Update on mouse with ear problem, male companion

Question

oreo   Hello its me again, sorry to bother you. But I have a quick question, I have been putting this antibotic creme on his ear once a day for the past 3 days and it looks like the swelling is going down a bit but it looks a shiny like he has dried fluid on his ear. But he looks like he is a lil sickly right now. Is 250 mg of that antibotic too much in his water and could it be making him tired? I notice after he gets his treatment he is active on his wheel but then he is blah...

My fiancee and I were hoping to get him a tank buddy when he made a 100% recovery so he wasn't so lonely, I didn't want to take the chance on having two sick mice instead of one. My fiancee is coming home in about  3 weeks and expecting our first child in Feb  and we are just so worried about this little mouse. I don't know his age so I don't know if its old age. Please help .


This pic is from today, I hope it helps

Answer
Dear Ashlie,

Thank you for the photo. It helps to see what is going on, and I get to see how pretty my little clients are. I think he is a satin; he has very shiny fur.

You only gave him the oral dose once, right? Then he should have the drug in his water for ten days. If the bottle is less than 8 oz then use a half a capsule. Cover the bottle with tin foil because it reacts with light. Do you mean he gets blah after the ear treatment? I don't know anything about reactions to topical ointments. Do watch to see if he actually starts to act sick. The infection could get into the rest of his system and cause him to be very sick.

Unfortunately, you can't get him a cage mate. Male mice can't live together. They will fight, even to the death. It's sad, because mice don't like living alone. A single male mouse in the best of circumstances gets an hour of people time per day, and a friend in a nearby cage! They communicate in squeaks too high for us to hear, and do want the company. I'm afraid with a new baby you might not have the hour a day to give him. Can you get a second cage (both wire if possible) for another boy (or several girls, who do have to live together), and put them within three feet of each other? This of course solves the problem of contagion, if you wash your hands between mice, and might even help perk him up right away.

By the way, Oreo is by far the most common name of mice who people write to me about. Your boy does look like a double stuff Oreo cookie!

I wish him the best of health. Write back with any changes.

squeaks,

Natasha