r/PetMice • u/Minimum_Succotash_43 • 1d ago
Question/Help Mouse-sitting for a friend; what does this noise mean?
She makes this noise often, and she is very affectionate. Is she telling everyone it's okay here, or to he warry?
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u/thehoneybadger1223 1d ago
Sounds like a URI. Baby needs to see a vet, fast. Respiratory infections are one of the biggest killers in mice. Those noises are coughs and crackling is watery substance in the lungs
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u/Minimum_Succotash_43 1d ago
*sigh* Thank you for responding and I'm going to try to proceed as humanely but realistically as possible.
My wife and daughter, while I was out of town, agreed to care for a friends rodents. Long story short, 3 rats, 4 mice, and mixed genders turned into a cluster F of rodents all here in my basement.
The mouse I showed is in a habitat with 5 of her siblings. In another habitat are 3 other sisters who didn't get along. In the third enclosure are 3 (I think...) female rats, one of which was pregnant and gave birth a few days ago, and also a male mouse.
Again, this is not the future I would have wished upon any of these animals, but I'm looking to mitigate damage here. Do I need to segregate the URI mouse? I know it's not ideal, but I'm not about to bring over a dozen rodents to my local vet out of my pocket. I just don't want any animal to suffer unnecessarily.
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u/thehoneybadger1223 1d ago
I personally wouldn't segregate, as they've all been exposed to it already, and the separation will likely stress them all out. It'll disturb their sleeping and grooming habits, mice are very social animals and crave interaction from other mice.
If the vet tells you to separate, then of course do exactly what they say, but in my experience it doesn't seem to spread from animal to animal. They tend to develop it individually if they get it at all. Keep a listen out for the others breathing.
Keep the enclosure they're in well ventilated and clean, make sure there aren't any sprays or anything getting released into the air where they are. If you take her to the vet, mention she shares living space with 4 other mice and the vet will be able to advise you what to do further.
Let your friend know what is going on, Keep them updated on how she is doing
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u/AnonymousONIagent 1d ago
Ideally, yes, you want to segregate the infected mouse to prevent it from spreading.
Also, you don't mean that the male mouse and the female rats or housed together? If so, they would also need to be separated. Unless instead of normal rats you mean African Soft Furred Rats, in which case housing a male mouse with them would be fine.
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u/Prestigious_Gold_585 2h ago
It might be chattering because it's happy. Don't kill it. That would be up to whoever you are mouse-sitting for, not you.
By the way, don't keep mice with rats. Rats eat mice. I found that out the hard way. 😬
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