[Mus Musculus]

One of my favorite mice has started to run in circles. I don't think she is "waltzing", as they are not tight circles. She will sometimes run the entire bottom of the cage for about 5-10 minutes straight. She will take breaks to drink water, eat, run on her wheel or play with a cardboard tube. It started after she got into a tiff with one of her cage-mates. There has never been any blood; just the occassional eeping, light nipping and maybe a chase. She isanolder mouse who is used to living stressfree and it seems that the fights have her shaken. I can not put the cage mate into the other mouse-cage because the mice in that cage are bigger and meaner and they fight hard.

Is it because of the fights, or is it because she is older and her health is debilitating?

What should I do?

 

[breyer08]

First, does she seem to have any health problems? Weight loss, lack of appetite/thirst, sneezing, itching, head tilt? If she seems healthy, then it is probably because of stress. Have you moved her recently into a cage with new mice? If so, I'd recommend removing her from that cage and putting her in her own cage. If she seems to have any health problems, make an appointment with the vet and let him/her know your concerns about her behavior.

 

[Mus Musculus]

First, does she seem to have any health problems? Weight loss, lack of appetite/thirst, sneezing, itching, head tilt? If she seems healthy, then it is probably because of stress. Have you moved her recently into a cage with new mice? If so, I'd recommend removing her from that cage and putting her in her own cage. If she seems to have any health problems, make an appointment with the vet and let him/her know your concerns about her behavior.

She otherwise seems incredibly healthy. Her coat is much smoother; she's beautiful! She started making "stress noises" after I purchased 3 newcage mates a couple weeks ago. She is soft-hearted and it made her a bullying target. I bought a new cage and put the main bully mouse in it. I did not want the bully to live alone, so I used one of my older accessories to add some floor space and added a bigger mouse that she could not pick on (thay are also aunt/neice, so it works fine). In the main cage is my three original mice (including the mouse in question) and one of the new mice. The new mouse got in several tiffs with the mouse in question over the wheel, and then the circling started.

I can not put her into the other cage, because there is not enough room for her and even if there were, they'd rip her apart! Money is no object with my mice, never has been. But I just lost my job and currently don't have the resources for a new cage . I'd love to buy a little secluded "cool-down" zone for them. Maybe I can use my last paycheck (which should have arrived LAST WEEK) when I get it...

I don't worry about the "stress noises" (the snuffling/puffing), because I gave her a round of Baytril for it, and I also have another mouse who has always made the same noises (and still is not dead after 4 months). Sometimes when the tissues settles after a past URI, the noises will continue, and it will seem like a completely new infection when it is not really...

If she shows any new symptoms (gooey eyes/ears, lethargy, whatever), I will try and convince my boyfriend to take her to the vet. It is his favorite mouse and he is worried too, so that won't be hard; he's the daddy after all.

 

[Aluyasha]

It could still be waltzing. Some mice have waltzing so bad that they spin as fast as they can in tight circles while others circle widely and not as fast.
Mine runs for long periods of time but not super fast or in tight circles.
Waltzing can be caused by a number of things though. Bad genes, brain tumor, ear infection, head injury. And some mice just develop an OCD of it when other mice guard the wheel.
You would have to take her to the vet in order to see exactly what it is. Or at least help with narrowing down what it might be.