Mice Sleeping

Question
What causes mice to be cold and not moving (but not dead)?  This AM our 2 new mice seemed life-less, but once warmed up in my son's sweatshirt pocket they were moving and although seemed sleepy almost normal.  When placed in the cage one went to the wheel and the other nibbled on food.

We just lost 2 rats (they were 3+ yrs), my son had one mouse who past before we had him a week and these 2 females have bee full of life and energy until he found them cold this AM.  HELP, it will be sad if we loose these 2 also {we will have them 1 week tomorrow).


Answer
I apologize for the late response, recently I haven't had internet connection.

It sounds like your mice are trying to hibernate. This can happen if they have been crossed with a wild mouse at some point. They will hibernate if theres a drop in temperature or if theres a lack of food. Make sure they have lots of bedding to snuggle up in and provide them with plenty of food. Try moving the cage to a warmer room.

They could also be very sick, I would take them to the vet to have them checked out.

It could also be the quality of the mice. There are a lot of irresponsible breeders who interbreed and over breed mice resulting in weaker, unhealthier mice.

I'm sorry you lost your rats, 3 years is a good age though. Please feel free to ask any more questions. Good luck.