Mice, Deppression

Question
I had two mice. one black and one white. the black one loved to get outside of the cage and the white one is just the opposite. id take the black one out and play with her every day.she'd even fall asleep in my hand. when id put her back in the cage, she'd chew on the door. every time she'd see me she would go to the door and chew on it, and id take her out and play with her. i recently went on an 8-day vacation out of town and my dad took care of them. he'd just feed them and give them water, hes not fond of mice. i then finally got home and went to go see them. the white one was fine and energetic but my black one was found buried in a hole dead... could she have died of depression?

Answer
Dear Theresa,

It's possible.  It is a little surprising that she wasn't attached enough to the other mouse to keep her going, but she thought you were really gone-- it sounds like she really, really loved you.  I have watched a perfectly healthy mouse die of a broken heart a few hours after her best friend died, even though she had other companions, so I know it can happen.  

However, it's also possible that something else killed her; look around for anything she might have chewed on that poisoned her, and watch the white mouse for signs of a problem. A heart attack is also a possibility in a mouse, which happens without warning.

Now you are at risk of losing the white mouse to depression, though, because she lost her only friend.  You may find an almost immediate change in her personality to be more interested in you, because she needs a friend.  Take this opportunity to hold her a lot, but if you can get her another friend or two quite quickly, that will help her a lot.  It's very hard to be a single mouse.  I always keep at least three mice because then when one dies, the others at least have each other, and I have time to replace the third mouse.

My sincere condolences for the loss of your incredibly sweet mouse. I wish the other one luck and good health.

squeaks,

Natasha