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When you have more than one animal in a cage together, including mice, And one dies out of the blue, It’s important to follow certain procedures to ensure the safety of your other animals as well as to test for possible causes of the death. This article will explain what to do when only one pet mouse dies but none of the others do. We also go into what you should do with multiple casualties that happen in a short term.
Determining the cause of death is important to avoid more deaths
When a pet mouse dies and you don’t know why it’s important to find out the cause of death before anything else.
This will help you determine if there is a danger to the other mice in the cage or if this was just a one-time event.
There are many possible causes of death in mice, so it’s important to be thorough in your investigation.
If the mouse was sick or injured, determine how it happened and if there is a chance that the other mice could get sick or injured in the same way.
If the mouse died of old age, this is less likely to be contagious but you should still look for any signs of illness in the other mice.
Once you have determined the cause of death, you can take steps to prevent it from happening again.
If the mouse died of a disease, make sure to quarantine the other mice and take them to the vet for checkups if you think it’s necessary.
In addition, the entire cage should be sterilized with bleach. This includes all toys and water bottles. Rinse the bleach off very well.
All bedding should be replaced, any uneaten food should be disposed of, and fresh food and water should be given.
You should also increase the frequency of cage cleanings to prevent any disease from spreading.
The remaining mice ideally should be put in quarantine individually, however, if you don’t have enough cages this is not always possible.
If you can’t quarantine, make sure to clean the cage more often and keep a close eye on the mice for any signs of illness.
If the mouse died of old age, there is little you can do to prevent it from happening again but you should still keep an eye on the other mice for any sign of illness.
If the mouse was injured, make sure to remove any potential hazards from the cage and keep a close eye on the other mice to make sure they don’t get hurt.
Proper handling of the dead mouse
It’s important to take care of the dead mouse properly to avoid any health hazards.
Pick it up with gloves or a paper towel and put it in a plastic bag.
Tie the bag shut and put it in the freezer until you can dispose of it.
Do not flush the mouse down the toilet as this can cause problems with your plumbing.
Always wash your hands after handling the dead mouse, even the pet variety.
Here’s an article we wrote about disposing of dead pet mice in a nice way.
Give it a read as it may help you get over the death of your beloved pet mouse.
What to do now?
Now it’s time to heal your broken heart and give your surviving mice the best care possible.
While you do that, You should keep an eye on the other mice for any signs of illness and take precautions to prevent any more deaths from happening. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments below.
Replacing your pet mouse with a new one
There are several reasons you would want to get another pet mouse.
Whatever that reason is, You should determine if that’s the best thing for your other mice.
If you do get another mouse, it’s important to take some precautions to ensure that the new mouse is healthy and won’t spread any diseases to the other mice.
It’s also important your mice won’t spread disease to the new mouse.
Mice are social creatures and like to live in pairs or more. If you only have 1 mouse left in the cage after the other has died, you may want to consider getting another mouse so your pet isn’t lonely.
Before you bring the new mouse home, make sure to clean the cage thoroughly with bleach and rinse it off well.
You should also quarantine the new mouse for a week or two before adding it to the cage.
This will give you time to make sure the new mouse is healthy and doesn’t have any diseases.
It will also give the other mice time to get used to the new mouse’s scent.
When you do add the new mouse to the cage, make sure to introduce them slowly.
Start by letting them see each other through the bars of the cage.
After a few days, you can let them smell each other through the bars.
If everything goes well, you can then let them meet face to face.
Make sure to supervise when they first meet and for a few days after to make sure there’s no fighting.
After a week or two, they should be good friends.
These are just a few things to keep in mind when making the decision to get another pet mouse.
What to do if more than one mice die at once, short time between, or mass cage death
As with any mass death of animals, it’s important to try and determine the cause.
If you have multiple mice die in a short period of time, it’s likely due to disease.
Isolate any survivors in a bare bottom (for now) quarantine cage with only fresh water.
Quarantine the affected dead mice in a tight bag, double bagged.
Try to figure out the cause of death. Multiple deaths mean there’s a shared vector, and you need to know what it is to save the survivors.
This could be environmental, desires, or ingestion.
Be sure to scrutinize the bedding and food you use in the cage for any contaminates.
If you can’t figure out the cause, bring a sample of the bedding and the affected mice to your veterinarian for testing.
If the type of bedding you use is ok, you may add some to the bare bottom quarantine cage along with verified safe food to make the survivors more comfortable.
Remember, the goal is to save the lives of your mice, not to have a pretty cage.
A mass death event is serious and needs to be dealt with as such.
Bring the survivors to the vet asap when possible and take appropriate action to prevent any more deaths.
The affected cage should be completely neutralized of any potential contaminants and be left empty for at least 2 weeks before being used again.
Again, clean with bleach and rinse well.
Don’t put any new mice in the cage until you’re sure it’s safe.
