# Nicholas...Mr Mousey



## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

My OH got to name him cos he has fallen so much for him. He was going to go for Gilbert after the lead character (I think) in the film "Raw Hide"...because of his bum...yes exactly...hilarious! But he decided against it...and has gone with Nicholas...cos he is "small, cute and friendly", attributes he likes of me apparently. Very corny...yet I do secretly love it!

Now these aren't the cutest of pics...but they show you the skin on his rump...I think it is looking better...but am desperate for others' opinions so let me know.


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This is the underside...I think his bum has been torn...but am not sure...










And when wet...have only one cos didn't want to keep him out getting cold...but you can see the scabby bit above the sore bit which I think will result in more fur loss.


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Anyways am taking my gorgeous Nicholas to the vets at 9:30 tomorrow so hoping for a good verdict!

Finally one pic of him finally staying still to groom (obviously before bath!!)


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## LittlePaws AnimalRescue (Sep 11, 2012)

I think his back end looks so much better.
Before it looked bright red raw and now it just looks a little pinker than normal, definitely an improvement.

I love his name too.
Hi Nicholas....good luck at the vets tomorrow little guy. x


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

He does look worse in those pics hun, but I think thats because youve cleaned away the scabby bits and you can see the wounds better though, rather than them actually being worse. Unfortunately I do think he might have a torn bum looking at that pic , is he still pooing ok? I would keep bathing his wounds twice a day till there is skin coverage though. Do you think he might end up loosing his tail hun?


ETA:
Oh ignore me, Ive had a look at the before and after pics together, hes definately much, much better hun, the only one that worries me is the 2nd photo down that shows pretty deep damage to his tail, but the skin is so much pinker and healthy looking


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

The skin definitely looks better


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Thanks everyone. Duh...I meant to put up the before pic in this thread too. 

He is pooing ok, although the ones a I see are a little squishy...ie the ones I "receive" lol. Just gonna check the cage for normal ones. Will ask vet about it.

I have not tried to do anything with the scab on his tail...an not sure how deep it is. But again will ask the vet if I should try lever it off. What do people think?


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Oh and I also pleased to announce that he has put on 2 grams in the last two days!! He is now 36gs.


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## mices4 (Aug 24, 2012)

niki87 said:


> Thanks everyone. Duh...I meant to put up the before pic in this thread too.
> 
> He is pooing ok, although the ones a I see are a little squishy...ie the ones I "receive" lol. Just gonna check the cage for normal ones. Will ask vet about it.
> 
> I have not tried to do anything with the scab on his tail...an not sure how deep it is. But again will ask the vet if I should try lever it off. What do people think?


I think scabs are there for a reason - it's Nature's bandage, and will stop infection getting in, so I'd leave it as long as you can. That's my opinion, but the vet might know different


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

I like that!! Thanks!!


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

With abcesses and the like you need to remove the scab so the skin can dry out, however with injuries I would leave it, I would ask the vets advice on that though, as mices4 said they are there for a reason. I would take a before picture with you to the vets, if you get another vet who hasnt seen him yet, you might find they are shocked by his injuries without realising how much hes improved in a really short time. Looking at his face he looks so much brighter and more relaxed. Youve done so well with him, you should be proud hun


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> With abcesses and the like you need to remove the scab so the skin can dry out, however with injuries I would leave it, I would ask the vets advice on that though, as mices4 said they are there for a reason. I would take a before picture with you to the vets, if you get another vet who hasnt seen him yet, you might find they are shocked by his injuries without realising how much hes improved in a really short time. Looking at his face he looks so much brighter and more relaxed. Youve done so well with him, you should be proud hun


The appt was at 9:30...so didn't get your advice till now! It is a new surgery and I think the only vet there is the one who owns it....she is also a small animal vet of 25 years.....I am just relieved I have found a vet who knows even likes small animals!! And who loves my little man too....even vets can get squeamish around small animals!!

She is shocked by how much improvement he has made...she said it is half the size it was!! I think she is right...certainly not far off....and it was looking particularly good today 

I asked about the scabby bits, and she said to leave it...so now I am confused! She said to ease them off would just cause more sore bits. She said he will probably take them off himself or just drop off.

I asked about his tail, she said that he moves it fine and so seems to have good circulation, so she is positive about it. The scab looks like it only surface, and is starting to peel off already...slightly.

