Is it okay for my pet mouse to have a hunchback?

Question

I have had three mice since about March / April and whilst all of them appear relatively healthy, one of them seems to have a noticeable hunchback over the past few weeks.

This one mouse out of the three rarely goes in the wheel, or leaves it's bed - only for food and water, or when we take them out the cage. It's not showing obvious signs of illness, or overweight.

If anyone could give me some advice about as to whether it will be fine to leave the mouse as it is, or offer any tips for any extra methods of exercise I can give it, that would be great.

Answer 1

Older mice also sometimes develop a small hunch - do you know its age?

A trip to the vet might be the best thing to be on the safe side.

Answer 2

A hunched back IS a sign of illness. Respiratory illness is the most common thing that ails small animals.

Answer 3

there was a time when i ran out of food so my hamster had to starve for a bit.

it started losing a lot of hair and developed a hunchback.

eventually, i gave it more food and got back into the nice eating habit again and it eventually became all better. hair came back and hunchback gone.

if hamsters are closely related to mice which i think they are, then your mouse is probably sick too.

rodents do not show signs of sickness until its almost too late

Answer 4

Go to the vet!!  It might be something that can be helped with medication.  If he's unactive, it sounds like he could be sick.  Take care of the little guy!  They're worth it!