Unhealthy Mouse

Awesome guys thanks.

I have had my eyes out for many of those risk factors when feeding live. I can always tell in the first 30 seconds if he's going to eat it or not: hence my need for a mouse house this year!

Money has never been a concern and I do have a good source for frozen in different neighbourhood. Maybe a frozen will be his next one! He probably remembers eating them as it was only two years ago!

Hmm. That's interesting. I had no idea they added oils to bird seed. I did know they had a fairly high fat/oil content naturally. I've seen people suggest bird seed before, and I have used it as a sort of supplement/enrichment/treat when I used to raise mice, but I never gave it exclusively.

Still, any animal eating itself to death in 3 days is just... wow. I wonder if there may have been other issues that complicated it?

If you do try frozen and have any trouble getting him to take it, my first suggestion would be to get the head very hot (some people use a blow dryer aimed right at the head, recently I've had good success with dipping the head in VERY hot water), and use tongs to wiggle it around a little bit. Corns usually aren't a problem though, assuming they are healthy and the temps are correct and stuff like that.

Since you say he's a he... have you noticed any pattern to his refusals that relate to the time of year? Some males get distracted during breeding season.

Originally Posted by kc261

Hmm. That's interesting. I had no idea they added oils to bird seed. I did know they had a fairly high fat/oil content naturally. I've seen people suggest bird seed before, and I have used it as a sort of supplement/enrichment/treat when I used to raise mice, but I never gave it exclusively.

Still, any animal eating itself to death in 3 days is just... wow. I wonder if there may have been other issues that complicated it?

She was a dwarf hamster, and they don't live long. She outlived her 3 sisters, and I just poured a handful in her bowl one night. It was like she immediately went from healthy to extremely obese in days.

I think the seeds in rodent food is roasted or toasted to remove excess fat and oils, when you look at the seeds in the wild bird food bag they look shinier, like they are oiled down. Strangest (and saddest) thing I've gone through with my hamsters!

Dang Guys.

I guess it wasn't ventilation. Little mouse was happy and rearing to go last night. I moved him into another container w/o a lid (it was just too tall for him to get out) while cleaning the other one.

After work today he had the same symptoms. Tonight, dead...


Yes, the corn is a male and this is the third spring in a row where he has not eaten for like... 4-10 weeks, and spends the day trying to get out of his viv. Definitely mating season.

Just to be clear: he has been in the non-lid container all day.

Sorry you lost the little guy. It did shock me when your description of him sounded so bad, but then he seemed to get better. Mice just aren't supposed to be lethargic animals, so when they are (other than brief moments of sleepiness) it is usually a sign that they are quite sick.