I am proud of him!


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## LittlePaws AnimalRescue (Sep 11, 2012)

Aawww yay that you got good news 
He'll be fully healed before you know it.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Thats amazing news, I would leave the scabs too hun, I have removed them when its an abcess but I left Jiggys and Seudags and they healed well underneath the the scabs. As far as the tail goes its tricky, Jiggys tail wasnt that badly damaged but Zany Toon took one look at it and knew that he would loose part of it, apparently they need very little damage to their tails to loose them as the blood supply to them isnt great, but they cope well with the loss. Jiggys tail wasnt cold and he was moving it as well. I bet you breathed a sigh of relief when you got the news


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

LittlePaws AnimalRescue said:


> Aawww yay that you got good news
> He'll be fully healed before you know it.


Lets hope 



thedogsmother said:


> Thats amazing news, I would leave the scabs too hun, I have removed them when its an abcess but I left Jiggys and Seudags and they healed well underneath the the scabs. As far as the tail goes its tricky, Jiggys tail wasnt that badly damaged but Zany Toon took one look at it and knew that he would loose part of it, apparently they need very little damage to their tails to loose them as the blood supply to them isnt great, but they cope well with the loss. Jiggys tail wasnt cold and he was moving it as well. I bet you breathed a sigh of relief when you got the news


Oh no and it's right up at the top of his tail...he could lose it all!! Bless him!! I hope not!

But I did....it was so nice to see her face actually...she looked genuinely shocked and relieved herself! Her partner was there too...he is not a vet but part owner...and he was cooing over him...though he asked me if I had a cage for Nicholas at home....well duh!! No I have spent £40 on vets for him up to now...and coming back next week, and will be getting more anti-bs etc when I have run out.....but noooooo I am keeping him in a carrier!


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I had a vet give me a lecture once to tell me I had too many mice in too small a cage, I let him rant before I explained that the small cage was just a carrier that they went to the vets in :lol:


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> I had a vet give me a lecture once to tell me I had too many mice in too small a cage, I let him rant before I explained that the small cage was just a carrier that they went to the vets in :lol:


Haha!! I suppose I should be pleased that they care, though obviously when you're at the receiving end of this stuff you can end up feeling somewhat put out!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Aww niki what a great job your doing with Nicholas.
Just think back to when you got this little man and the state he was in and now look at him! He looks bright and alert in those pics and such a handsome lil man. 
As others have said leave his scabby area so that he can heal naturally.

I love a happy ending.

Give him a little kiss from me x


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## LittlePaws AnimalRescue (Sep 11, 2012)

Argh I've had that too, I use a mini duna as my carrier and the receptionist went and was whispering to the vet....when I went in for my appointment the vet said the receptionist had pointed out to her that my mice were in a very unsuitable cage!

I felt like going home, putting the mice in their Hamster Heaven full of toys and things and lugging that back to the vets and just sitting in the waiting room to see what they said!!


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

LittlePaws AnimalRescue said:


> Argh I've had that too, I use a mini duna as my carrier and the receptionist went and was whispering to the vet....when I went in for my appointment the vet said the receptionist had pointed out to her that my mice were in a very unsuitable cage!
> 
> I felt like going home, putting the mice in their Hamster Heaven full of toys and things and lugging that back to the vets and just sitting in the waiting room to see what they said!!


Haha well I think this is the thing...people put mice in small cages so can often just bring the whole thing to the vets. So a decent sized carrier might seem like an unsuitable cage I guess. Still...I have spent £40 on vet bills so far, and am sure it will be another £20 at least more...I think that is proof in itself that I care...and so probably have a good cage.


