Meet the Resident Mice and Multimammates

Barry and Blake arrived here as two cohabiting male mice, they were already bickering by the time they arrived here, so we decided to separate them. We decided they'd be happier living amongst females. In the wild, male mice wouldn't usually share a territory - even with siblings once sexually mature. All mice, however, are social creatures. Again, in the wild, male mice would be living amongst females freely reproducing. In captivity, you'd soon be overrun with mice if you allowed them to breed freely. 
In rare cases, you can house two male mice together, although, it's generally recommended that only experienced keepers do so and that they're prepared split both mice if fighting occurs. 
Many keepers advise against housing male mice together.

Although we'd researched mice nearly as much as other small animals, we hadn't owned mice in over a decade. We saw Barry and Blake as the perfect opportunity to expand and refine our practical mice experience.

We decided to start with a social experiment. 

Male mice can acquire safe companionship in two ways:

1. Castration and housing with female domesticated house mice.
2. Housing with 2 or more Multimammates

We'd researched that Multimammates made great companions for male mice, however, could Multimammates provide the same level of companionship as their own species? As a general rule, rodents prefer to be housed with their own species, however, if cohabiting Multimammates with male mice is as equally as good a way of providing them with companionship, but without the need for surgical alteration, then it'd be a perfect alternative for a mouse unable to be castrated.

We'd never owned Multimammates, so we did some research regarding their care before getting the first-hand experience. 
We believe it's important to form our opinions based on both research and experience.

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Blake, Blanche, and Birdie:

We decided to allocate Blake as the mouse who'd be cohabiting with Multimammates. We decided we weren't going to have him castrated, so he'd remain as an entire male. 

Sourcing pet Multimammates can be quite difficult as they're uncommonly kept as pets. They're typically used as frozen food for reptiles. Eventually, we found someone with two females. Blanche and Birdie were only a couple of months old when we collected them.

It's important to note that Multimammates still need socialization with their own kind, even when housed with house mice. Multimammates are said to be happiest in trios or more, but pairs work too.

Unfamiliar mice should be introduced on neutral territory, somewhere none of them have ever been before being ideal. We chose a spare empty pet carrier. Over a few hours, we scattered food and added single items. It didn't take long before we were confident Barry, Blanche, and Birdie were bonded. Then, we neutralized their new tank with a thorough deep clean.

Barry, Doris, Mavis, Evie, Enid, Ethel, and Evelyn:

As we knew Barry was going to be living amongst same-species females, we booked him in for castration in advance. The surgery went very well. Barry handled his recovery like a trooper.

A few weeks passed by, when noticed his surgical site appeared to be visibly abnormal.

We booked Barry in for a health assessment, and to decide if the growth needed to be removed. At first, the vet was concerned about viral papillomas - MusPV. They advised surgical removal and sending a sample to the histopathologists at the lab. During surgery, the veterinary surgeon realized Barry's growth was actually a thin layer of raised scar tissue, the sample was also too small to be sent for accurate pathology.

Barry handled his second surgery well and healed perfectly. Once 6 weeks had passed, Barry was able to be introduced to female mice without the risk of any unwanted pregnancies.

We took the opportunity to adopt 5 female mice from a local rescue, Hamster Haven.

Ethel is a happy and healthy mouse who loves nothing more than exploring a new cage layout.

Doris was a loving middle-aged mouse. Not too long after her arrival, we noticed Doris had developed two neoplasms.

We arranged a veterinary assessment for a qualified-professional to decide the appropriate course of action. The vet was confident that Doris had two viral papillomas. A papilloma is an epithelial tumour normally found on the skin, or on a mucous membrane. Mice can become infected with a virus known as MusPV: Mouse papillomavirus. A virus is a microscopic organism which affects living organisms and can cause disease. They cannot reproduce without a 'host cell'. Although papillomas are generally benign, the vet strongly advised surgically removing the tumours and sending them for histopathology. Histopathologists study of changes to tissue caused by disease. 

The surgery went smoothly and was a huge success. During her recovery, Doris was housed in quarantined isolated accommodated to reduce the risk of injury, infection, and the spread of disease.

Surgically removed papillomas.

The findings from histopathology confirmed the vets suspected diagnosis.

As the tumours were entirely removed, the vet was confident they'd removed all viral pathogenic cells. Once Doris had fully healed, we were able to rebond her to her mischief.

A few months later, Doris suddenly developed an increased respiratory rate and effort.

Video demonstrates Doris' breathing difficulties.

We decided to treat Doris for a suspected lower respiratory infection and possible pneumonia. We introduced her to intensive medicinal therapeutics, she was prescribed nebulized Baytril/Enrofloxacin (fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent), Ronaxan/Doxycycline (tetracycline antimicrobial agent), and Corvental/Theophylline Ph. Eur. (bronchodilator) suspended with F10 antiseptic solution BID. We also administered QD 1mg:1kg Metacam/Meloxicam (NSAID) to alleviate pain and inflammation. 

Doris had newly developed bloat around her abdomen. A bloated abdomen would usually occur due to congestive heart failure, although you can have an acute onset of CHF, in our experience, the onset of CHF symptoms are rarely sudden.

Doris failed to respond to medication. We then introduced Frusemide/Furosemide (loop diuretic) incase Doris was in heart failure. Furosemide is a powerful diuretic that can counteract the bodies defense mechanism when in heart failure and help alleviate pulmonary congestion. 

Again, she failed to respond to medication, she was getting worse.

Something clearly wasn't right. The vet decided to admit Doris for clinical investigation and radiographs. Although there was the risk of potential respiratory and cardiac arrest under anesthesia given compromised function, we desperately needed more insight to effectively treat Doris.

