Mouse lost an eye

Question
Hi Natasha, how are you?

A while ago I asked you a few questions about my two male mice...they were fighting a lot and you advised me to separate them.
I have and since then, everything's is fine. Sort of.
One of my mice, Myszka, the white one with red eyes, started behaving a little funny. He was the really violent one when I had both mice on the same cage. And after I separated them, he was still a bit violent but with himself. I can't explain very well his behaviour. He seems more than happy when he sees me and likes to be handled but when he's alone or I'm away from the cage, he's a bit funny.
The other mouse is happy and even though he was badly injured by his brother before, he is well and happy and fully recovered.
This afternoon when i got home, Myska was fine. He was asleep but when he heard me coming, he put his head out of his house, saw me and went back inside. (they both usually do that. I think they like to see me and sort of say hi or something!)
Tonight, after about four hours, when I went to check on him, his right eye was sort of popping out, badly injured, like as it fell off. I can't explain how it looks but it does not look good. My boyfriend and I tried to clean it but I don't wanna hurt him even more than what he already is. When we took a closer look to the eye, my heart just broke apart cause it does seem he lost his eye. It's sort of there but kinda hanging out and bruised and red...just awful!
One of the many weird behaviours Myszka started having after I separated them was: I can always hear his squeaks (while his brother I can only hear it when I get close and/or he wants me to), he goes a little mental sometimes like running around his cage a lot and sort of doing little jumps; something I noticed on both of them is that they don't play as they used to and they spend most of day (and night) sleeping. My brown mouse, Mr. Blue Sky is a little more active even though he seems to be losing his sight but Myska is mostly quiet lately.
They are both one and a half year old and I found out recently that all of his brothers and sisters (from the same breed) passed away already as a result of tumors; my friend who gave me them told me so. They are officially the only two left from that breed.
Do you think he might have a tumor as well and that this could have caused his eye to fall out?
I know I should probably take him to a vet but the last time I took him there, the vet charged me 80 pounds just to look at him, besides the whole treatment...quite pricey for a little mouse and I can' really afford to go this time. And I feel so horrible cause I don't want him to suffer; I feel completely powerless.
I'm thinking it might be time to put him to sleep but I don't know if I should do so. My boyfriend wants him to die naturally but I really don't want him to suffer...

Answer
Hi again, Rachel!

This doesn't sound good :((.  First, Myszka's behavior.  It's perfectly possible for mice to be crazy.  I'm no mouse psychiatrist, but I'm sure they have some of the same chemical imbalances that we do, which cause mental illness.  Also, he might have simply gotten too upset by the fighting- like a person can 'snap' under stress.  I have had two very clear instances of mental illness in my mice, both times due to emotional trauma.  One had escaped and been on the loose for a week, after which she became mean, and another was a sweet mouse who was attacked by another mouse and then lived alone for two days with the injury, and suffered severe depression for about 6 months.  

So it's possible that in his wild behavior he damaged his eye.  I certainly don't think mice get the feelings of self-loathing that can cause people to self-harm, but they do hurt themselves sometimes.  For instance a mouse may bite its own tail off.  Or he might have been a little out of control or careless and got hurt.  

On the other hand, a protruding eye can indeed be a sign of an abscess or a tumor behind the eye socket. An abscess may be treatable.  A tumor in a mouse is generally not treatable (besides surgery being expensive), especially in the head area. If you can't take Myszka to a vet to be checked out, you might want to try an antibiotic just to see if it helps, before the infection gets worse.  

The following answer of mine was for another mouse with a lump. It includes a link to an explanation of how to give a mouse the antibiotic Tetracycline, which you can get in the FISH section of the pet store.  

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/11/mouse-large-lump.htm

As for the damaged eye, that won't heal.  But mice don't really understand the idea of disability, so for all the mouse knows, every mouse loses an eye at a certain age.  He'll get along fine in his familiar cage.  Albinos like Myszka don't see very well anyway, and mice get around more by sense of smell and whisker-feel than sight.  It's sad but not like it would be for a person.

18 months is about when a mouse can get old.  Pet mice live usually between 18 and 24 months.  Usually a mouse will seem to age a whole lot almost overnight and become hunched over, have a rougher coat, and have labored breathing.  At that point they often don't last more than another week or two, but I have had a mouse live that way for several months.  

As for deciding whether to euthanize him, for me it's a question of quality of life.  As long as a mouse seems chipper, is eating, drinking, and moving around, I don't care if she is disfigured by a tumor or looks ancient; I keep her.  But if she seems like she is in pain, very depressed, barely moving, or having difficulty eating or eliminating, I have her put to sleep.  It's a very personal choice, and a very hard one.  I certainly agonize when the issue comes up.  It feels like playing God.  But maybe once a year I find myself with a mouse who is miserable and is simply suffering too much.  A word of caution, though-- ask what it will cost when you make the appointment.  You might want to gently point out that the reason it is so expensive to put an animal to sleep is that the poison is so expensive, and all you need for a mouse is a half milliliter.  You  may find an understanding vet who works privately rather than a big clinic where prices will be fixed.

When you get mice again, the best idea is to get three girls.  They will live together nicely, and when one dies the other two will have each other until you replace the third mouse.

Best of luck to both Myszka and Mr. Blue Sky.

squeaks,

Natasha