Mouse with small wound

Question
QUESTION: Hi there Natasha. wondering if you have any ideas.

I had one mouse Delilah since April 1st a few months later we decided to get another mouse (Barbie).  She was bigger than Delilah but the pet store insisted she was "young". Anyways I went on vacation and came back (they had been taken care of in good hands) and when i got back she was gasping for air and super calm (which is very unlike her) I held her tried to make her comfortable and kissed her a million times. I brought her to an exotic vet and she died upon arrival :(.  I had only had her about 2-3 months. A couple things:

1st: their betting mysteriously got soaked (seatbelt against waterbottle??) I noticed the next day and changed it. could this be it???

2nd: there was a hammock they had that they loved.  It had plastic stuff that kept coming out she loved to chew on (could she have swallowed it????) shouldn't they make those so thye are safe since rodents chew?! I'm kicking myself over getting her a new one.

3rd: 95% of the time the two GIRLS got along wonderful but sometimes they would get in little squeakfests.  After her passing I examined her and it looked liek she had a bite wound around her ear. It was red but there was no blood anywhere else (and she's white so we would have seen) it didnt seem deep. It wasn't from that right??

4th: should I get another mouse to be friends with Delilah or leave her alone? She seems to be looking for Barbie but then again she seems healthy and fine and she was alone for a couple of months before Barbie.

I am kicking myself over this and so sad, just not sure what could have caused it as a week ago she was SUPER healthy running non stop.

ANSWER: HI Katie,

If she was gasping she most likely had an upper respiratory infection. Antibiotics would have probably saved her had they been administered a few days earlier. Yes, the wet bedding probably made her susceptible to illness. It is so very important that mice never get wet except under extremely controlled circumstances.

The other possibility is that she was choking on something. If you still have her you could actually open her mouth and check.  

Don't worry about the tiny wound- even if it got infected it couldn't cause gasping, unless an infection made its way to her lungs-- which is highly unlikely.

Keep Delilah alone for two weeks to make sure she isn't sick herself, and then get her a girlfriend. Female mice should almost never live alone. The only exception is a mouse who is aggressive to other mice and cannot live with them.

I'm sorry for your loss of Barbie.

squeaks,

Natasha



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

QUESTION: Hi Natasha
My girl mouse bit my other girl mouse and she has a wound- I only noticed by blowing her hair back bc she was squeaking when I pet her there. It doesn't appear to be deep and she seems perfectly fine other than that. Is this something that will heal on its own??

Answer
Hi Katie,

Most of the time little bite wounds on mice heal by themselves. It is good to put a tiny bit of neosporin on it. However, the squeaking worries me. If she still squeaks when touched tomorrow, she might have a little infection growing. Then she should go to the vet for antibiotics. As a last resort, if you really can't get to the vet, write again or search on this site for "natasha mice mouse tetracycline" for an antibiotic which often helps- but which is nowhere nearly as good as what the vet can do for her.

Squeaks,

Natasha