New friend for newly widowed mousie?

Question
Hi.  One of my  mice just died.  He was 2 1/2.  I was actually getting ready to go to the vet who neutered him, when I spoke to the vet, he said I should just make him comfortable, because they usually don't live that long, is that true?  The vet doesn't think I should get a companion for the other mouse, a little girl who is a bit younger, just a little older than 2... because she will die of old age soon.  They are so social, I can't imagine leaving the little girl alone in her cage, even if, ESPECIALLY if she doesn't have much longer to live.  I have cats at home, so they live at my office, she would be completely alone all night and some weekends (lucky for them I work too much) :( :(  I am a little concerned that the little boy who died may have had something contagious, although the girl seems perfectly healthy, although pretty frantic and upset, looking for her hubby!  Yesterday he seemed a litle down, and this morning his eyes were goopey and pink, like they were bleeding, isn't that awful!  Poor little baby, and his abdomen looked swollen.  I don't know where parasites come from, but we do have wild deermice come through my office all the time.  I've cleaned everything in their cage, and just added a bit of colloidal silver to her water in case it's an infection.

Thank you for your guidance.

Answer
Deat April,
thank you for your question.
21/2 years is a very good age for a fancy mouse, although they can live longer. I've had a mouse that died at the age of 3 years and 8 months. Many die at 2 years, though.
It's definitely a good idea to get new friends for the female. Introducing females to each other is usually easy. Let them meet on neutral ground (bathtub or big storage box). If everything is peaceful during the next few hours, put them in a small cage or kritter keeper for the next 24 hours. Some squeaking is normal, but the mice shouldn't really fight or bite each other. If they continue to get along in the small cage, they can return to the normal cage, which shouldn't contain anything but bedding and some hay to hide in (and food and water of course). It's important that the cage and all the toys are cleaned with water and vinegar to get rid of the old smell. You can add a toy/piece of furniture every other day unless there's fighting, in that case go back a step in the introduction. Add the house after a week or so.

You need to treat her for the parasites, though, or she will just infect the new mice with them. The deermice can definitely be a source of parasites, they are almost certainly checking out the cage for food ect. The spot-on Stronghold for kittens/puppies kills most internal parasites, you just apply a drop on the mouse's neck.

I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer