Puffy Face

by MimzytheBun Fri 23 Dec 2016, 1:56 am

Well happy news first, the three girls are all living together in the big tank and getting along well. After a bit of bickering and Lola chasing around the smaller mice, they're all happily sleeping together and grooming each other. I took everything out and introduced a new castle, but otherwise they only have one nest box for now so they don't get possessive.
Puffy Face LUslu21

More to the point of the title though, I noticed yesterday that Lola's face looked a bit swollen. I looked her over for injures but couldn't find any, and her eyes are both bright and clear. The "puffiness" is far more noticeable though today, changing the profile of her nose. It seems to be more under the left eye, which is bulging a bit disconcertingly. She isn't showing any other signs of illness though, a bit of box shock when I first got her but clear for the past month.
Puffy Face LmBSp03

Im going to take her to a vet but we don't have any really good pocket pet doctors around. I'm worried it might be a tumor in which case there would be nothing to do but wait for her to die. That would be very very upsetting. Worry

by CallaLily Fri 23 Dec 2016, 8:55 am

Awww, poor baby. It may "just" be an abcess. Please keep us updated.

by scaredymouse Fri 23 Dec 2016, 2:21 pm

Aw, poor sweetie. I would also be inclined to think abscess. I would expect the vet to give her Baytril (antibiotic) and Metacam (pain reliever). That is a pretty basic treatment plan for almost anything little animals present with, so even if your vet isn't great with pocket pets, they should know this much. Even if the vet doesn't think it's treatable, get pain meds for her.

by MimzytheBun Sat 24 Dec 2016, 12:05 am

Well the vet is unavailable till Tuesday. The only option until then is the emergency clinic which would cost half a thousand at least Sad

This is terrible, I'm so upset. Her eye is getting worse, with a filmy cover, but her behavior is the same. She doesn't seem in pain at the very least, still eating and running on the wheel. Poor sweet baby.
Puffy Face JDqOmo2

by scaredymouse Sat 24 Dec 2016, 12:48 am

Oh my goodness, that doesn't look good at all and it seems to be getting worse fast. Have you tried calling the ER clinic to see what the my would charge? My ER vet charges the same as my regular vet (office visit/meds). It has been my experience that ER vets make their real money with diagnostic tests, emergency procedures, IV meds and the like. So with little critters like mice, we sometimes can get what we need without spending a fortune.

She might not be showing it... But her face hurts. I worry about her having to wait until Tuesday, as I'm sure you do too. I would try calling around to nearby ER vets and see what they say, you might be surprised. She shouldn't need any tests or procedures, so it should just be the office visit and medications.

by MimzytheBun Sat 24 Dec 2016, 1:42 am

I contacted the emergency vet and they don't have any staff that will work with mice, I'm totally SOL. Lola was sparking a bit so hopefully that means she isn't in too much pain, but I'm so so worried.

If she starts acting much more ill, should I isolate her? I don't think the little girls will pick on her but I've heard horror stories of sick mice being pushed out or attacked. I would hate for her to have even more stress/injuries Crying or Very sad

by scaredymouse Sat 24 Dec 2016, 3:05 am

I don't see any reason to separate her. In fact, having friends around is probably a comfort to her. Of course there is no guarantees in life, but based on my experience and what I've seen here, it's pretty rare for mice to attack a sick mouse in their colony. One of my mice had a stroke and her sisters held her up to the water bottle and brought food to her. She could barely walk and would fall over trying to drink from the bottle. She ended up recovering but probably would have died without her sisters.

I'm sorry to hear that the ER vet didn't see small animals. Did you ask them if they knew of another ER vet in the area that sees small animals? Maybe there is one in a neighboring town? I just can't believe that there isn't someone who can help this mouse!

by MimzytheBun Sat 24 Dec 2016, 11:50 am

That makes me feel better to hear scaredy, I just want to do whatever is best for her.

I live in a stupid small town so I don't have a lot of options. I called around to neighboring areas and besides finding someone who offered to euthanize her, nothing. Lola's eye looks pretty much the same today, at least it isn't bigger. I don't think there's anything I can do but hope she remains stable till Tuesday... Worry

by scaredymouse Sat 24 Dec 2016, 1:30 pm

Stupid small town! I doubt she would tolerate it... But you could try putting ice on it. It could help with swelling and pain. Just make sure it's wrapped really well so it isn't cold. If she puts up a fight, don't force it. We don't know what's going on in the and pressing too hard could make it worse. I hope she's not in too much pain, it doesn't get any worse, and that the vet is able to help on Tuesday.

