Eating less and less... Going to emergency vet

by Renaud Fri 26 Feb 2021, 10:34 am

Hi,

We saved MistyGriff 10 days ago (we waited an hour to see if the mother did come back).
He was maybe 3 days old.

Eating less and less... Going to emergency vet Image10

Eating less and less... Going to emergency vet Unname10

Since then, everything has been exhausting but fine. Until yesterday.

Unfortunately, MistyGriff has been eating less and less for the past 24 hours, down to only 3 "paintbrush" earlier this afternoon (Paris/France time).

We are taking him to an emergency vet in a couple hours, and see what they can do for him (we have been trying crushed seeds, wet pellets, and even cereal powder for babies added to kitten milk ==> no luck).

We initially wanted to ask for help here, but when we saw that despite our best efforts, he didn't eat much, we called a vet.

MistyGriff is full of energy, is fast, strong, eyes open, he does not have the "bloat" symptom, he climbs on us... Everything seems fine! He even goes crazy when he smells the kitten milk on the paintbrush... But that ends here. He does not eat more than a couple paintbrushes.

We could try to feed him every hour instead of every four hours, so that he stays hydrated and all, but we figured a vet would be a better option.

Do you agree?

We love MistyGriff so much... I have been praying almost every day that he lives. I know... Pray for a "mere mouse" when there is so much suffering on Earth... But his life counts too... At least that's what Ophélia and I think. We want to give him a chance to live, a chance that his siblings probably didn't have (we found him alone, he did fall from a shelf or something).

I hope we will be able to give you good news in the next couple of days... I also hope that the vet will take as good care of him as we do (but with the added medical expertise and tools).

Have a nice day, take care,

Ophélia, Renaud, and MistyGriff

by Peachy Fri 26 Feb 2021, 11:17 am

The opinion of a vet couldn’t hurt. If he’s behaving normal otherwise, mice do start to wean off milk around this age and begin to taste out solid foods. In that respect, eating less milk wouldn’t be hugely abnormal. Different types of protein that smell strong and yummy, like scrambled egg or boiled chicken, may get him interested in eating again. Most of my mice love mealworms and pumpkin or sunflower seeds, too. I hope for good news and a good appetite! Good vibes

by Renaud Fri 26 Feb 2021, 11:59 am

Thank you so much Peachy for this suggestion!

To answer you: yes he (well maybe it's a "she" after all, and this would be bad news as we heard females can't live alone) is behaving "normal" (at least, what we could consider "normal" ourselves, but we don't know anything about mice)

We have been browsing so many websites, but we never saw this.
What is reassuring is that you are speaking out of experience.

We tried the scrambled egg, he smelled it a lot, but he did not eat it.
Maybe he will, with time...

We don't have chicken as we are vegetarians, we only had "eggs that don't kill the chicken".

We will still take him to the vet (we are about to leave now), and we will see if they keep him under surveillance until at least tomorrow (actually there is no vet "per se", just a nursery with nurses, until the arrival of the vet tomorrow).

Tomorrow, we will try the boiled chicken and the mealworm.

Thank you for the kind suggestions, and thank you for telling us that you think this could be "normal".

We are hoping for the best

Thank you again!

by Renaud Fri 26 Feb 2021, 4:00 pm

Hi again!

This evening we entrusted MistyGriff to a vet clinic here in Paris that has a nursing service with an exotic pets specialist.

They will take good care of him until he is fully weaned Heart Eyes

The vet was very kind and passionate about her work (let's even say "her calling"!)

We are so very very very relieved, I cried a lot out of relief, knowing that, even though "risk zero" doesn't exist, he will be in some of the best care there is.

I hope people won't judge us too severely for not having been able to wean him ourselves, we would have loved to, clearly, but the risk was too high, we were way too afraid of losing him...

We will keep you posted once we get news from the clinic, but tonight he was already eating his milk with the vet! It was a sight for sore eyes Love

Thank you again for your kind advice Peachy, I hope we will be able to give you good news of MistyGriff in the days to come! Love

by Dee67 Sat 27 Feb 2021, 10:09 pm

MistyGriff est très chanceux de vous trouver et tous les animaux méritent des prières, vous avez fait la bonne chose.

by Renaud Sun 28 Feb 2021, 2:56 am

I am first replying in French out of respect for Dee67 because she made an effort to speak in my native language. Fear not, an English version is available below Smile

Merci @Dee67 ! Je réponds aussi ici à votre autre message (sur le forum de présentation).

