mouse breathing hard

Question
Hi Natasha, this is second visit to you. Our mouse chibi whom we have had for 23 months is low on energy and seems to be breathing very hard.  She had been making some wheezing/chattering kind of noises and has now in the last week lost a lot of weight.  She was very obese before. Do you think it is a respiratory ailment that can be treated with antibiotics from the pet store?  
In Sept. her cage mate passed on and on your advice, we got more mice to keep her company.  The other three mice which we have had for about 2 months have had no sign of illness.  
Chibi has been like the grandma mouse. It was very interesting introducing the new mice and watching them get to know each other.   Please let us know if you think there is anything we can do for Chibi. I    Thank You so much for your time and thought to respond to my questions.
Louise

Answer
Hi,

If Chibi is 23 months old it would be normal for her to suddenly show signs of old age such as hunching over, losing weight, fur roughness, and panting.  It seems to happen overnight sometimes. At that point she could pass away in a week or live this way for three months.  I've had both.  On average maybe she has a month.

It's not impossible that she have a respiratory infection, but at that age I wouldn't treat for it, myself, without actual sneezing-- unless the others get sick.  In that case I'd treat them all.  

Remember I'm not a vet, and if you have a vet who does exotics or pocket pets and can examine Chibi, that's always best.  My advice is from my own experience and from talking to other mouse people.  

Best of luck and health to Chibi.  Make sure she has very easy access to food and water and can't get cold.  Continue to hold her if she likes it-- often as they get old they get very attached to their people.  Many of my mice have chosen to die in my hands- waited and asked to be picked up, before they gave up the ghost.  

squeaks,

Natasha