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## daysleeper (Oct 8, 2012)

Ok, i write this for my friend, she was the one who put up the post for him. We have read some of the other post about him and would like to correct some wrong information. 1, she got him from the pet store about 3 days before she put the ad up so any bug must have come with him from the shop despite the fact the other two have been checked and are completley fine. 2, when we realised he was hurt we took him to kass's who is training to be a veterinary nurse. She told us he was male and told us not to mess with the injury and avoid handling and he would clean himself up. She never mentioned anything about parasites. 3, she gave nc a small glass tank to keep him in so he was never placed in with other males or back with the females so he wasn't still in with the females when the lady came to collect him. 4, i saw the post where she did mention the injuries before anything final was decided. 5, the 2 females were taken to the vets this friday and they are both female and none of them are pregnant. She is quite upset about all this as she really did try to do what is best for him. Ok, i dont think this is important but she insists i mention he did have a name that she passed onto the lady who picked him up. Anyway she would like to say thank you for being really nice to him and giving him a good home. Thank you again, ds x


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

daysleeper said:


> Ok, i write this for my friend, she was the one who put up the post for him. We have read some of the other post about him and would like to correct some wrong information. 1, she got him from the pet store about 3 days before she put the ad up so any bug must have come with him from the shop despite the fact the other two have been checked and are completley fine. 2, when we realised he was hurt we took him to kass's who is training to be a veterinary nurse. She told us he was male and told us not to mess with the injury and avoid handling and he would clean himself up. She never mentioned anything about parasites. 3, she gave nc a small glass tank to keep him in so he was never placed in with other males or back with the females so he wasn't still in with the females when the lady came to collect him. 4, i saw the post where she did mention the injuries before anything final was decided. 5, the 2 females were taken to the vets this friday and they are both female and none of them are pregnant. She is quite upset about all this as she really did try to do what is best for him. Ok, i dont think this is important but she insists i mention he did have a name that she passed onto the lady who picked him up. Anyway she would like to say thank you for being really nice to him and giving him a good home. Thank you again, ds x


Hi,

I appreciate you raising the concerns, though I would hav had more respect for your friend had she come on here to "clear her name" so to speak. I will take your points one at a time.

1) The mites will have come from his lowered immune system because of his injuries. I am not blaming her for the mites, but that they weren't even noticed.

2) With regards to kass...whoever/whatever that is...needs a LOT more training if they looked at the horrific injuries that Nicholas bore and didn't reccoment treatment!!!!!!!!! Not seeing the mites is not something I would have expected....although I did on the first bathing session.

3) I am aware of the conditions he was in when he was collected and if you read the pasts carefully I expressed my view on these conditions and was corrected.

4) Not sure what this means?

5) You cannot be sure about the pregnancies. Certainly one was showing symptoms, and you/she still has another approx 15/20 days left to be sure. Plus it seemed that she expressed a desire to breed her females, which made me cynical about the "mistake". Not to mention he is a FULLY grown boy with very large testiclels!!

I don't care if I am shouted at but she did not try and do what is best for this little lad! Doing her best would have seen him getting PROFESSIONAL treatment. The only two redeeming factors were that she put him up for adoption and in her favour he is a lovely, very hand tame boy. I would urge her to put any babies on here for adoption, for transport/home opportunities on here.

I have a right to be angry because he is now my gorgeous little man is suffering unneccessarily. Also people have gone to a lot of trouble, people who didn't need to (TDM) and yet his first owner didn't do as much. And I have coughed up £40 (not including petrol) and there is another £20 at least left. I will only apologise for my inital posts which were fuelled with anger and not looking in a reasoned way at this.

So what was Nicholas' previous name? If I like I might double barrel (if OH is OK with that  )


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

As the person who collected him I can confirm that he was in a seperate tank, I was told that he was in with the other two mice from the pet shop till they fought and the owner realised he was male, she got a tank for him and removed him. 

Can I point out that the injuries arent from a medical condition, they are from fighting with the other two mice, they are bites. As for the mites, all mice have mites, they can become a problem when the mouse is in poor health as they tend to take over a bit. I dont belive your friend was deliberately cruel, but I do think the person training to be a vet should have known better than to give the advice she gave, the mouse needed antibiotics at the very least. 

As for being unamed, I know he did have a name but its not unusual with rodents for the new owner to change the name to something they prefer, when he was referred to as nameless its because Niki hadnt chosen a name at that point. I have defended your friend for trying to find a home for him all the animals were all clean and had food and fresh water, its a lot better situation than a lot of animals Ive collected, but you have to admit his wounds are horrendous and without treatment he probably wouldnt be here now. 

Having said that in your position I would do everything I possibly could to discourage her from breeding from her two males, there are far too many unwanted mice out there, and as she has discovered with Nicholas, if she cant spot an animal that needs to see a vet for treatment then she needs to brush up on her animal husbandry rather than launching into breeding.


