Mouse and Constipation

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

You have helped me several times in the past with my other mice and I am hoping you can help me once again.

I have two female mice and one of them has become wheat I think is constipated. She's a larger mouse (has been forever) and typically will poop frequently when out playing. Last night when we took her out she did not poop at all. This morning I took her out to check on her and after a while she pooped once but it was slimy. We went out and got her Bene-Bac from petco which is a beneficial bacteria gel but she refused to eat it (even mixed in with vanilla ice-cream) she is eating in general though. During the whole process of trying to get her to eat it though she did poop 3 times and the third time the poop was actually okay looking... for poop lol. She didn't after that though and she was out for about 30 minutes afterwards.

She is still eating and fairly active (being overweight she isn't as active as the other mouse). Do you have any advice for me? I heard that the wet tail drops petsmart sells is the antibiotic Neomycin and was wondering if perhaps I should treat her with that incase she is an infection. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

ANSWER: Dear Steph,

If her behavior is still healthy, that is a terrific sign. And the fact that she has pooped some is of course very important. It may well be that nothing is wrong.

But the most effective thing to do is nice and easy. Just massage her when you hold her. You can do a full body massage between two palms (not petting; move her fur against her insides), and massage her lower body with your fingers (same way)

You can also give her a little bit of dried fruit to help her go, though you shouldn't be worried if it makes her poop a little bit mushy.

The Bene-Bac is also a good idea anyway. Try it on a piece of salted, buttered popcorn, in mushed avocado, or in *liquid* *commercial* (Skippy, Jif, etc) peanut butter, all absolute favorites with mice. Or just a bit of her favorite cracker.

The next thing to try, if she doesn't eat those, is to simply wipe the liquid onto her sides and face. She will have to wash her off. But she must be separated from her friends to do this, in case they wash her.

Of course they can have some too! It is generally healthy. But I just want to make sure she gets some and they don't just wash it off of her.

That should do it; but if it doesn't seem to-- and you still feel her eating pattern is off-- you may want to force the issue. Get a syringe without a needle, or an eyedropper if you can't get that. Pick her up and then take her with one hand by the scruff of her neck-- the part that is skin and fur. This does not hurt, but she will probably hate it. If you get her right, her mouth will open. Drop it in slowly.

If she is super tame you might be able to get away with just holding her upright firmly in your left hand, with your thumb up on her tummy, keeping her four legs out of the way. If she will hold her head still for you, you can get it in her that way. But most mice will not tolerate this.



She does not have wet tail. She would have diarrhea and no good poops. She also has no signs yet of infection. You don't want to over treat her.

Let me know how it goes in a few days. If you still think her behavior is off, we can explore it further.

Best of luck and health to her :)

squeaks,

Natasha




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for the fast response Natasha! I really appreciate it so much :)

Someone said maybe an infection because her poop is green... but it's always been green I think because she likes the colored flake things in the food and that happened to my gerbil when she was only eating them out of her mix lol.

Do you recommend any kind of seed mix for her? Someone said bird mix and hamster mix together. Would that be healthier for her than regular mouse/rat food?

Again, thank you so much!

ANSWER: Hi again,

Yes, her poop is green from those stupid colored chunks in her food. There is no reason for the colored dye except for you to think it is more fun. It didn't used to be that way!

Mice should have mouse food. It is formulated to be nutritionally complete for mice (it is actually completely wrong for rats! Makes me mad that they sell it that way). They can have a little bit of fresh vegetables. Thin mice can have treats too, but that isn't this mouse!

You are listening to too many people! Lol. You are a great mouse mom.

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank's again Natasha,

She seems to be doing a bitter better tonight she went a few times and they were solid just smaller... She also seemed a bit more like her usual self. I put the benne-bac on her side where I saw her cleaning herself (it was the only area I was able to get it on her lol) and she licked it off so I am happy about that.

I tried the massage but she wasn't really holding still enough and I think she was a little irritated about the whole benne-bac thing, but I am definitely going to give that a try tomorrow.

I am sorry to keep asking more questions! I saw that you wrote I should get a food that is meant for mice. The stores around here only have the mice/rat foods none for just mice alone. Should I try to look online for a mouse only food or just stick with the mouse/rat one I have now?

Thank's again!

Answer
Hi,

Sorry for the misunderstanding! Mouse and rat food is great for mice.  I was complaining that it is no good for rats, but it is right for mice. Take the peanuts out though. Raw peanuts contain molds.

Glad she is. Doing better :)

Squeaks,

Natasha