mouse chewed off leg

Question
we have a 2yr old mouse female has had litter now has lost the use of rear legs just found today blood around bedding seems 1 leg has been chewed off after searching on here seems this might be due to a genetic disorder and in order to survive it removed one of its legs - we decided today to put our mouse out of its misery - is this true about paralised mice

Answer
Dear John,

There is no way for me to tell what happened to your mouse.  I am unclear as to whether the mouse was paralyzed before it chewed its leg off. I have a couple of thoughts.  One is that mental disorders can happen to mice just like they do to people.  This could be genetic. Second, though I'm not certain as to when the paralysis occurred, animals have been known to chew off a limb when it could save their life-- like a fox chewing off its leg which was stuck in a trap.  The mouse may have perceived herself to be in this situation.  Third, whatever caused the paralysis, whether it was before the leg chewing or concurrent, could also be genetic or due to an accident.

I'm very sorry about your little mouse.  Two years is a pretty good age to live to for a mouse, so she had a full life.

squeaks,

Natasha