name of condition, and way to help?

Question

i work at a pet shop and i get really fond of all the animals that come and go. two weeks ago we got two young pinky mice who's mother had died. we got them feeding on another mothering mouse, but they were often neglected and had to be helped and watched often to make sure they were being fed. they were feeder mice and should not have been worth the trouble but i fell in love with the lil guys. now they are hoppers, both black, and both damaged. one of them, smaller and scruffy, runs continuosly in circles, looking to the left if running to the right and vice versa. he is unable to walk in a strait line, but feeds himself fine, when he manages to get to the food dish. the other one is the most un-active young mouse i have ever seen, he sits and does not move no matter what happens around him, i think he may be deaf and blind. the two of them are very fond of eachother, and are always side by side, attempting to clean eachother and helping eachother out. how can i help them? -17/f/can

Answer 1

There might be two reasons- The mother died of a genetic disease and the babies inherited it, or were infected by a parasite (maybe a prion). Couldn't tell you the name though.

Another is because the mother was ill and was not able to give them the proper nutrition through nursing, and since they were neglected by their surrogate mother their nervous systems didn't develope properly. They probably won't live very long.

Answer 2

ok, so one thing you can do, if you haven't already, is go to the vet and make sure these mice are healthy.

also, ask your vet what to do. he would be the best one to answer this question.

see if you can find an energy water or food for the mice. this should help the inactive mouse.

for the one that can't really find his way around, build or buy a mouse maze, where he could possibly learn to get a grasp of his surroundings. put a treat at the end to give him a motive.

WARNING: this i just came up with because of common knowledge. make sure this is all safe before you try ANYTHING. good luck!

Answer 3

Take them home and have them be your pets.

Answer 4

buy them so they don't end up in a snakes stomache