Good luck, keep us posted. I'll be thinking about her.

by MimzytheBun Fri 30 Dec 2016, 5:54 pm

I've finally been able to have a proper small animal vet look at Lola. Unfortunately, the eye has collapsed and there is no way she will regain function in it Crying or Very sad

The vet believes that she had a nasal abscess/cyst or infection which after building up so much pressure, drained through the eye. Her scratching at it destroyed the tissues beyond saving. The vet was able to give me antibiotic eye drops which I have to administer every two hours, and pain medication every 24 hours.

Poor girl, the vet visit was incredibly stressful for her - I've never scruffed her before, and she does not like it one bit. She took a couple good bites out of me and the vet as we tried together; I think the breeder she came from must have done it to her because she is MASTERFUL at ducking out of your fingers at the last second and flipping around.

On that note, does anyone have tips on how to do this easier/make the process less stressful? Just holding her and using her tail as an anchor doesn't work because she is incredibly evasive when the bottle gets close to her face. I hate having to upset her so much, and so often. She isn't going to like being picked up for awhile after this I think :/

by AnonONIagent Fri 30 Dec 2016, 6:49 pm

MimzytheBun wrote:I've finally been able to have a proper small animal vet look at Lola. Unfortunately, the eye has collapsed and there is no way she will regain function in it

The vet believes that she had a nasal abscess/cyst or infection which after building up so much pressure, drained through the eye. Her scratching at it destroyed the tissues beyond saving. The vet was able to give me antibiotic eye drops which I have to administer every two hours, and pain medication every 24 hours.

Poor girl, the vet visit was incredibly stressful for her - I've never scruffed her before, and she does not like it one bit. She took a couple good bites out of me and the vet as we tried together; I think the breeder she came from must have done it to her because she is MASTERFUL at ducking out of your fingers at the last second and flipping around.

On that note, does anyone have tips on how to do this easier/make the process less stressful? Just holding her and using her tail as an anchor doesn't work because she is incredibly evasive when the bottle gets close to her face. I hate having to upset her so much, and so often. She isn't going to like being picked up for awhile after this I think :/

What I would do when I had medicate Sarah I would let her grip onto my shirt while scruffing her and then gently press her into me. This seemed to calm her wriggling enough to make her relatively easy to medicate. I would also give her a treat afterwards for being a trooper.

Poor girl, that's so awful! I hope she recovers soon.

by MooMouse Fri 30 Dec 2016, 8:30 pm

I'm not sure if you have already tried this or if it would work for eye drops but it could be worth a shot. This video is from the Health Packet:

by CinnamonPearl Fri 30 Dec 2016, 10:40 pm

What I do when I medicate mice is bundle them tightly in a towel, fingers over the face so they can't squeeze out, and then administer the meds. For me, doing it was immensely difficult at first, but with practice, I could eventually speed medicate four mice within ten minutes, 2+ different meds for each. I'm sure you'll find a way that works for you.

So sorry to hear about her eye. But don't fret too much. Once you take care of the pain, mice don't care about their eyesight that much. It's all about hearing and smell for them. Their eyesight is so poor that it's not too big of a difference for them.

by scaredymouse Sat 31 Dec 2016, 6:04 pm

I'm sorry to hear about her eye but things should look up from here if the antibiotics do their job. I think it was already mentioned but your mousie will be fine without the vision in that eye. It won't impact her quality of life at all.

Try out the method for medicating that everyone described and let us know of any of them work for you. Every mouse is different but my favorite methods are plain old scruffing, burrito mouse where you wrap then in a washcloth with the head secure, and velco mouse where you sick the mouse to your shirt/then scruff, press into me & medicate.

by MimzytheBun Mon 02 Jan 2017, 3:00 pm

So update on Lola: she is doing better Smile

Her eye no longer has any signs of blood or scabbing, the eyelid can close and it looks much cleaner. I've been giving her drops every other hour or so, and pain medication every day. Her behaviour is still good and she is spending every night snuggling with the other girls.

Thank you for the suggestions to help with dosing, she has become much better with the drops since I've worked out a "burrito" method with cloth.

Unfortunately the vet consulted the specialists and they recommend surgery or being put down. Their opinion is the damaged flesh of the eye, if not removed, will be a source of pain and infection her whole life. I... don't know if I agree. I obviously don't want her to live a life of pain, but if she is still behaving the same, sparking and socializing, eating and playing, I don't want to preemptively end her life Sad

I'm expecting the vet to get back to me with an estimate in the next few days, but jeez. "Her whole life" might be less than a year anyways (she is close to 6mnths now) and I would be fine continuing to give her pain medication daily for possible eye ouchies. I'd be grateful to hear some of your opinions on this, and what you would do...

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