My daughter bought 6 mice (much to my dismay) 2-3 weeks ago. One ran away about a week after we got it (we learned that the cage allowed this). But recently, two mice have died. My daughter tells me that she feeds them daily, they have plenty of water, and she cleans their cage every other day. My daughter is heartbroken and thinks she is killing them. What's happening???
Also...
My husband bought her a large bag of pine for bedding (could this be the problem?).
At first the sick ones became lethargic (not running in their wheel), then in a couple of of hours they lay down (breathing hard) and they die soonafter.
Please help!
2007-06-18 12:56:38 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
Pine isn't good for mice. They inhale the fibers and it messes with their respiratory system. Try Carefresh bedding. It's made from recycled paper, is softer, and cleaner. My mice love it. It's a little more expensive, but it's worth it.
2007-06-18 13:18:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I tell EVERYONE not to but rodents in those wire cages that you buy at the petstore that they say are perfect for rodents. They are not. When you put a bunch of mice together and you don't know where they came from there will be diseases that they can carry. I'm not saying that ALL mice or rats are diseased but in some pet stores they don't get them checked by a vet before they sell them.If you have an air freshener in the room try taking it out. The pine bedding is not good for them and it isn't very comfortable for them either. Try aspen bedding. Also, you need to find out the sex of the mice and separate the boys from the girls or in about a month you will be out number by mice.
2007-06-18 13:54:43 · answer #2 · answered by A Fire Inside 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since the little ones died so soon after bringing them home, they were probably sick to begin with. Unfortunately, pet stores are seldom the best place to find companion mice. Mice and rats are often kept in overcrowded conditions & illness is very common. I hope the remaining mice are healthy & will enjoy long healthy lives. Please change their bedding. Pine and cedar are dangerous for rodents & although aspen is usually said to be okay, it doesn't seem very comforable. There are several other products that work very nicely. Carefresh Ultra even comes in different colors. Also, you might want to use filtered water for them and make sure that their food is fresh and wholesome. If there are boys & girls together, separate them-- the girls can have a new litter every 3 weeks!
2007-06-18 19:40:10 · answer #3 · answered by Catkin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pine bedding is not good for mice, but 2-3 weeks of it would not kill them. It is very possible that they were sick when you got them. Pet stores are not the best place to get rodents.
Heavy breathing is a sign of a respiratory infection. Pine bedding will agrivate this.
In my own experience pet store mice do not live that long to begin with. Mine averaged around 6 months, especially the white ones. The mice I raised from birth with proper nutrition for the mother(prenatal) and babies they lived over 2 years.
2007-06-18 19:00:00 · answer #4 · answered by Prodigy556 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try going to shredded corn cobs that you can buy at a pet store, for bedding. I know that cedar chips is not good for small animals, but I don't know about pine chips.
Is the food moldy? Is she using something toxic to clean the cage out? Try getting another cage, and put the males in this one. Maybe the males and females are fighting.
Do you have a cat that could be clawing at them through the cage? Do you have one of those sonic pest removers?
Because the mice had problems breathing, try using different bedding. Check their eyes and noses to see if they have a cold. They also could have been poisoned by something.
Bad food had gotten into my rabbit food before and killed them. Maybe the food that you bought isn't safe for them to eat.
I hope that you figure out what is killing them.
2007-06-18 13:09:56 · answer #5 · answered by Amanda J 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
well, for people who don't have any sympathy for the mouse... I'm not with you on that one. However, your dog was doing what its breed does best. That being said, I know that sometimes animals get so scared they go into shock. One time two rotties in my neighborhood got loose and started chasing this chipmunk who ran into the pipe that leads down from the gutter. The dogs couldn't get him but they were tearing up and shaking the pipe so much it terrified the chipmunk. After we got the dogs to go away, we dumped the pipe upside down and it was pretty much like the way you described that mouse. Eventually it got over it and ran away. I'm not sure how badly your JR mauled the mouse, but it IS possible its not that bad and it's just in shock. In my humble opinion, I would say either take it to the vet, or if you don't want to, put it in a shoebox and see if it'll get better or if it dies. Good luck.
2016-05-19 01:26:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
get them onto newspaper or paper towels ASAP
I've never had a problem with shavings but it could be. Sometimes the fumes from the products is enough to overtake the little rodent.
If it happened only after changing the cage, then RIGHT NOW GET THEM OUT OF IT!
If its been over time, be sure they are being fed properly and that they are old enough to be eating.
Weather - if its over 85 degrees, this can quickly kill them - direct sunlight, etc.
So many factors - its really hard to say, but i'd start with first cleaning out the cage and using only newspaper or papertowels flat on the bottom until they are doing better then slowly add in bedding.
2007-06-18 13:02:49 · answer #7 · answered by â? Phoebe 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
it isn't the daughter
it's your husband who is killing them kinda
you see pine bedding gives out this toxic which when the mice breath in it poisions them so dont use anymore pine or cider shavings and basically most wood shavings try something like carefresh or something like that
PS: you are most likely to end up with about 100 more mice because if they are all together (male and femle) the will breed quickly
good luck with all your mice and possibly soon to be mice
2007-06-18 13:23:48 · answer #8 · answered by _teddybear_ 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get all the mice out of that cage. clean the cage from top to bottom with sop and water, them until u can go to the store just put newspaper in the cage. good luck.
owner of 2 rats.
2007-06-19 00:57:19 · answer #9 · answered by Hick Chick<3! 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bedding is probably the problem i am sooooo sorry about your daughters mice I would change the bedding to Carefresh it is the best bedding you can get then go to the vet and see what you can do about it!!!
Sorry about the mice!!!!!
2007-06-18 15:27:12 · answer #10 · answered by ............ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