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Question
QUESTION: Just today, I looked in my mouse's cage,
and one of them seemed to be sick.

She was sneezing a lot, making small 'clicking' noises,
and looked like she was having trouble breathing.
Usually she is a very adventurous mouse,
but she didn't run around much when I had her out,
nor when I put her back into her cage.

Her cage mate seems to be fine.

What (if anything) is wrong with her,
and what should I do?

ANSWER: Dear Vic,

She is definitely sick.  She should go to a vet right away, who will probably prescribe Baytril, which is commonly used in respiratory illnesses in mice.  There are other drugs as well.  However, it has to be a vet who knows what s/he is doing.  If you don't already have a mouse vet, you will need to call around.

A vet who specializes in small furry pets such as gerbils and hamsters is ideal.  Other vets specialize in 'exotic pets' and often work with small pets.  Ask how often the vet sees small furry pets.  

If you cannot go to a vet, and I understand that mice are often low-budget pets, you can try treating her yourself.  I use the antibiotic Tetracycline.  Here is a link where I explain how to use it:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/8/mouse-sick.htm

If you can't treat her or get her treated immediately, you must separate the two mice.  This makes them sad, and you have to make sure they are near each other so they can still communicate (they do this with high pitched sounds that we can't hear).  Once the mouse has been on an antibiotic for a day, you can put them back together.  Of course if the second mouse unfortunately gets sick too, they don't need to be separated.

You must keep both of them warm and make sure they always have fresh water and food.  They should be out of a draft-- not near the A/C or a drafty window.  The cage must be kept clean-- their urine contains ammonia, which is actually harmful for them to breathe in large quantities.  An average cage should be changed or at least freshened up (take out the dirty litter/chips if they have a 'bathroom' area, which would be in one or two corners of the cage away from the nest) once a week.  

When the mouse gets well, she might still always have a little chatter.  This just means she had an infection and it has affected her such that her 'voice' is lower.  This won't lower her life expectancy and I find it endearing because they almost 'talk' to you.

squeaks,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: We bought some Tetracycline,
but it is in liquid form.
How should I administer this to my mouse?

ANSWER: Hi Vic!

I think you may have misunderstood the ratings system.  Because we experts have 72 hours to answer a question, the  less than three hours between your question and my answer was relatively extraordinarily fast (remember we are just volunteers going about our lives, not sitting at desks waiting for questions).  One day is considered a good reply time.  And these ratings do count for us.

if you want to change a rating, you can send an email to:

experts@about.com

(http://www.allexperts.com/user.cgi?m=10&subject=Feedback)

and let them know.  Of course you do not have to change this, but with a better understanding of the rating system you might want to.

Thank you (squeaks)

Natasha

PS I am interested in the strength of the tetracycline solution you are using and whether it is for fish or other animals?



Dear Vic,

Liquids are given to a mouse holding it in the same manner as I described in the link I sent you and using an eyedropper (not very fun).  However, I don't know what concentration it is or how much a dose to give the mouse.  I have only worked with the powder form.  Unless the drug is dosed for a gerbil or hamster (in which case I would give 1/2 a dose), there is no way to guess how much to give her. Too much can kill her and too little can lose crucial time where she could have been saved.

My two recommendations are then,

1. Go to  vet
or
2.  Use the powder form as I have described it.

Don't hesitate to write back..

squeaks,

Natasha



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

QUESTION: I was including the first question too.
I was impressed with the second one though!

The stuff I'm using is called 'Gel-Tek',
and you're supposed to feed it directly to the fishes.
The instructions (for fish) say 5 drops per fish twice a day.
Every 24 hours for 3 days.

I took about 5 drops and mixed it in about 10oz of water.
It looks like it's working.


Answer
Hi again!

Thanks for the information on the liquid antibiotic.  I haven't seen that before.

One other comment-- you actually read the first answer 24 hours after I sent it.  Just in case you didn't notice..

Thanks for the questions.  Please feel free to ask anything else that comes to mind!

squeaks,

Natasha