new friend for grieving mouse?

Question
QUESTION: First off, thank you so much for reading my question.  A few days ago I ran out of mice food.  I kept forgetting to go to the store. Well, I fed my mice turtle food the first day and they gobbled it up so I thought that would be fine.  Today, I find my precious Moo Moo eaten by the other mouse- only her head.  It looked smashed and her body looked a little deflated.  I am so distraught because I feel like I am at fault! My mom told me the other mice would eat Moo Moo if she were already dead :( Both mice are sisters and are fancy mice.  Did the turtle food kill Moo Moo? Or would the other mice be so hungry that she would eat Moo Moo? I am so sad and feel horrible that this has happened! :(( Any words of advice would help! My heart is hurting- I loved Moo Moo so much!

ANSWER: Dear Lydia,

Your mother is right that if one mouse dies, the others often cannibalize the body so that it doesn't rot and spread disease in the cage.  It's instinctive.  If the mice had been so hungry as to want to eat each other, you would see bites on each others' tails.  The turtle food was not appropriate for the mice and they may well have died of some ingredient in it.  Different animals can eat different things that are poisonous to others.  For instance, mice can ingest small quantities of arsenic, although it kills people.  On the other hand, avocado pits kill mice.  I found that out by personal experience, so don't feel stupid.  We all make mistakes.

If you run out of mouse food again give them as may different kinds of grains and seeds that you can.  Oatmeal, popcorn, flax seed, kasha, but no rice.  Breads and crackers are great.  Then supplement it with raw vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, or greens.  If they have a wide variety then they won't eat something that would be bad for them.

I'm so sorry about poor Moo Moo.  It's so hard to lose a mouse, especially when you feel at fault.  I have had that experience and I really sympathize.  Good luck with the other mice and buy two bags of mouse food so you always have one in storage; buy another one as soon as you start the second bag.

sad squeaks,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: Dear Natasha,

Would it be okay to get a new female mouse friend for my other mouse Pearl?  I know she loved Moo Moo so much and I don't want her to be lonely; but the pet store has told me not to mix litters...any advice would be much appreciated :)

Sincerely,
Lydia

Answer
Dear Lydia,

Mice are very sociable animals and it will help Pearl tremendously to get a new friend.  I always recommend having three mice at a time so if one dies, the other two aren't so devastated.  The best thing to do would be to get two little mice.  On the one hand they are small and Pearl won't feel threatened by them; on the other hand, there are two and she can only chase one at a time, giving the other some rest!  

When you introduce them, put a tiny dab of REAL vanilla extract on their tail base and neck.  This will make them all smell the same to each other.  Expect chasing and squeaking; nothing is going wrong unless someone is bleeding or someone is being prevented from eating or sleeping in the nest.

The person at the pet store may have been thinking about the fact that you can't put MALE mice together from different litters.  They will fight to the death.

squeaks,

Natasha