Mouse very sick, shaky, wobbly

Question
Hi Natasha,

I have a 1yr and 4month old mouse, Cheka, that is deathly sick and the vet has no idea what to do for mice. She is incredibly wobbily and can barley crawl. I say deathly sick is because I had another mouse, Willow (R.I.P) who would be 1yr and 5months old if she didnt die last month. They were in two seperate cages because they fought and I didnt buy any others because I am not sure who the bully was. Well anyways Willow started out shaky and I had no idea what was wrong. I cried alot on her, she was my favorite. It just started out of no were. One day she was her regular self the next she lost weight like overnight (She was over weight) she looked so fragil I just didnt know what to do. Then she was fine, then sick the next day, laster she died 3 days in a slow terrible death. I just thought she died because she was so heavy for a mouse, had a tumor and mites. (I think they were mites) well when she was almost dead I could see little white sqiggly things coming off her.

One day I go to play with Cheka and find her shaking just a little, I ended up bawling my eyes out, but that was last month (Two weeks after Willow died) I then pulled myself together and thought of ways to make her better. I instantly took her out of my room (I have a rabbit in there two and thought his pee smell might make her sick even though I clean his litter box every day) I opened a new box of food, got good bedding and she seemed to get better. Its been about 6 weeks now and I was terribly sad to see her shaking again, this time worse, I have no idea what to do, she has been in the different room, brand new box of food and bedding (clean her cage ever 4 days) I just am at my wits end. I switched her to a smaller cage when I seen her trying to crawl to her food but kept falling over on her side and trying to gather up strenghth again. I am thinking that I should never get mice again.

p.s When willow was still alive I washed my hands between holding cheka and willow.

Answer
Dear Hannah,

I am so sorry about your loss of Willow. If Willow had mites, Cheka almost certainly does too. Mites can kill. Any vet can help you with mites- just ask for a kitten supply of Revolution and apply one drop on the back of the neck, being sure to get it on the skin and not just the fur. Definitely, treat Cheka for mites right away. Revolution would also help in the possibility of an internal parasite.

However, this isn't just a normal case of mites. There is something else going on. To try to find a vet who knows about mice you need someone who is an expert in "pocket pets" or "exotics."  Remember I have no medical training, so finding a vet is very important for her.  

Lastly, the most important thing for any sick mouse is to keep her very, very warm. When she is in her cage you can put a heating pad on very low, under a towel, under the cage, making sure she can get out of the heat if she needs to. If you want to hold her for a while- I have saved mice by simply holding them for 12-24 hours when they were sick- keep her between two warm hands or hand and face, or hand and chest or other warm area inside your clothing.

I really hope you can get her to a vet or save her in some way. I wish I could help you more. Poor little girl. I wish her luck and good health.

Squeaks,

Natasha