Bulging Eyes

Hey guys!! I have a mouse in QT that has Buldging eyes. I have her on Baytril but I am curious as to what could be causing this. Is it treatable or should I cull her? Any advive would be apreciated. She is also sniffling a bit.

Buldging eyes in mice could be due to encephalitis, brain injury/trauma, tumor in the brain, and other neurological diseases. The sniffling would likely be due to a secondary infection from a weakened immune system. There are probably other things that could cause brain swelling that I'm not remembering. As long as she doesn't show signs of suffering, is eating and drinking I wouldn't worry too much. She may become photosensitive from the cranial pressure on her eyes.

Oh wow. Thanks for the info.

She is acting normally despite the fact. Is this genetic in mice?

Beth, could it be high blood pressure, too, or too many retained fluids?

Kawmice, I know that neurological conditions can be congenital but typically those mice would not live long enough to breed. I would say it could be genetic if the cause was tumor development but it would be really hard to say without a necropsy and lab tests.

Ann, if the kidneys are functioning normally then retained fluids would be unlikely, not sure fluids would accumulate in the brain much unless there is an open pocket in the brain tissue. Blood pressure could have some effect, if the heart is pumping too much blood to the brain usually you'll see brain hemorrhages and sudden death.

Thanks for explaining!

Yes, thanks very much Beth!!

Gee, It sounds so painful. Are you sure it is not experiencing horrible headaches?? Poor thing.

Well actually we can't really say how much pain a mouse is in but you can watch for pain "symptoms" such as pulled back ears, crinkled nose, hunched posture, squinting eyes besides the obvious ones like not eating or drinking, sleeping most of the time, and being cold/hypothermic. If you ever see those signs in a mouse it's best to get it relief as soon as possible through pain meds and other treatment which can include putting them down quickly.

I am keeping an eye on her. Those eyes look painful but as of now she seems comfy. I am debating on putting her down anyway. I am so torn.

Scientistis did s study of how mice show pain in their faces. Here is a link to the Mouse Grimace Scale:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/05/mouse-pain-expression/
There is a photo chart there that will help you determine if you mouse in in pain.

Wow..... Thanks Ann.... that really helps!! I was looking at her this afternoon and according to this scale she is in absolutely no pain at all. And she is jumping into my hand as usual.

I've heard eye bulging can sometimes be a sign of an URI. They can bulge like their whiskers can poof forward and seem to stand on end because they are having difficulty breathing/lung congestion. I bought a stethoscope but haven't had an instance to use it yet..... knock on wood.....

That photo index is very interesting. Most of the pain you can read in the eye. In every stage change. But, bulging eyes you can't read that pain.

Gypsy, a stethoscope? A mouse stethoscope? An itty, bitty, teeny, weeny mouse stethoscope? Ooooh, show me the link of where to get them! I want to see and read about them!

Just a regular stethoscope that can be used for animals. There can't be a lot of noise around to hear anything decently, since mice are so little but you can hear bad lung congestion vs just sinus congestion. Sinus congestion seems to be much easier to treat. I want to get a higher grade one eventually but it suffices for now. I had some sickies after last year's event and became fascinated with trying to listen to their chests!

lol, stethoscopes usually have 2 bells, a large one and a small one. The small, neonatal, one is ideal for a mouse.