Ashes my mouse died

Question
Hi,

My mouse Ashes, recently passed away. I had bought him at Petco so I am not sure what kind of mouse he really was. For the month I had him, he was fine and always ate his food. 3 days ago, I noticed that he stopped eating and developed a sort of rough patch of skin on his back and head. The next day, I found him laying on the bottom of the cage barely breathing with a white filmy substance around his mouth. He was laying very still and when I picked him up he was very stiff. I buried him yesterday and I noticed more white stuff around his mouth. I am very concerned how Ashes died because I do not want it affecting me and I took good care of him.

Answer
Dear Alex,

Ashes apparently had something wrong with him when you got him, whether it was an illness or something genetic.  As long as you gave him appropriate food and kept him from extreme heat, cold, or chemicals, you did nothing wrong.

Nothing that would kill a mouse that fast could hurt you.  The only skin problem a mouse could have that you could get is roundworm, but that doesn't kill a mouse and it doesn't make its mouth froth.  Don't worry about it.

I hope you have better luck with your next mouse.  Be sure to clean everything in the cage and the cage with bleach and water, or scalding water; anything that can't be cleaned that way should be thrown away.  Make sure the new mouse has no contact with anything unwashed that Ashes touched.  Just to be absolutely sure, throw away the food Ashes was eating and buy a new supply for the new mouse.  Mice usually live 18-30 months, so the next mouse will bring more long-lasting joy into your life.

squeaks,

Natasha