Should I get my mouse euthanized?

by BrendoniUrie Sun 12 Jul 2020, 7:18 pm

Hey so these are my first three mice that I've owned, and this July is now the 17th month that I've had my three girls. I did get them all at the same time and two of them had noticeable growth while the third remained roughly the same size, so my guess is that she was already at adult size when I got her. (They're all from Petco because that's what was reasonable for a teenager in my area, the nearest breeders at the time were at least 1 hr away). So at minimum she is around 19/20 months old.

Now, why I'm wondering if I should get her euthanized is because she's stopped using her back legs as much, if at all when walking but she'll still use them to scratch behind her ears. I'm sure she's in some kind of pain. In addition, as a result of her not using her back legs she has been dragging her belly on the bedding and it's bare of fur. There's no scabbing, but she is totally bald on her belly, and has thinned out fur on top. She is eating but even though she's always been a smaller mouse, now she is so thin I can feel vertebrae. There are no noticeable lumps or bumps on her.

The exotic vet is 30 min away from my house and the longest car ride she's been on is 5 min from the store to my house. I'm worried she'll be stressed to be away from her sisters like that to go to a new place because I don't want to drive the other two around for an hour unnecessarily. That seems like a terrible way to die, but is it worse than letting her live out the rest of her days at home where she'll likely starve to death in pain, but with her sisters?

Note: I will be asking the regular vet about 3 min away if they have a method to put down mice, if they do I'll just bring them all along on the ride.

So I guess my questions are:
1. How much pain is she in?
2. Should I have her euthanized or just let her live out her days? Is the pain severe enough to warrant the 30 min trip alone to the exotic vet?
3. Any other experience or notes you have. Thank you.

by Peachy Tue 14 Jul 2020, 4:41 am

This is hard to say without seeing her. Signs of pain and illness can be squinted eyes, hunched posture, labored breathing, unkempt fur, decreased activity. Thin fur and fur loss can be allergies to bedding, especially if not paper or scented. A vet would be better able to help you assess her quality of life and maybe offer pain medications to help her mobility if she appears in good health otherwise.

This is likely meant for larger pets but has good tips to consider while evaluating quality of life. https://journeyspet.com/quality-of-life-scale-pets/

I’m sorry you have to consider this. Stay well. Good vibes

by chiroptera Wed 15 Jul 2020, 12:04 am

From the sounds of things, I would probably have her put to sleep if I were in your position - but this is a very difficult decision, which really has no one right answer. And of course, you know your animal more than any of us do.

If your mouse isn't scared of you, and enjoys being held or riding along on a shoulder or hand, I think she'll be okay if you hold her on the way to the vet. I rarely use carriers for my mice on their "last ride" to the vet, and instead snuggle them all the way. Of course, you may not be able to do that if you'd be driving yourself to the vet. On the other hand, I wouldn't be very worried about a 30 minute drive for the others, my vet is 30-40 minutes away and I've never seen them get too overwhelmed on the trip, nor have I seen any issues on the hour and a half trip to/from my breeder. If you think having her sisters along would help her, then it might be worth it for them to make the drive.

No matter what you decide, I'm sure your sweet girl is in good hands, and I wish you both the best.

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