Vous avez tout à fait raison, tous les animaux, grands ou petits, méritent des prières ! Love

Pour ceux d'entre vous qui sont chrétiens (pour les autres, pardonnez ce court message, même si je pense qu'il s'applique à toute religion/philosophie un minimum sensée) : les chrétiens sont censés aimer et protéger la création de Dieu, c'est-à-dire la Terre et les animaux. Le Cardinal Villot a bien dit "toute atteinte à la Création est un affront au Créateur". Malheureusement, beaucoup trop de chrétiens semblent l'oublier... "Dieu vit que cela était bon", si Dieu pense que c'est bon, alors pourquoi le détruire ? "Dieu plaça l’Homme dans le Jardin d’Éden pour qu’il le garde et le cultive" (Gen. 2:15)

Nous avons appelé la clinique, ils sont en mode "urgences seulement" aujourd'hui, donc nous ne savons pas si nous pourrons le voir cet après-midi. Ils nous ont dit que MistyGriff allait bien. Pour l'instant ils ne le nourrissent qu'avec du lait, toutes les deux heures, et ils lui donnent aussi des compléments vitaminés (correctement dosés !). Nous irons le voir tous les deux (Ophélia et moi) ce soir si la clinique le permet, ou alors j'irai seul demain matin.

Nous appellerons régulièrement pour savoir où il en est, et nous vous tiendrons tous au courant.

Merci, vraiment, de votre gentil soutien Love

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English version:

Thank you @Dee67! I am also replying to your other message (in the "presentations" topic)

You are 100% right: every animal, big or small, deserves prayers! Love

For those amongst you who are christians (for the others, please forgive this short message, even though I reckon it applies to every reasonable religion/philosophy): christians are supposed to love and protect God's creation, which means the Earth and the animals. Cardinal Villot clearly said "every violation against the Creation is an affront against the Creator".
Sadly, too many christians seem to forget this... "And God saw that it was good", if God thinks this is good, then why destroy it? "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it" (Gen. 2:15)

We called the clinic, they are in "emergencies only" mode today, therefore we don't know if we will be able to see him this afternoon. They told us that MistyGriff was doing fine. For now they are feeding him milk, every 2 hours, and they also give him vitamin supplements (properly dosed!). We are both (Ophélia and I) going to see him either tonight should the clinic allow it, or I'll be going alone tomorrow morning.

We will regularly call to see how he is doing, and we will keep you all posted.

Thank you, really, for your kind support Love

by Renaud Mon 01 Mar 2021, 5:05 am

Hi,

It's been only 2.5 days since we trusted MistyGriff to the clinic, and when I went to see him this morning, he had already lost 0.8g!

Is it very alarming, for a 7g baby mouse that should be gaining weight everyday? Or am I overreacting for nothing?

Friday evening, when we left the clinic after trusting them with MistyGriff, we were super relieved. Because the vet (specialized in "exotic pets") was passionate about her work, always smiling... She even took him to her home so that she could feed him herself! Love

However, I am really afraid about that weight loss. The vet herself told us last Friday that MistyGriff was underweight, and that weight was the most important statistics.

How is it possible that, knowing all of this, they still let him lose so much weight in so little time?

I know they are taking good and regular care of him. But I am afraid that they might have underevaluated the importance of his weight...

We already did tell them that he was eating less and less milk, but they are still feeding him milk only, whereas I think (but I know nothing about mice) that they should tempt him with mealworm or things like that, so that he eats a more diverse and more nutritive food.

I think I will call them back this evening to stress how important it is that he gains weight.

Do you think this weight loss is normal (or "not alarming"), and that I am overreacting out of fear? I feel that these next days are crucial, I do not want to refrain myself from reminding them how important it is that he eats way more than what he does now. Otherwise I may blame myself for life, if something bad happens because he lost too much weight and I stayed quiet.

They told me, like to reassure me or something, that he was eating 0.2 to 0.3 ml each feeding session... But when he was eating well, he was at 0.7 ml already!!

This is not reassuring at all... Of course, when I saw him this morning he was still very much alive, and fast, and active and all, with all his fur... but still... Losing weight like that...?

