keeping fancy mouse in garage

Question
I got two female fancy mice when I turned 12 for a birthday present. My parents finaly caved in and got me what I wanted. I had them for almost a year until one of mousie's died in her favoriteplay tube from a massive tumor that had shown up not long before. My other mouse took it kinda well but I could tell that she was not the same. I tried to handle her every day and interact with her to keep her less lonly. My dad move my mouse out into the garage suddenly because he said that 'it was stinking up the house' I revolted but he diddent budge and would not let me bring her back in. Well I recenlty have seen bite marks in one ear and a cut on the other ear. I've also seen that she has gotten out of her secure wire cage and that there are other mice eating her food. I guess my questionS aRe should I get another mouse? How could my mouse get? How should I treat these injuries? And is there a chance that my mouse will be a Mama in the near future?

Answer
Dear Ashley,

Would your father agree to a very strict weekly cleaning routine? Your mouse is in danger out there. If you had a nice situation for your mice I would say yes, get more. But this doesn't sound good.

If she is in a wire cage, wild mice can get in and out. Wild mice are tiny and smart. A slender wild mouse can fit in any crack that its skull fits in. So if you are going to keep your mouse in the garage, she needs to be in an aquarium or plastic cage. She is likely to get infected by one of these bites, besides the stress it puts on her. She will also likely get mites or other parasites from them.

And yes, she may be pregnant. It would be nice if wild and fancy mice couldn't mate, but those of us who have had surprise litters can attest to the fact that they do. First generation hybrid mice can be pretty hard to tame. The best thing to do if she has babies is to let her raise them to 4 weeks and then let them go in a nice spot in the woods, with a cardboard box and some mouse food (you can come back for the box in a week).

As for treating her injuries right now, if it's been a few days she's probably OK. But any new bite could be the one that infects her. If she does get bitten again, and I assume you can't take her to the vet, she should be treated with Tetracycline, which you can get for fish. Search my archives for directions or write back to me if that is necessary.

Most important thing: Get her in the house or in an aquarium. Only if she is in a good situation should you get her a friend. It's great that you gave her extra love when her friend died. That's what she needed and still needs. Wait about two weeks to get the friend until you are sure she is not sick and does not have mites (no scratching or bald patches).

In winter you will need to bring her indoors again anyway, right?

best of luck.

<:3  )--~
natasha