stroke and sneezing

Question
QUESTION: Hello, i have a female mouse who is under one year and about a week ago she was acting very strange, leaning to one side and jumping away from me and falling over.  She has also been sneezing alot, and one eye has less hair around it.  The eye that has less hair is the same side that she is leaning to.
I was thinking it might have been a stroke, and ive been trying to keep her as comfortable as possible.  She has a friend in the same cage, and recently that mouse has also been sneezing as well.
What do you think happend, and what can i do?  
If it was a stroke, will she live long?
<3

ANSWER: Dear Krista,

The first answer is always, take them to, or call, a mouse-experienced vet.  I am not a professional, but I do have a lot of experience.  However, I know that many mouse owners don't have the means to use a vet.

I believe you are correct that she has had a stroke, poor thing.  I do not know how much it will shorten her life span.  It is important to make sure she is doing the usual mouse stuff:  Eating, pooping, and spending out-of-nest time.  If it seems that she has a hard time with seeds, you can give her easier things to eat.  She will love it if you give her salted, shelled sunflower seeds, but don't overdo it.  If she will eat out of your hand, that's terrific, because then you can feed her without the other mouse eating it.  Smear a thin layer of peanut butter onto something (even a utensil is fine) and let her or them clean it off.  Uncooked oats are probably soft enough to eat.  She may be able to eat vegetables.  Crackers, of course, but don't overdo it.  Cheese too, with the same caveat.  They usually prefer the softer types, but many mice will eat any cheese while others don't like it at all!!

You are right that  the important thing is to make sure she is comfortable and has her needs attended to.

If she continues to lose hair and/or if she or the other scratches a lot (especially with the hind foot in the ear), they probably have mites.  It is common for mice to have mites with no problem but if they get sick, then the mites are a problem.  If you think she has mites read some of my old answers or feel free to contact me again, to learn what to do.  

The sneezing will be something unrelated.  It might be allergies, in which case think about these questions:  Did you change the type of bedding or litter in the cage before the sneezing?  Have you been using any chemicals like air freshener, hair spray, cleaning materials near the cage?  Has anything else changed in the room?

If the sneezing is from a respiratory infection, my advice is to keep them warm.  They will probably stop sneezing within a few days.  It is possible that it will get worse and kill them, but my mice usually survive just fine.  Often when a mouse has survived a respiratory infection, she will have a lower squeak voice and you will sometimes be able to hear her, chattering away.  Mice do talk all the time, but usually so high that we can't hear it!  I actually find it very endearing to hear them chatter, and it causes no danger.

I wish your little mice the best.  Please write again if you have any more questions or something is unclear!

squeaks,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: I appreciate you're concern :).  Its been about a week since i noticed her leaning to the side, and i think she has gotten a little better.  She runs in the wheel and eats and loves to sit on my shoulder still, but she often loses balance and runs off my desk on accident :(  its heartbreaking since she can not use her right side normally.  she has also gotten skinnier, but i know she is eating.
I changed the bedding about 3 weeks ago from pine bedding to the other softer, non wood bedding.  The pet store recommended it since mice may have allergies to the pine, but its been a while so im not sure if that is what caused them to sneeze!  I am going to call my vet though and see if they take mice.
what are other symptoms of mites? and are they a real problem?
Thank you sooo much!
<3 krista

Answer
Dear Krista,

I'm glad the mouse is feeling ok.  It's great that she can still sit on your shoulder.  I let my mice sit just under my shirt on my shoulder so they can't fall off.  Just a suggestion!  She will always be a bit off, but she may learn to compensate in some ways.  After a while I think she will forget that she wasn't always like that and just deal with her world the way it is.  You just have to be more careful watching her.  It's pretty scary for a mouse to fall, so try to make sure it never happens.  If she is skinnier, feed her peanut butter (always spread very thin for licking, due to possibility of choking), butter (ooh she'll love that) and cheese, from your hand if she will.

Change the litter back and see if the sneezing is reduced within a couple of days.  The paper litter is dusty; and if you never saw allergies to the pine, then, as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"!  I think this will help.

Symptoms of mites can be thinning or bare patches of fur, itching a lot (like I said, especially with the hind foot in the ear), and drinking a lot of water.  However, these signs only occur when the animal is weak in some way or lives alone, so perfectly healthy-looking mice often have mites and you don't know until something goes wrong.  If you suspect mites you have to treat both mice at the same time as changing their bedding completely and washing all toys etc.  You will need to do the same thing a week later.  I have used 8-in-1 small animal flea and tick spray.  For healthy animals this is fine.  For a baby or for a very sick mouse I would use the bird spray, which has half of the chemical in it.  When you use the spray, SHAKE WELL!  Soak the mice with the spray except for their faces, and then make sure they are warm until they dry.  If you have a sunny spot inside the house, play with them there until they are dry.  They might have sensitive skin a few hours later and will squeak if touched.  Just leave them alone and it will get better. This with changing the litter might be the solution to all the problems (except the tipping over mouse).

I wish the mice the best!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha