noisy mouse, what if antibiotics dont help?

Question
QUESTION: Hiya i just bought two female mice both look lovely n healthy bright eyes and coat etc but one of them since i brought pulses all the time quite badly? ive googled it n rang pet shop no one seems to know she does all the time like when shes eating sleeping etc plus now its started makin a little clicking noises??there quite loud and weird sounding like its not even the mouse i was thinking it seems she might having a breathing problem is that right?and will she be in pain? such a shame as she seems preety happy she does sleep more than the other 1 plus if i do have to have her put down as i dont want her to be in pain if i brought a new mouse to keep the other company would it be to late as wouldnt want to make the mistake and my 1 attack it or something? thanks soso much for your help. i love them both loads so really really want to avoid putting him her down at least she will have a happy life if she is poorly just dont want her to be in pain.x

ANSWER: Dear Dee-Anne,

The mouse is very sick.  However, she may be perfectly OK if you give her antibiotics. Bring her to the vet quickly (If you happen to be in Berlin, bring her to the small animal clinic at the university-- they have a mouse expert!). Bring the other mouse as well so the vet can try to see if she is sick too.

To help her right now, turn on the shower on hot and fill the bathroom with steam, then bring her in there and let her breathe the steam for 5-10  minutes. This should help her to breathe.


If she does die, the problem will be that you have a mouse who has been exposed to a disease, and you want to get her a friend but you don't want her to get the friend sick. Although mice hate to live alone, she should live alone for at least a week to make sure she isn't sick too. She will need extra love and attention from you-- at least an hour a day.  Then you can bring her a friend. The younger the better.

When you put the two mice together, clean the cage thoroughly so it doesn't smell like your original mouse. Then put a dab of real vanilla extract on the chins and rumps of the two mice. This way they will smell the same. There may be a lot of chasing and squeaking, but as long as there is no blood, and both still have access to food, wheel, and nest, everything is fine.

I hope your mouse is OK.

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

QUESTION: plus forgot to say she didnt give the other 1 antibiotics as read on a site that the two should be treated is this true even if the other 1 hasnt got any signs of illness. plus if you could can you tell me if it doesnt clear which means it isent a bacterial problem on the chest do any of the other things it could be cause pain does the pulsing hurt?? or the clicking?? because the main thing is i dont want her to be in pain. thanks again. theres amessage before this 1 just forgot to ask that. plus if its not a bacterial infection can the other mouse get it?? as i wouldnt have thought so but wanted to check.xxxxx

Answer
Dear Dee-Anne,

What worried me about your question was the pulsing and the fact that she just started clicking.  Mostly the pulsing.  Was there any effect with the steam?

If she ever opens her mouth to breathe she must have the steam bath right away and go back to the vet immediately.

I'm not a vet, and an experienced mouse vet knows much more than I do. But here is what I know:

Mice can get a disease called Myco, which they actually always have at a low level, or they can get another illness on top of that, which is then referred to as a secondary infection.

One of the best treatments for a secondary infection is Amoxicillin. This doesn't help with Myco. For Myco it is common to use Enrofloxacin (Baytril) or Doxycycline.  

Thus when a mouse is quite sick, there are two routes to go: To treat for a secondary infection or to treat for Myco. A vet might even treat both at once with two medications. However, Amoxicillin reduces the effectiveness of Doxycyline. It also interferes with Tetracycline, which not as often prescribed.  I'm not sure about Enrofloxacin, though. It is also possible that a vet does not know about interactions of the medications; mine didn't.

My point here is that even if the antibiotic doesn't help, she still might be sick and needs to be treated with another antibiotic. If she is being treated for a secondary infection, she should be treated for Myco; if she is being treated for Myco, she should be treated for a secondary infection.

It is also possible that she is not sick, though as I said this pulsing really bothers me. The clicking sound can sometimes mean she has managed to fight off a respiratory infection by herself, but it has done some permanent but painless damage. In this case there is no problem with it and she will do it for life. That's why the clicking doesn't bother me as much as the pulsing.

As to the other mouse, if she does not seem sick then follow the vet's advice. I personally treat all of my mice with a mild antibiotic (the only one you can get over the counter is Tetracycline) because that is what my mouse "dealer" (breeder, I just like to call him that) does. However, a breeder is less concerned with the health of one specific mouse than the whole colony. It is possible that one mouse should not be treated due to side effects. Also, he is less likely to see whether one mouse is sick because he has so many, and also it is more likely that somebody else is sick when there are 20 in the cage (big cage). So the vet probably knows better than I do.


If you want to answer, I'd like to know if the steam helped (in which case you should do it twice a day) and what medication the vet gave her.  This doesn't mean I can help much more.  Also, if you bring her back to the vet, you might want to bring this answer with you, either for the vet's information or so they can explain it to you with reference to these facts. If you bring her back to the vet I'd really like to know what they said and did. And keep me posted as to how she is.


I wish your little mouse the best <:3  )--~

squeak,

Natasha