sneezing mouse?

Question
Hello, my name is Jessy and i took home my boyfriends mouse for the weekend today. I noticed he's sneezing.. making a 'clicking' noise. He spunky as ever and doesnt appear to have any problems breathing.. im using shredded white printer paper for his bedding and he was housed in wood chips before that. I also added some toilet paper for him. Could i just have a sneezing mouse? Or is there something wrong?

Answer
Hi Jessy,

Sneezing is usually evidence of either an allergy or respiratory irritation that could mean an infection.  If he has ever had an upper respiratory infection before, the sneezing and clicking could just be a remnant.  However, if he's never been sick before and this is new, then something should definitely be tried to fix it.  What kind of wood chips was he on before?  Pine and cedar both have reputations of causing irritation, and bedding that is too dusty can also result in sneezing.  If the bedding isn't being changed frequently enough, ammonia buildup could also cause irritation, too.

Lastly, if it's an actual infection (which the clicking usually means), he should see a vet and get on an antibiotic to knock it out before it becomes serious.  If a vet is impossible, tetracycline can be bought at most pet stores and farm supply stores, and is a pretty decent general antibiotic you can give him in his water.  Here are instructions on how to administer it:   http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2010/2/Tetracycline-directions-sneezing-mou...

Unless they've had a URI in the past, mice shouldn't sneeze or click.  Most mice that are treated quickly (or in the case of allergies, the irritant found quickly) heal up just fine, but I definitely wouldn't put off finding the cause.

Hope he cuts that sneezing out soon!  :)
-Tam