Gutted :( Sudden death in mice

3218 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by unicorn, May 10, 2010

Kallan

Discussion Starter · May 8, 2010

I've just found two of my mice dead - both were in separate boxes, one in a big one, one in a smaller one. I use the Terrariums. In both cages the water bottles were at least half full and working properly, both had food, there were no signs of illness in either mouse. One mouse was the broken black tan male, the other was my only siamese female

The other 8 mice, in similar housing and in the same room, are fine, with no signs of distress or ill health.

Anyone any experience of this? Could it possible be temperature related?

I'm heartbroken, I loved Ecclie and Amy

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Jack Garcia

· #2 · May 8, 2010

Oh no!

As long as they have houses and are free from drafts, cold never kills mice; heat does often, though. I can't imagine it's very hot in Scotland, though.

It's odd that they both died at the same time in different cages.

Kallan

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 8, 2010

Still cleaning out the rest. No food or water changes, no difference in what they got compared to others :S Just checked the max/min thermometer - maximum it got to in the living room, where they are, was 25.6oC. I wouldn't have thought this to be very high?

Yelena

· #4 · May 8, 2010

I would have thought other mice would have died or at least be ill if it was to do with temperature though I'm no expert.

Sry for your lost, amazing how attached you can get to something so small

WillowDragon

· #5 · May 8, 2010

25 degree's centigrade is too hot for a mouse. 14 degree's centigrade is ideal... anything over 18 or 19 degree's is very uncomfortable for them.
I may be off with those temps, but that is what i have been told, and what i have read.

W xx

*edit* Temp can kill mice in minutes depending on the extremeness of it. Has the tempreture in that room suddenly got hotter or has it always been hot?

Kallan

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 8, 2010

No sudden temperature changes, at the moment it's 20oC. It doesn't get direct sunlight, so takes a while to heat up and cool down.

zany_toon

· #7 · May 8, 2010

Oh no!! So sorry to hear of the death of two of your mice Kallan. I wouldn't have thought that the temperature has caused it though, I'm not too far from where you live and it doesn't seem to have affected my mice. Is it possibly their age? I hope that the rest of your mice are okay *hugs*

windyhill

· #8 · May 9, 2010

I am sorry for your loss.
I have no idea what it could be

The Boggit keeper

· #9 · May 9, 2010

So sorry to hear about your meeces

Just a completely uneducated idea but were the mice that died from the same litter? Just wondered if it could be some related weakness like a heart defect?
I hope you manage to come up with something that you feel was a likely cause of death because It just adds some reason to things. xXx

Kallan

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 9, 2010

They were two separate lines, one siamese doe several months old, one pet shop broken tan male approaching a year.

I am getting ceramic tiles today, and little tubs to freeze water in, in case it was temperature.

zany_toon

· #11 · May 9, 2010

Kallan said:
They were two separate lines, one siamese doe several months old, one pet shop broken tan male approaching a year.

I am getting ceramic tiles today, and little tubs to freeze water in, in case it was temperature.

Could you try the little freezer packs from Poundstretcher Extra or Asda? You can reuse them and they are only slightly bigger than a hand in size so you could leave them in the cage if you're concerned about the temperature

moustress

· #12 · May 9, 2010

Sad and shocking to find two dead like that, I know. 25C is at the high end of what I would consider an acceptable range of temps for meeces. The only thing I can think of is some food or water problem; crud grows faster at higher temps. I try not to leave any raw food in the tanks when it's warm, and water can look and smell fine but still harbor nasty microbes.

The only other thing that comes to mind is exposure to some sort of toxin, i.e. the sort of thing that happens by accident, like overheating a nonstick pan, one of the older kinds, and that releases substane that is fatal to some kinds or birds, and might be to meeces as well. Sensitivity to airborne chemicals can vary a lot from one mousie to the next for a lot of different reasons. Or maybe there was a loud noise or disturbance in the vicinity and they die of a seizure/fright. I've had meeces that seized up when I turned on the light in the mousery, or opened their cage. Needless to say, I try not ot breed from lines that show that kind of problem.

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ian

· #13 · May 9, 2010

Its a shame to have lost two mice at the same time.

How many do you have?

I find that mine tend to become ill at the same time, and a couple of times I've had mice from different tanks die suddenly. I put it down to some contagious disease which the vast majority are unaffected by, the deaths occur in immunity weak individuals which otherwise seem healthy. You say the buck was a pet shop mouse approaching a year of age, depending on his breeding that might be his natural life length so it may have just been a coincidence.

moustress

· #14 · May 9, 2010

I've noticed that extreme changes in weather seem to bring on a spate of deaths, in older meeces especially, even though my mousery is pretty carefully cooled and heated to maintain a good tamp range. Is it barometric change doing it? I know my sinuses spazz out from stuff like that, and my old bod gets cranky. Or maybe it's seasonal as well, it seems to me it might be.

unicorn

· #15 · May 10, 2010

I have not lost any at all Kallan, I will have a look at what I have here and get a female to you, it may be blue carrying seal if thats ok with you, I will be in Keith on the 15th May and should be able to get it to Dave to drop off if you want.
So srry to hear this has happened. Pm me

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