Mystery Death!

Question
Hello There again. The other night i found one of my two pet mice dead. But its bottom jaw was eaten and its belly was ripped open. It was really disturbing. Could she have had a disease or something?

Answer
It's no mystery but I agree it's always disturbing (especially if you have seen too many horror movies about flesh-eating bacteria!). Your mouse has died (most likely of natural causes) and your other mouse has a taste for raw meat. I'm guessing they are boys and they may have a wild mouse gene. A wild mouse squeezed into a cage full off my girls (the result was over 60 mice) and every time one of the offspring died the other half-wild mice would eat it (sometimes I found what looked like mummified bodies and others only the tail).

However if these mice have been recently introduced then they may have fought to the death (it usually happens in the first 3 days) unless you kept a close eye on them. If he is 12 months+ he has probably died of natural causes, of which there can be many. If they have been buddies for a long time with no problems it would be OK to get a friend for your mouse, just make sure he is similar in age and size. If you suspect foul play then it is kinder to euthanaise him rather than keep him in solitary confinements for the rest of his life.

I am really sorry you saw this, please let me know if I can help with anything else.