Mystery death

Question
Hello, for the past few months we have had  a wild mouse living in our garage. It has caused no problem and there is nothing in there it could be a real danger to so we have left it to its devices.

I am also quite ecological in my ways and dont use pesticides, herbicides or anything like that.

While i was unloading thecar today i looked down and saw our little friend dead, its eye and part of its face missing. It was not there yesterday.

I am the only one of our family that goes in the garage and we have no cats.

Its death is a complete mystery to me and i am worried it may be something like a parasite. I keep rabbits and doves that have (fir the most part) free roam of the house. Have you heard of any thing like this as i want to their safety?

Thanks

Liam

Answer
Hi Liam,

Actually, it sounds like you may have more than one mouse.  When rodents fight with each other (between males, for territory or females, or even between rats and mice), they typically attack the head and face first and move downward from there.  The good news is that this is very fast and very lethal, and he would have died quickly.

Another possibility is that he could have died naturally and been dragged out by a hungry scavenger.  To my knowledge there are no parasites, illnesses, funguses, or anything else that would cause such severe damage.  Even better - the majority of parasites and illnesses that affect mice are species specific (will not affect your rabbits or doves), with the fungus ringworm being the only exception that comes to mind.  Ringworm as a distinctive circular pattern and is a treatable ailment that really does not do that sort of large damage, so you will be safe there.

I am sorry for the loss of your garage buddy, but other than washing your hands after removing the body, I do not feel that your other animals are in any danger.

Hope I helped out, and let me know if you have any other questions!
-Tam