Mouse Very, Very Sick

Question
Dear Natasha,
I am not sure what is wrong with my mouse, she has been in my garage which closed in, similar a regular room. I found her and she was very cold and slow, I tried to give her some food and water but she took neither, I also tried to warm her up and that worked a bit but then she started to shake and squeak almost as if she had hiccups. She looks like she has lost some weight, do you know what might be wrong with her? I can't really afford a visit to the vet but I really love her!!

Thanks.

Answer
Dear Sophie,

It really does not sound good. If she is cold, she is extremely ill. Can someone help you? You need to do two things: First:  hold her. Unless she doesn't like it, don't put her down-- keep her warm. She needs every tiny bit of energy she has to fight this off. If you can't hold her then put a heating pad under part of her nest. She must be able to easily escape the heat if it gets too hot. Holding her is better because it is the love as much as the warmth which will help her to pull through if possible. I have held a sick mouse for over 15 hours, several times-- and saved their lives. Even if she dies, she would want to be in your hands. Mica often ask to be picked up when they are going to die. (So you are warned, a dying mouse sometimes kicks or convulses just before death. This is normal.)

The second thing is to pick up some antibiotics. Without a vet the best you can do quickly is tetracycline formulated for fish, from a pet or fish store. Here are instructions from another of my posts, pasting for speed:

"The over-the-counter antibiotic that I use is Tetracycline, which is available in the FISH section of your pet store or aquarium store.  It either comes in powder, tablet, or capsule form.  If it is a tablet, you will need to crush it into fine powder, which you can do with the back of one spoon against the front of another.  If it is a capsule you will empty the powder out of the capsule.  One capsule is the same as 1/4 flat teaspoon.

"Take one capsule and mix it with a drop or two of water until you have a mustardy paste. Grab the mouse by the scruff (back) of the neck to open its mouth, and try to get a bit of the paste in the mouth. The mouse will struggle a lot and this may be impossible. In any case, smear some on the whiskers and sides, where it can easily wash it off and ingest it.

"Put another capsule's worth in a large water bottle (10-12 oz), or half that in a small water bottle (4-6 oz), and that should be the only source of water for about 10 days. Shake it up well. Change it every other day. Cover the bottle with tin foil so no light can get in. Tetracycline reacts with light."

If you can give her the starting dose and get her to last a day by holding her, she may have a chance. Just giving her the medication and putting her back in the cage will probably not be enough.

I hope she gets better.


Best of luck and health to her.

squeaks,

Natasha