Around 6:30 pm EST I noticed my elder male mouse acting very lethargic and just.. not quite right. Now he has 2 years and 6 months old, so I'm pretty confident in saying that he's dying of old age. I've owned countless small animals to know the signs, and I'd been expecting this ever since his brother died 6 months ago-- note: they were not housed together.
It's been almost 12 hours since this has started and Linkin is still alive, not looking too well, but alive nonetheless, which I don't think I've ever seen before. Usually when I notice signs that my pet is on their last legs of life, it goes pretty quick. I've been checking in on him often, removed most of the toys from his cage so he doesn't get caught under something, and have even gave him a few, gentle pats every now and then to see if I get a response. He did squeak/huff the last I did this, just a few minutes ago. He moved around a little in the beginning, but has stayed in the same spot for about 9-10 hours now. His breathing looks to be rapid and shallow.
He's currently half-buried himself in the bedding, but from what I did see of him before he did thing, he had this whitish gunk around his left eye. Unsure if it's on the right eye as well. I've never seen that on any of my pets before either.
While I'm confident in saying that there isn't much I can do for Linkin aside from keep an eye on him, has anyone else noticed this kind of behavior before? Is it normal for some mice to hold out for a while longer, or is there something else going on here? I'm also very curious about the substance I saw around his eye, I can try getting a closer look if someone recommends-- otherwise I'd rather leave Linkin to whatever peace he has left.
. Feeling like your pet suffered is one of the worst things.
