Mouse Death :(

I've never posted here; my pet's death has me terribly upset and
I'm not sure why my mouse died, and am looking for answers.

On Saturday, I went to the Pet Store to buy gerbil food, and ended up
buying a feeder mouse because I didn't want it to be eaten by a
snake. I named the mouse Rizzo, and paid a lot of attention to it; I
bought it a separate aquarium and I even put together a little maze
out of pieces I bought from PetCo.

I thought the mouse was healthy. The only thing different from my
mouse and my gerbils was that my mouse constantly made these clicking
sounds. I thought maybe that is how mice behave, so I continued to
play with my mouse and let him crawl all over me. I played with
Rizzo every day for about a half hour to an hour. I let him out and
let him play in a small pen. I fed him Forti-Diet food that said the
food was designed for rats and mice. He nibbled on some wheat bread
earlier this week, and also some rice. I didn't think these would be
harmful (I googled to check and see if they were harmful, but didn't
come up with anything -- some of the care lists didn't mention any bad
foods), and he seemed to like eating them as opposed to the Forti-Diet
food, which he rarely nibbled on.

Today, I came home from work and the first thing I checked on was the
mouse and its health. To my horror, Rizzo was lying on his side at
the base of the cage. He was still somewhat warm and twitching when
I picked him up. I wasn't sure if he was sleeping, or if something
was wrong, so I pet him a little and poked him gently to see if he'd
respond. He twitched out of my hand and fell onto the table. So, I
set him straight, and tried to get him to drink some water. I never
had to feed a mouse with a dropper before, but I tried to see if
maybe this was because he was dehydrated and tired. I rushed to the
car, to get my phone to call a vet, and by the time I came back,
Rizzo was lifeless and stopped moving.

Did I do something wrong to cause Rizzo's death? I read a book on
mice before attempting to tame him; what could have happened that
could have caused a seemingly healthy mouse to become ill and die? I
have two gerbils and they have been with me for almost a year with no
problems. Is it because Rizzo was a feeder mouse, that his health
was so frail? Do mice normally make clicking sounds when exploring?

Rest in peace, Rizzo.

In article <jXZnb.8457$4k5.5664@twister.austin.rr.com>,
deliverator[nospam]@[nospam]dontdoshit.com[nospam] (The Deliverator)
wrote:

> I've never posted here; my pet's death has me terribly upset and
> I'm not sure why my mouse died, and am looking for answers.
>
> On Saturday, I went to the Pet Store to buy gerbil food, and ended up
> buying a feeder mouse because I didn't want it to be eaten by a
> snake. I named the mouse Rizzo, and paid a lot of attention to it; I
> bought it a separate aquarium and I even put together a little maze
> out of pieces I bought from PetCo.
>
> I thought the mouse was healthy. The only thing different from my
> mouse and my gerbils was that my mouse constantly made these clicking
> sounds. I thought maybe that is how mice behave, so I continued to
> play with my mouse and let him crawl all over me. I played with
> Rizzo every day for about a half hour to an hour. I let him out and
> let him play in a small pen. I fed him Forti-Diet food that said the
> food was designed for rats and mice. He nibbled on some wheat bread
> earlier this week, and also some rice. I didn't think these would be
> harmful (I googled to check and see if they were harmful, but didn't
> come up with anything -- some of the care lists didn't mention any bad
> foods), and he seemed to like eating them as opposed to the Forti-Diet
> food, which he rarely nibbled on.
>
> Today, I came home from work and the first thing I checked on was the
> mouse and its health. To my horror, Rizzo was lying on his side at
> the base of the cage. He was still somewhat warm and twitching when
> I picked him up. I wasn't sure if he was sleeping, or if something
> was wrong, so I pet him a little and poked him gently to see if he'd
> respond. He twitched out of my hand and fell onto the table. So, I
> set him straight, and tried to get him to drink some water. I never
> had to feed a mouse with a dropper before, but I tried to see if
> maybe this was because he was dehydrated and tired. I rushed to the
> car, to get my phone to call a vet, and by the time I came back,
> Rizzo was lifeless and stopped moving.
>
> Did I do something wrong to cause Rizzo's death? I read a book on
> mice before attempting to tame him; what could have happened that
> could have caused a seemingly healthy mouse to become ill and die? I
> have two gerbils and they have been with me for almost a year with no
> problems. Is it because Rizzo was a feeder mouse, that his health
> was so frail? Do mice normally make clicking sounds when exploring?
>
> Rest in peace, Rizzo.
>
>
>
>
I'm sorry to hear about your little friend.
RIP Rizzo.

You did give him a very good life.

I do think that the fact that Rizzo was a feeder mouse was the reason he
did not live as long. I think that even if the mice are food they should
be kept in good conditions, so they can have a good life as long as it
lasts, but of course pet shops are not bothered about the feeder animals.
Some of these pet shops don't care about the conditions of animals they
sell as pets as well. Breeders tend to look after their animals better.
I get my mice from a pet rescue. I feel it is good to have pets that have
been rescued and need a new home rather then just buying a pet that is
being sold in a pet shop.

I like female mice, most can live together unlike most males that will
fight and are less smelly.

Chloe <:3>>---