traditional pear shape, yet) they only carry for 21 days and when they start showing it becomes plenty obvious soon enough. As of right now, I wouldn't say she definitely is; she's a bit chubby, but that's about it in my eyes.

by Scem Wed 30 Dec 2020, 9:07 pm

River wrote:At first glance, I agree it doesn't really look like a bite wound. That said, squeaking at each other is usually consistent with bickering of some sort. Most female mice get on fine with one bowl but scatter feeding may help if one has a temperament problem.
A ruptured abscess may also a possibility. I am not a vet, so this is to be taken lightly. Did you notice any lumps under her chin? Here's a link that may help if so

If she is pregnant (she doesn't have the traditional pear shape, yet) they only carry for 21 days and when they start showing it becomes plenty obvious soon enough. As of right now, I wouldn't say she definitely is; she's a bit chubby, but that's about it in my eyes.

It's possible, I had started noticing a brown/reddish area about two days ago, but I didn't wanna pick her up because I was giving her time to adjust to her new cage and they don't know me well. I only started getting worried when I saw her eye getting irritated.

by chiroptera Thu 31 Dec 2020, 2:21 am

Mice do squabble without getting aggressive, so just squeaking but not seeing them fight at all doesn't necessarily mean they're not getting along.

My strong guess is that it wasn't a bite wound, though of course I can't be entirely sure. I would try reintroducing them slowly, there are guides here that explain how to properly introduce mice. Definitely separate them if they seem to be getting aggressive with each other.

I don't think she really looks pregnant from that picture, but I've had mice that really look pregnant that turned out to just be fat. That said, it's still possible, especially with them being from Petco.

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