I guess I'm just grieving really hard today because I lost my little nest of meece today. But I learned a lot as well and hopefully, maybe, if losing my four girls means that someone else's little one survives, then this post is completely worth it. And if this is spam (as it is my third post today), then feel free to delete and downvote. I know I posted a lot today.

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Mouse Emergency Kit:

- As well as other things you should have on hand (stuff to clean cages, an emergency vet fund, a hospital cage...) try adding:

- A snuggle safe (it's a flat disk you microwave and place in a fleece cover. Many people use them for foster puppies or kittens)

- Tubing from a thin cord*

- Rubber nipples and bottle*

- Powdered KMR

- Meat baby food

- A blender bottle/whisk

- Fleece fabric to wrap around the snuggle safe so it isn't too hot

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The rubber nipple can be snipped just a bit to poke the plastic tubing from a cord through. This makes a nipple that is small enough for a mousie or baby rattie. The KMR or any other liquid mixture can be fed with this modified nipple, but be careful not to squeeze too hard so that the food doesn't explode out.

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Today, I mixed 1 tablespoon meat baby food, 1.5 teaspoon peanut butter, and 2 oz water so that I could bottle feed my sick mouse. She was able to take down most of it, and it did actually perk her up. I also kept her on a snuggle safe for a little while to keep her warm and my mouse hung on for a little while longer.

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I also suggest feeding foods high in fat if your mouse is really struggling. Good foods include peanuts/watered down peanut butter, sunflower seeds, and chocolate. It gives them a little bit more energy.

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I also recommend keeping some mini dark chocolate chips on hand - those are good for preventing respiratory infections and all of my meece have loved them as treats. Other treats I use include cheerios, honey nut cheerios (broken into 4 pieces and very rarely), and freeze-dried mealworms. As a daily diet, I feed adult rat oxbow mixed with brown's tropical carnival parakeet with the sunflower seeds, corn kernels, and pumpkin seeds picked out and refill the bowl once the entire bowl is empty, as well as a small handful of greens 1 grape tomato 2x a week.

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For the vet fund: I rushed my mouse to the vet today, and the vet was somewhat useless. He suggested that I keep my mouse hydrated, fed, and warm (um... no duh?!) and charged me $150 USD for that. I asked if he could give her oxygen and "they don't have small enough masks" or even put her out of her misery and he refused, saying that he had "no experience with euthanizing mice." Ugh. Hopefully, if you live in a city that has more than 20,000 people, you'll be able to find a reasonable exotic animal vet that will help. It's difficult because mice are considered an "exotic" pet and their vet bills cost more than my cat's.

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And finally, if all of this fails, just know you did your best. With you, your mouse had a chance. And even if s/he didn't survive, you did your best. You changed your mouse's entire world and s/he passed knowing that they were so incredibly loved.