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## daysleeper (Oct 8, 2012)

What is OH? No i told her the name didn.t matter but she insisted i put it. I am not saying that every thing we were told and happened was correct we thought we were being told good information from Kass (she is saving apparently to start her own practice), as i say we believed what she said was correct. When we read about the mites we were angry as well. When i say we tried our best i meant with what we had been given. The fact that the pet shop refused to take him back so we were left with no alternative. And it wasn.t him she wanted to breed. She knows what inbreeding would do to them. She has some beautiful black and tan she keeps seperate. And yes you are right we should have gone to a vet but until all this we trusted our friend knew what she was talking about. And the reason she wont come back and talk herself is, and my friend wont like me saying this but it doesn.t matter cause she isn.t likely to come back, she has aspergus, and struggles to socially interact and understand people. Hence i was soo suprised when she told me she had found this website where she was talking to people and she insist i join to. So when ph told me about all this i had to jump in. I have tried to point out that no one is being meliciòus but she cant understand the difference. So to be fair yes she did try her best. One of her neighbours offered to feed him to ferret but she wouldn.t have that and was determined someone here would help. Which you nice ladies did, and we are very grateful you did as it was killing her waiting for him to "heal" himself. God, i.m blubbing writing this. She really did try, i.ve known her since we were kids and she would never hurt anything and its upset her that this has happened when she only wanted to do right by him. But any way thats me winded, lol. I can breathe now. Thank you for taking time to hear me out i appreciate it.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

daysleeper said:


> What is OH? No i told her the name didn.t matter but she insisted i put it. I am not saying that every thing we were told and happened was correct we thought we were being told good information from Kass (she is saving apparently to start her own practice), as i say we believed what she said was correct. When we read about the mites we were angry as well. When i say we tried our best i meant with what we had been given. The fact that the pet shop refused to take him back so we were left with no alternative. And it wasn.t him she wanted to breed. She knows what inbreeding would do to them. She has some beautiful black and tan she keeps seperate. And yes you are right we should have gone to a vet but until all this we trusted our friend knew what she was talking about. And the reason she wont come back and talk herself is, and my friend wont like me saying this but it doesn.t matter cause she isn.t likely to come back, she has aspergus, and struggles to socially interact and understand people. Hence i was soo suprised when she told me she had found this website where she was talking to people and she insist i join to. So when ph told me about all this i had to jump in. I have tried to point out that no one is being meliciòus but she cant understand the difference. So to be fair yes she did try her best. One of her neighbours offered to feed him to ferret but she wouldn.t have that and was determined someone here would help. Which you nice ladies did, and we are very grateful you did as it was killing her waiting for him to "heal" himself. God, i.m blubbing writing this. She really did try, i.ve known her since we were kids and she would never hurt anything and its upset her that this has happened when she only wanted to do right by him. But any way thats me winded, lol. I can breathe now. Thank you for taking time to hear me out i appreciate it.


I am sorry she suffers from Aspergers and would like to point out that I don't believe you/your friend meant harm to Nicholas. What you did wrong was not take him for proper medical treatment, but accepted the word of someone I would strongly advise against setting up their own surgery! So no I don't think she/you did her best.

Saying that I am prepared to accept that mistakes are made in pet keeping...God knows I have made MANY! And the whole experience is a learning curve. So I am not judging her for that. Which is why I would urge that if she has babies the best thing would be to come here for we can help 

Saying THAT however it is clear that you/her are not ready for breeding. Firstly the mice you have are from a petshop and so you have no genetic history, so breeding is immoral anyhow. But I, having had some escapee mice, ended up with four litters and 28 babies. I managed to find a home for four, although we haven't managed to sort out the transport for they are 150 miles in the wrong direction. I understand you have a spare tank, which is not going to work if you have 12/24 babies!!

So what was Nicholas' previous name?

