Did this little critter commit suicide?

With the talk of hamsters and glass tanks with metal tops, it reminded me of the mysterious death of our mouse years ago, in the same kind of tank.

He was indoors, a nice tank and top, toys, a wheel, wood mouse sticks to chew, food and water. On the bottom of the tank was some small gravel covered with small wood chips. We had him for several months and he had been fine.

I found him dead on the bottom of the tank even though nothing seemed amiss. When I picked him up I realized that his mouth was full of tiny gravel pieces. Trying to figure it out I took out some pieces of gravel, but stopped because they were even in the back of his throat. I really felt terrible and to this day can't understand it.

No one else was around. Nothing was disturbed, food and water were there. Was he lacking something? Is it possible that my mouse committed suicide? It seemed the only conclusion. And if so, or even possible, why would a little mouse do that?

Anyone have a similar problem with a small critter?

I have never experienced anything like that. But maybe your mouse was lonely. most animals are happier in pairs.

[ July 05, 2001: Message edited by: horse_1987 ]

He might have just overstuffed his mouth, trying to make a bed or something. Do mice have pouches? I have hamsters, but don't do small animals with tails, so I've never had a mouse, rat or gerbil. I don't think that he would kill himself. Maybe he shouldn't have had that gravel in his cage, Jasper's Mom, since they have a tendency to pick stuff up like that. He probably just blocked his ability to breathe or something. At least you can't blame it on Moses!! Poor Honey and Lilly aren't so lucky!

You remind me of me, agonizing over things that happened a long time ago. A member on the cat board actually recognized this in me and sent me the sweetest email about letting it go.

Nope I'm quite sure that mice don't do that sort of thing.

I have kept his unusual death in the back of my mind for a long time, blaming myself for his being lonely while we were gone during the day, and for the gravel being in the tank, although the pet store recommended it. It might have been an accident, and guess I'll never know.

Letting go is a good idea, and yes, I do that a lot. Kicking myself for things. Heck, I'm still mad at a mama rat from the Univ. of Hawaii lab cause she refused to take care of her newborns and they died. I took her in to save her life. After all these years, letting go, whosh, like the wind.

It was probably just an accident. Once I had a hamster who died from falling weird out of a tube. I was sad even though the hamster was really mean and bit people. But whenever one of my pets passes away I can't help but feel responsible. :confused: