diet problems?

Question
Hi there,

I have three females, all marked black-and-white (went for them after reading they were likely to be tamer), two standard and one long-haired satin.
I had to travel for 2 weeks so had someone make sure they had enough food and water.
When I came back, one of them is showing the muscles around forelegs disproportional and I think this could be she has lost weight. She used to be pretty active but I haven't seen evidence she is eating either seeds or pellet diets i have. I separated her from the other females to make sure they wouldn't bully her while she needs to eat. She seems to walk around the cage as if searching for food but when she finds something she loses interest and goes back to hiding. Is there anything I can do?

Answer
Hi Ana,

Any number of things could be going wrong, but it's definitely clear she needs help.  Depending on how long you've had them it could be just an age thing, or she could have a stomach problem affecting her appetite, be dehydrated, or even have overgrown teeth.  She could also be sick - either in her digestive system or anywhere else that could be making her feel bad enough to not want to eat.  It sounds like she really needs to go in to see a professional vet, unfortunately.

In the meantime, try keeping her as hydrated as possible and offering different foods.  Canned baby foods with fruit, natural applesauce, or mushed up banana can be easy to eat if it's a problem in her mouth, and both will help to keep her hydrated (dehydration can ruin an appetite and make a mouse appear shrunken).  Dry cat food can be tougher to eat but is packed with protein to help her put on some more muscle and weight.  Scrambled eggs made with water instead of milk (and not left in the cage for more than an hour or so, since they will go bad) are also a terrific source of protein.  You can also try stale bread, which can be good to nibble on.

Unfortunately, until you know what is causing her discomfort, you can only treat the symptoms and not whatever is causing it.  I'd recommend calling around and seeing which of your local veterinarians have experience with mice and seeing if they can take a look at her mouth and stool samples (which can show if she has a gastrointestinal infection or a parasite - diarrhea can be a good indicator of this, so it's good that she's in her own cage and can be observed independently).  I know vets can be expensive and it isn't always possible, but it really is her best bet of figuring out what is causing the problem so it can be fixed.  If there's anything else I can try and help with, please don't hesitate to write back!  I hope she puts that weight back on soon and feels a little better!

-Tam