I must have spent 20 minutes on my cell phone with the vet’s office (in my car, in between classes), trying to get the mice in for a second opinion. The receptionist was very nice, albeit somewhat spacey, and she squeezed us in for 12pm this Wednesday (my only other option was Sunday evening – um, no thanks).

But do you know what this means? I have to skip Bio lecture. For mom and anyone else who may be concerned, I talked with my professor, and she said it was fine. This was after she gave a schpiel to the class about how humans and mice are quite closely related. Yeah, I know it’s a stretch, but if it works to generate sympathy in my favor, I’ll take it.

Now it’s just a matter of taking a deep breath and reminding myself that I don’t have control over everything. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been praying that these mice stay active and strong – so far, so good…Thanks, God.

Supplies for one Treasure Box:

1 empty box (if it is cardboard, it will be destroyed)
Hay (I prefer Timothy)
Small Treats

I usually use a 12-pack soda box for rats, and a small Kleenex box for mice. The size and type best for you will depend on what will fit in your pet’s home and what you have on hand. The hay can be purchased in small pre-packaged quantities from most pet stores, or by the flake from many feed stores. I use grain mix, cereal, or raisins for treats, but any small food item will work.

Step 1  Put a small handful of hay into the box. Use enough to cover the bottom with a thin layer.
Step 2  Scatter in a few treats. Use 3 or 4 raisins, pieces of cereal, or a small handful of grain mix.
Step 3  Stuff in a large size handful of hay.
Step 4  Repeat step 2.
Step 5  Continue repeating steps 2 and 3 until either the box is stuffed so full of hay that you cannot get any more in, or until you run out.

This is your finished Treasure Box. You may want to gently shake it so that the treats get mixed in well. Place the box in your critters’ home, and have fun watching your “pi–rats“ (and mice) hunt for the buried treasure. After they have found all the treats, they will take the box and hay and make it into a snug nest.

from the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association

After posting the vet’s diagnosis on the RMCA forum, a poster replied and was quite adamant that our vet was wrong. This person is fairly well respected as a mouse expert, so I heard him out. He said I should put the boys on antibiotics to see what happens. If there is an improvement, then in was an infection, and if not, then it couldn’t hurt. He didn’t buy the “allergy” diagnosis.

Well, I had a few thoughts as I responded to this:

- Antibiotics also act as anti-inflammatories. A positive outcome does not confirm that there was an infection, because lung inflammation due to allergies would improve with a round of antibiotics. But of course, the root cause would still be there, and at some point the mice would “relapse”.

- The mice have been chattering for several weeks now; it hasn’t gotten better, it hasn’t gotten worse. And dusty/moldy hay is a very plausible cause.

So I’ll be cleaning their cages, changing bedding, and completely removing the hay, to see if that helps.

However…

I am not willing to discount this person’s advice completely. Respiratory ailments are very common in mice and rats, with no apparent cause. Antibiotics are common treatment, and they are generally well-received, with very few side effects (I’ve seen enough upset tummies lately, thankyouverymuch)

There are a few mouse-friendly antibiotics that can be bought without prescription, and I am looking into that option. Of course, actually getting the medicine into the mice should prove interesting.