i think my prego mouse is dying....

Question
QUESTION: i got my mice from the pet store (3 feeder mice) and one of them just happened to be pregnant. i notice she was pregnant just a little while ago and she is huge now. the lady where i got her said she should "pop" any day now. but tonight when i got home from work she was (and still is) laying in the corner...breathing lightly...not like she normally is. she doesn't move when i stroke her or anything, and she feels cold. there is a little what looks like blood by her one eye and it doesn't look like she has moved or cleaned her hind area all day. my other two babies are fine. so i don't think it is "wet tail" which my previous 3 mice had. (i bleached the tank they are in now.) i'm scared she is gonna die...i don't think i can handle another mouse dying...i already lost 2. please help...i fear she might die in the next day...and i'm afraid to move her.

ANSWER: Dear Megan,

I wish I could tell you she'll be fine but it doesn't sound good.  If you possibly can you need to take her to the vet as an emergency.  

In the meantime, the most important thing is keep her really, really warm.  Turn up the heat or put  a light bulb on the cage so it gets very warm (but make sure there is a protected area too in case it gets too hot).  What happens to mice when something goes wrong is they no longer have the energy to keep warm, and so sometimes when they are sick with one thing, they actually die of the cold.  I've saved numerous mousie lives by keeping a mouse warm.  Often they are capable of surviving if they don't have to work at staying warm.

Best of luck and health to your little mouse.  Mice are such fragile little things.

squeaks,

Natasha



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

QUESTION: thank you very much for the advice...unfortunately Elizabeth Cow passed away earlier on tonight. it hurt for me to hear that she had died...but my other two mice ( Bianca White Mocha and Olivia Caramel ) are doing just fine...they tried to help Elizabeth Cow. they helped her clean herself and tried to keep her warm. i'm sure that they did the best that they could. i think i may just stick with my two babies...it was too hard to see a third baby of mine die...especially pregnant. :*( thanks very much again for the advice...i will be keeping that in mind if anything ever happens to Bianca or Olivia...(which i of course hope that it wont)

megan <3

Answer
Dear Megan,

Thank you so much for the update. I so appreciate knowing what happens to my little faraway clients.

I write back because you might want to reconsider your decision not to replace Elizabeth Cow, for the sakes of Bianca White Mocha and Olivia Caramel. Knowing how awful it is to lose a mouse as a pet, can you imagine how awful it would be to lose your only friend in the world? That's what will happen to one of your girls when the other passes away.  A mouse can actually die of a broken heart when her companion dies. This is why I always have at least three mice, so that when one dies the other still has a friend.  They still mourn the other's passing (they will become depressed and lose weight) but they will not be alone.  The time to get a companion for a mouse is before her friend dies, not after, as most people do.  

You are obviously a very kind-hearted and sensible person, caring greatly about your mice, so I thought you might like to know.

squeaks,

Natasha