What do you all think?

by Dee67 Tue 02 Mar 2021, 12:59 am

Je suis un peu inquiet pour MistyGriff mais vraiment, seul le médecin vétérinaire peut probablement s'occuper d'elle maintenant. Ce serait mieux s'ils avaient une autre souris mère nourricière. Si MistyGriff avait les yeux ouverts, cela signifie qu'il a au moins deux semaines. C'est bien, il y a plus de chances de survie. J'ai trouvé cette information sur les bébés souris, on dirait qu'il mange bien pour son poids.

Je pense que vous devez laisser cela entre les mains de Dieu maintenant, mais je vais prier pour MistyGriff.

-----------------------------------------------
I am a little worried about MistyGriff, but truly, only the veterinary doctor can probably care for her now. It would be best if they had another foster mother mouse. If MistyGriff had the eyes opened that means he is at least two weeks old. That is good, there is more chance of survival. I found this information about baby mice, it sounds like he is eating right for his weight.
I think you need to leave this in God's hands now, but I will pray for MistyGriff.

by Renaud Thu 04 Mar 2021, 4:06 pm

Merci @Dee67 pour votre message !

Oui, MistyGriff doit avoir 17 jours environ (il faut que je vérifie sur le planning que j'ai créé, mais je ne suis pas à la maison).

Nous avons appelé le véto ce matin, et apparemment MistyGriff a pris presque 1 gramme en 2 jours. Si c'est vrai, c'est extrêmement (!!) rassurant, et cela veut dire que vos prières et les miennes ont fonctionné : merci à vous Dee67 (et merci Seigneur d'être intervenu !) Heart Eyes

Ils le nourrissent toujours au lait de chaton, car il ne semble pas encore s'intéresser à la nourriture solide (pourtant ils nous ont affirmé avoir essayé de lui en donner).

Même si les chances de survie de MistyGriff augmentent continuellement, rien n'est encore sûr, mais nous sommes déjà vraiment rassurés (et vos paroles rassurantes aident aussi!).

Merci encore Dee67 !! Smile

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Thank you @Dee67 for your message!

Yes, MistyGriff must be around 17 days old (I need to check on the planning I created, but I am not at home right now).

We called the vet this morning, and it seems that MistyGriff gained 1 gram in 2 days. If it is true, then this is extremely (!!) reassuring, and it means that both your prayers and mine have worked: thank you Dee67 (and thank You Lord for intervening!) Heart Eyes

They still feed him kitten milk, as he does not seem to show any interest in solid food yet (although they told us they tried to give him some).

Even though MistyGriff chances of survival keep increasing, nothing is sure yet, but we already are really reassured (and your reassuring words help too!).

Thank you again Dee67!! Smile

by Renaud Tue 16 Mar 2021, 11:11 am

Hi everyone,

Just to bring you good news : MistyGriff ("griffe" is "claw" in French btw) seems to be out of harm's way now Very Happy

thanks to the proper care provided by the vet team during the last two weeks.

Eating less and less... Going to emergency vet Mistygriff-pleine-forme

He (yes it seems to be a male mouse) is eating by himself whatever we give him Cookie

. He is eating balanced pellets for mice as his main food, and small "candies" like mealworms, some kinds of dried flowers, and seeds mix.

We were lucky enough for him to immediately find out how to drink from the bottle (but as you can see he had to put his head upside down, so we lifted the bottle a little when he was away).

He seems to weigh 12 grams or something (we didn't weigh him recently because he is as fast as Flash and jumps around like Kriss Kross) and he is terribly cute Love

He has a brand new Rody habitat with three modules (a huge one with two-stories, a smaller one, and a tiny one for his bed with many shredded toilet paper in it) and he seems to like it there (well, I sure hope he does Laughing

).

The vet told us to always keep the temperature between 18.0 and 20.0 °C, and RH around 55%. This is going to be challenging during summer. For now, we have a wall-mounted heater that is ON at all times (that we did not turn on before, to save money), as well as a humidifier (the thing with a big water tank, that emits steam)

So far so good. He is still drinking some milk from time to time, but we got him back yesterday night so we will see how long he will need it (he should be 31 days old now).

Thank you all again for your kind support! Kiss