The X-ray findings only raised more questions. Doris' abdomen was full of gas, her heart was in an unusual position (somewhat tilted), and the vet believed there was a retroperitoneal mass, as well as a second internal mass elsewhere.

The vet sourced input from a renowned exotic specialist, Molly Varga. Her team believed the gas within her abdomen could've been due to aerophagia (swallowing air) secondary to pain.

They advised we introduced the following medication:

• Infacol: contains active ingredient Simethicone. It is an anti-foaming agent used to relieve discomfort caused by the build-up of gas.
• Oral Bisolvon: contains active ingredient Bromhexine. It is a bronchial mucolytic shown to aid mucociliary clearance.
• QD Subcutaneous Buprenorphine injections: An alkaloid thebaine opioid derivative effective at alleviating visceral pain.

If the medication proved to be unsuccessful, then our only other option would've been an explorative laparotomy, but whether it would have altered the outcome was questionable.

Despite the new care plan, Doris developed vaginal bleeding. We were confident the discharge wasn't due to an open pyometra. The discharge associated with a pyometra can be described as mucopurulent and serosanguineous: containing pus, mucus, and blood. Whereas Doris' vaginal discharge was serosanguineous - containing blood.

With the new symptoms, we decided it was kindest to have Doris humanely euthanized. We asked the vet to perform an overall post-mortem. 

Upon post-mortem, Doris had a tumour attached to her colon and a second abscessed retroperitoneal mass. Sadly, nothing could've altered the outcome.

Doris passed away on 9th August 2019.

Mavis was a beautiful, petite mouse who suffered from a chronic respiratory disease. For most of her life, Mavis' CRD was controlled with strict prophylactics.

Usually, a CRD will progress over time. Mavis developed an upper and lower respiratory infection. She was introduced to a 30-day minimum course of nebulized antibiotics. As time went on, she required additional support of other respiratory medications such as bronchodilators and bronchial mucolytics. Eventually, she also required the use of non-steroidals. When her disease worsened, after discontinuing NSAIDs, she was prescribed nebulized Prednisolone/Prednisone (corticosteroids) for potent anti-inflammatory relief.

Repeated respiratory infections and stressors can trigger the onset of pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis occurs as a result of damaged and scarred lung tissue - the fibrotic tissue makes the lungs 'stiff'. The changes to the lung tissue make it increasingly difficult for the lungs to work effectively. Sadly, pulmonary fibrosis cannot be repaired and generally worsens over time, but symptoms can be managed.

The symptoms of advanced and complex CRD and pulmonary fibrosis can cause a chronic feeling of panic, especially when an animal is particularly struggling to breathe - understandably. One night, Mavis was too anxious to move as she was panicking and trying to breathe more efficiently. We tried a multitude of therapeutic interventions, but none were easing Mavis' struggles. In our opinion, when an animal is in a constant state of stress, panic, and anxiety, with no chance of recovery, it is kinder to humanely euthanize.

As CRD and pulmonary fibrosis become more advanced, fatal symptoms such as hypoxia and organ failure will typically occur.

Mavis passed away on 24th August 2019.

Evelyn is the mouse in charge of the mischief. She has a sweet, bubbly personality and absolutely loves her flying saucer and her large exercise wheel.

Evelyn has had an ongoing, tricky battle with a deep-seated abscess. 

We were unable to resolve the issue at home with warm compressions and anti-inflammatories. So, we opted for surgical intervention.

Surgery was incredibly touch-and-go. Due to the abscess being so deep and in an awkward position, removing the sac could've cost Evelyn her life. The abscess was located around the jugular vein and carotid artery - one wrong move would've been fatal.

It's equally as important to know when not to do something, as it is to realize when you should do something. The vet decided it was too risky to remove the sac.

Nonetheless, Evelyn recovered well from surgical-lancing. Given the fact that the sac was unable to be removed, she was administered a course of oral broad-spectrum antibiotics to hopefully reduce the chances reoccurrence.

Unfortunately, Evelyn's abscess has returned since her recovery. We plan on leaving it as long as we can before opting for surgical intervention, given the traumatic previous interventions. Evelyn is otherwise well within herself and doesn't let her abscess hold her back!

Enid is a cautious and shy mouse. She does have a chronic head-tilt after an inner-ear infection. Fortunately, the infection has been treated with a course of antibiotics.

About a week after we adopted our 5 mice, Hamster Haven posted an appeal to help a single female mouse in urgent need of mouse-companionship. The mouse had been living with a hamster and was extremely scared.

We decided to adopt the mouse, and we called her Evie. We knew it'd be no extra hassle to bond her to our mischief of mice as well as Barry, and Doris (she was recovering from surgery at the time).

Bonding session

We successfully bonded all of the mice, it was a smooth process given the circumstances. Evie took the longest to settle, but it was understandable given that she'd come from a stressful situation.

Conclusion:

Can Multimammates provide the same level of companionship as domesticated house mice for other domesticated house mice?

Short answer: yes.

Barry and Blake are equally as happy as one another. The multimammates are as happy as the house mice too.

There are differences in care and husbandry.
Multimammates have very similar, but different dietary requirements. We've created our own Shunammite mix which suits the rats, mice, and multimammates. It's more cost-effective than store-bought food, but it's less convenient as their diet isn't ready-made.

Multimammates are also relentless chewers. A well-ventilated tank with safe wooden toys is a must, which means you have less flexibility in terms of housing as well.

Our multimammates are fairly low maintenance, they're definitely a look-but-don't-touch animal. We handle ours for health checks and weigh-ins. They can be stroked, but they're not fans of being held. The temperament of each multimammate will vary between individuals.

If you're not able to castrate your lone male mouse for whatever reason, in our opinion, we highly recommend housing your mouse with multimammates rather than them being kept alone.