Oh and for the record OH is "Other Half"...ie partner


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## daysleeper (Oct 8, 2012)

To be honest, i dont know, she didn.t tell me. lol. I have said that in future we should go to breeders instead of pet shops as you never know what you.re letting yourself in for. But in total we have around 6 tanks, 2 of which are occupied but after what the girls did to the poor little lad i.ve said its probably best not to use them. And regardless of all this i know she is happy he has a home. I mentioned her neighbour wanted to use him as sport for his ferret, said it would be cheaper than rehoming him. That really upset her. But despite everything i know she is happy that someone will look after him. God i.m off again. Lol, i.m turning into a right weepy old woman.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

daysleeper said:


> To be honest, i dont know, she didn.t tell me. lol. I have said that in future we should go to breeders instead of pet shops as you never know what you.re letting yourself in for. But in total we have around 6 tanks, 2 of which are occupied but after what the girls did to the poor little lad i.ve said its probably best not to use them. And regardless of all this i know she is happy he has a home. I mentioned her neighbour wanted to use him as sport for his ferret, said it would be cheaper than rehoming him. That really upset her. But despite everything i know she is happy that someone will look after him. God i.m off again. Lol, i.m turning into a right weepy old woman.


Guessing you don't wish to disclose his previous name.

With six tanks I should hope feeding him to a ferret wasn't an option.

Anyways...back on track...he has put on another gram over the last couple of days. And he is starting to get at the scabs a bit...and the skin under them is healthier  I am still worried about him bum region...that is the thing at biggest risk of infection.


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## daysleeper (Oct 8, 2012)

No honestly she didn.t tell me and i dont want to upset her by txting her about it. I think she.d feel like i was talking about her, (which i am, but in a bad way) she really is upset. But i will tell her i read a thread on him and tell her how good he.s doing, that'll brighten things up.  and since she put the ad up for needing a tank to keep him in until we rehomed him, we got one lad who gave us 2 small glass tanks and a lady in leeds gave one of those multi layer gerbil cages. The bars are good and narrow too. Needs a good clean first thou its manky as all hell.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Do we have any pics of him from today Niki to turn the thread around again


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> Do we have any pics of him from today Niki to turn the thread around again


Honestly...you're so needy!! Lol will get some in about 10 mins...before his last bath.


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

As promised here are a couple of pics. Stupidly I forgot before his bath...so you get newly washed Nicholas. He is such a Daddy's boy...he is getting properly fidgety with me but with my OH he was a little angel! So here he is being angelic.



















I also forgot to show you his bad side...but I will show you all tomorrow!


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## LittlePaws AnimalRescue (Sep 11, 2012)

Aawww so cute that he's a little Daddy's boy 
I'm also glad he seems to be healing well too.....go Nicholas!


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Awww he's such a sweetie


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Look at that cute ickle face :001_wub:


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Just some more pics to coo over...don't say I never give you anything!! I didn't bath him today. Was just gonna do one tonight but have decided to leave it...cos look at his raw bits today!!!










And a more posey picture...










And in his big brother's hands (7 year old hooman)...


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Looks MUCH better!!


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## LittlePaws AnimalRescue (Sep 11, 2012)

Blimey he's healed so well.
He's a very cute (and very brave) little mousey.


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

He looks fab Niki, you have done a great job with him  He looks so much more relaxed and pain free now, his eyes are nice and bright and open wide compared to the way he was in the first photos you posted  It looks like the skin is almost done healing (hopefully!!) and I would reckon his tail will be fine - the tail with it being damaged near the base has a better blood supply than further down so fingers crossed he remains a long tailed mouser  Are you going to be able to stop giving him a bath now or do you think you might be able to get away with just splashing the area with a saline wash so that he doesn't get so jumpy?


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

zany_toon said:


> He looks fab Niki, you have done a great job with him  He looks so much more relaxed and pain free now, his eyes are nice and bright and open wide compared to the way he was in the first photos you posted  It looks like the skin is almost done healing (hopefully!!) and I would reckon his tail will be fine - the tail with it being damaged near the base has a better blood supply than further down so fingers crossed he remains a long tailed mouser  Are you going to be able to stop giving him a bath now or do you think you might be able to get away with just splashing the area with a saline wash so that he doesn't get so jumpy?


Yeah thanks hun!! He is doing so well! Taking him for (hopefully the last) vet appt on Monday just to make sure. Skin is looking fabulous. I was just using the syringe to wash the area but when I saw the mites I was making sure he had at least one full body syringing a day. But yes I can certainly limit the washing.

And am glad about his tail. The scabs are coming off slightly and gradually now, and the skin under them looks healthy


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

wow they heal so quick!


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