Mice

[flowerfairy]

I have recently adopted 4 female mice from a local rescue.

They were all fine for a day or two then one of them started to have really rattly breathing.

The vet prescribed baytril for them and gave me a syringe to give it to them with (they all sneeze a bit now).

Thing is they are quite nervous about being handled so I want to put it in their food but ... they eat such TINY amounts.

The vet said to put it in their water but it is so bitter that I didnt want to risk them not drinking.

Ideas on the best way to medicate them esp Toni who has such awful rattly breathing would be most welcome.

Ps they live in the borneo xl with fitch bedding.

[Ria P]

I've never had mice but found that syringing the Baytril with a little Ribena straight into my hamster's mouth was the only way to make sure he had taken the prescribed dose.
Food just didn't work because he either didn't want to eat at the time, didn't like the food or hoarded it so there was no way of knowing when/if he had taken the Baytril mixed in food.

[cypher]

Have you been in touch with the rescue? I don’t know much about mice but I believe respiratory problems are quite common so they probably have experience in the best way to give meds.

[flowerfairy]

I have messaged the rescue and am waiting for a reply.

Yes I reakon a syringe with ribena could be the next step.

Toni sounds a good deal better today. Baytril is in loads of different foods all over the cage but it is a somewhat random approach.

[LunaTheHamster1]

Flower fairy, so sorry to hear you are going through this. I have no idea about mice, but i know at one point i was diluting the baytrill with water and then put a dab of honey on the end, you put the baytrill in the syringe first, then add the water, then the honey, so they get the nice taste first.
I have no idea if that would be ok for mice though.
Hopefully the rescue can advise you

[flowerfairy]

Hey thanks Luna. Will give that a go tomorrow.

They are so utterly lively and entertaining and investigate anything that goes into the cage. They are like tiny deer, shy yet curious and so pretty.

[Ria P]

Flowerfairy, i have a question not directly related to your thread.

Do you know of a forum for mice where i can do some research?

I may get a pair of harvest mice in the future but at the moment know nothing about them.

[sushi_78]

I looked into harvest mice once and found lots of good information here: https://www.rodentzone.com/harvest-mice-as-pets/

I don't know of any forums for harvest mice, a better place for information about exotic species might be one of the Facebook groups like Exotic Rodent Breeders UK or Keeping and breeding harvest mice.

This website looks good too: Harvest Mice

I've mostly heard of people keeping them in breeding colonies so not sure if they can be kept in same sex pairs. I think mice in general do best in groups rather than pairs, the more the better if there's enough space.

[AmityvilleHams]

Originally Posted by sushi_78

I think mice in general do best in groups rather than pairs, the more the better if there's enough space.

That would be true of females but not males. In general the consensus I've found is that males do best on their own much like hamsters - they're extremely territorial and can and often will fight to the point of severe injury or even death, although I can't say for sure this would be true of harvest mice.

[sushi_78]

Originally Posted by AmityvilleHams

That would be true of females but not males. In general the consensus I've found is that males do best on their own much like hamsters - they're extremely territorial and can and often will fight to the point of severe injury or even death, although I can't say for sure this would be true of harvest mice.

Of course, I forgot about the males. Male harvest mice don't seem to be aggressive like male fancy mice. European male fancy mice have been bred for a less aggressive temperament and can be kept together when neutered. US mice usually cannot.