Mouse chest problems..

Question
QUESTION: Hi there.

How are you?

For a month now i have had this wild mouse who i rescued from the pool from drowning. To my surprise she was pregnant and has had 3 babies. They have all been wlel looked after. I am seriously concerned about a chest problem she's been having. A kind of chattering sound.. i was wondering what i could do about it? Would rubbing human vix on her bedding help or should i go for antibiotics and if so which ones and would they be put into her water?

Many thanks indeed.

Mart.

ANSWER: Hi Mart,

I'm doing great, thank you for asking!  I'm sorry to hear about your momma mouse, but I would advise against using vix in the bedding - mice have really sensitive noses and I imagine that could be quite painful to her.  Chattering from the chest can mean something called an upper respiratory infection, although I can't say for certain and you definitely should take her into the vet if you can.  If there is absolutely no way to do so, Natasha has shared with me an excellent method of giving her antibiotics:

"If you absolutely, absolutely can't get her to a vet right away, you must treat her for the infection yourself.  Go to a pet store and pick up a bottle of Tetracycline from the FISH section.

You are going to put some in her water bottle and try to get an initial dose inside her.  

If you have the capsules, empty one capsule into a large water bottle or one half into a small one.  Shake extremely well.  If you have the powder,  1/4 flat teaspoon measure is the same as 1 capsule.  If you have the tablets, completely crush them into fine powder with the back of a spoon and use as powder.   This should be her only water source.  It's fine for any other mice to drink the water too, especially since they have been exposed to the illness already.

Next, take another capsule worth and mix it with one drop of water.  This will make a paste about the consistency of mustard.    You have plenty to play with, so if the mixture is too watery, try again.  Now pick up the mouse by the scruff of the neck.  This is the skin just behind her head.  This does not hurt her-- it's how her mama used to carry her-- but she will struggle valiantly.   Holding her gently but firmly,  quickly place a small amount into her now open mouth.  This is hard.  Be careful of her nose!  Wipe a bit more onto her whiskers and chin.  She will ingest that when she washes herself.  If you couldn't get any inside her at all, wipe some more on her head.  Put her back into her cage so she will wash herself.  Keep any other mouse from washing her, if necessary removing the other mice for half an hour.  

Again, if you can get her to a vet at all, please do."

I hope this helps her out!
-Tam

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

QUESTION: Hi there,

That was a very interesting answer thank you very much indeed.

I will certainly be getting her down the vets one day this week.

I was wondering.. This thing you htink she may have.... could it be passed onto humans at all?
She was a wild mouse. I think we have a bond aswell she was unusually tame form the day i found her. though of course that could have been because she was in the pool trying to get out and i rescued her. Since then she'll crawl up my arm, sit sitll in my hand eating. I know she's wild as shes identical to other wild mice i see skttling around the place.

She wet into labour 3 days after i caught hger having 3 baby mice which she has taken care of.

This rattling noises shes making theyre not every breath...however if shes running inbetween my fingers everytime her chest hits my finger it makes the rattly noise and it will occasionally be heard in her little squeeks if i hold her to my ear. Does this sound similar still to what you htink it may be?

Is this medicine available in Australia?

Thank you very much :)

Marty :)

ANSWER: Hello again,  :)

No, upper respiratory infections are like the mouse equivalent of a cold (albeit one that needs treated more seriously), so it can't be passed to you.  If she really is wild, however, there are other things she could give to you, which you can avoid by being sanitary when changing her bedding and by checking for fleas (but you'd probably know about fleas by now, I'd think).  The vet will let you know if there is anything else you should worry about, but the URI is not transmittable to people.

I know you say she looks like other wild mice, but that does sound unusually tame.  Wild mice typically take months to warm up to people, if they ever do at all - but there are several varieties of mice that I believe may also be available in Australia that might mimic wild types.  Just for knowledge's sake, you could check here to see if she looks similar to any standard colors, especially "ticked":  http://www.hiiret.fi/eng/breeding/varieties/index.html  and  http://www.afrma.org/miceaoc.htm

The rattling does sound about right for a respiratory infection, which is fairly common in many animals, but it definitely needs treated or it could get worse.  I'm honestly not sure about tetracycline's availability in Australia, but you could look and if you are going to the vet they can let you know what your options are.  :)

-Tam

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

QUESTION: Hi Tamarah,

Sorry never got back sooner been camping this weekend! Was very hot.. too hot infact! Went up to 46 degrees.

I managed to get hold of some of this stuff from the pet shop. The person in the pet shop said it's for birds but you can give it to mice, is this true?

It's come in a yellow powder with a little shovel looking plastic spoon.

Anyway, with great difficulty i have attempted to try and feed some to the wild mouse. I gently, but firmly held her behind the ears on her neck but she would not open her mouth and was continously resisting. I managed to get loads on her head and whiskers though. I have noticed though, when i wash her in the bath/sink this noise tends to happen more often than when she's dry i dunno tho it cld just be a co-insedence!

Anyway i may have got enough down her. Also i have put 1/2 TSP worth of the yellow powder in her water bottle which i think is full size.. well i say full size..it's about lynx deodorant can size. Shook it wlel and have placed it in there.

She can't refuse to drink it though can she? I mean like.. it wouldn't smell o vile to her she'd even die of thirst not to drink it?
Also could accidentally giving her that bit too much possibly make her ill or even kill her?

I do intend to get her down the vets fast, it's just waiting for my Mum to hurry up and take me!

Pls let me know your answers :)

Thanks very much Tamarah.

Mart :)

Answer
Hi Mart,

Yes, as long as it is tetracycline, you can use it on mice.  It's just a regular antibiotic, so even though you should try to get as close to the right amount as possible, going a little over will not hurt her.  You don't really need to wash her; in fact, since mice get cold so easily getting her very wet could be making the problem worse.  Mice wash themselves - there is no need to give baths.  :)

She should drink it, and I don't think it would taste or smell very bad to her.  If you want to encourage her to drink it more frequently, don't give her any foods that already have moisture in them so that she will be thirsty more often.  Also remember to change out the water bottle solution every couple of days so that the medication always stays fresh.

Hope she feels better soon!
-Tam