Lethargic and cold mousie... ?

by FurMommy Sun 23 Jul 2017, 11:37 pm

Hi everyone! I have a new mousie, about 8 weeks old. She's been in quarantine since I brought her home, about 3 weeks now. She has showed no signs of illness at all, til today. This afternoon she appeared fine. Moving about her cage as usual. Tonight I went to check on her and she was sitting in one of her hides. I moved the hide to pick her up, and instead of her climbing on my hand like she usually does, she just sat there, not moving. I scooped her up and still... She wouldn't move. Her breathing appeared to be a little slow, not quick short breaths like I'm used to seeing. And her body felt colder than usual. No sneezing or coughing or any other abnormal sounds. She went to walk and fell off my hand. Instead of gripping onto me and trying to catch herself, she just dropped. Like she has no strength. She didn't fall far, so no worries there. I tried getting her to drink some water and she wasn't interested. I have no idea what could be wrong with her. If I had to list her symptoms, I would say lethargic and low body temp. Anyone have any ideas??? Thanks!!!

by Peachy Mon 24 Jul 2017, 12:11 am

What's the temperature in your home? Was she drinking water or is she dehydrated? Pinch up the skin on her neck, and if it stays pinched up you'll need to help rehydrate her.

I would get her to a vet as quick as you can. Keep her warm (holding her or placing half her tank over a heating pad) and keep trying to get her to drink.

Read this page for info on Emergency Supplies like heating pads, KMR, Pedialyte, and Gatorade to help dehydrated mice.
https://www.petmousefanciers.com/t25-health-packet#14

My best to you and your girl. I hope she makes a strong comeback! Good vibes

by FurMommy Mon 24 Jul 2017, 12:33 am

Thank you for such a quick reply! I keep a thermometer in the room so I always know if it gets too warm or cold for the mousies. The temp is usually around 70-75°. At the moment it's 72.6°. I put a heating pad on the cage to help warm her up. She lays on it for a bit, and then moves. I've tried several times to get her to drink but she's not interested. Do I just keep trying, put the bottle up to her and hope she drinks? Or is there some other way to help her stay hydrated? I did try pinching her to see if she's dehydrated but she ran away each time. Well, walked away, not ran. I didn't want to cause her anymore distress so I let her be, but I'll try again.

It's just so odd to me that this afternoon she appeared to be fine. At what point she started to not feel well, I'm not sure. I wasn't home most of the day. She has me so worried! Unless she's moving to get away from me or away from the heating pad, she just lays there.

by FurMommy Mon 24 Jul 2017, 12:36 am

I tried pinching her again, and best I can tell, the skin goes right back. But she scurries away every time I try.

by Vladka31 Thu 10 Dec 2020, 11:00 am

Hey, any updates on how your mouse turned out? Basically the same exact thing is happening to my mouse, she lives with 5 others though and is 8-9 months old

by River Thu 10 Dec 2020, 12:23 pm

@FurMommy hasn't been on in about 3.5 years. Is it cold where you live? Try to keep her warm if so. If you don't have a heat-mat, hold her when possible and put more nesting material in the cage. Could you syringe feed her some water or even Pedialyte?

by Vladka31 Thu 10 Dec 2020, 2:26 pm

Thanks @River
It’s not especially cold here in Arizona. At night it gets in the 40s but it’s warmer in the house. I added a little towel and I’ve been using a small ice pack that I heated and at first held her with a towel and the heat pack. She would sit on it and then move away.
She seems to start eating and then freezes and stoops moving. She is now drinking water, but I could syringe feed her easily she won’t run, do you think I need to? I also have pedialyte powder.
This morning she was alone, away from the other huddled mice. She seemed so cold so I put the heat pack on the side of the tank and that seemed to help because an hour later she was begging for food like usual! But she still looks scrawny and is not quite right.

by Vladka31 Fri 11 Dec 2020, 12:27 pm

Well, she seemed to be making a lot of improvement and had a strong appetite. But this morning I found out she didn’t make it. She also has rectal prolapse now. Judging by some blood smeared around the cage, it looks like this happened shortly before she died. Not sure of exactly what happened.