question about my pet feeder mouse

Question

otacon  

otacons new bed   so i got a mouse a few months ago from a pet shop. i was able to handle him and he was very friendly and nice, never bit me or squeaked at me or anything that would lead me to think he was scared or unsure about me. but for the past 3 weeks or so he has been drinking water more often, biting me and my boyfriend even after we washed our hands and got rid of any food smell from us, and he has been very hyper active. running around his cage like a mad man, climbing on top of his water bottle then hopping off. he lives in a 20 gallon tank with a wheel , aplenty of food and a little igloo with a little bed inside. i feed him a diet of grains, fruits, veggies and a little mix of store bought mouse and rat food (not the pellets).. i sometimes give him a tiny bit of chicken as a trear as well. anyways my question does it seem like there is anything wrong with my mouse (i call him otacon), should i be concerned, and is there anything i can do because i really dont want to have to get rid of him because he became to aggressive to where i am no longer able to handle him.

Answer
Dear Kat,

Althought it is possible for mice, as for people, to undergo some kind of destructive mental process/illness, another common reason for biting and scared /aggressive behavior  is severe pain.

I recommend two things: make an appointment with his vet and at the same time begin giving him one drop of liquid children's ibuprofen every four hours. See if his behavior changes. Whether it does or not he needs to.be checked out by an exotics or pocket pets vet, but besides partially  alleviating some of the pain he is in, it is good data to walk into the vet's office with.

Poor little guy. He is not happy. Thank you for caring even when he is aggressive. You know it isn't his fault.

Best of luck for the little fellow,

Squeaks,

Natasha