And then there were four...

Pudding was not well this morning. I could tell she was weaker, more tired and sad looking. When I picked her up she did not fuss as much as she would usually fuss, especially when I cleaned her eye. I cleaned her and let her rest in my hand for a while before putting her back in her nesting area. Pudding appeared to perk up a little as I watched her poke around, picking up a nibble of bread crumb or yogurt bits before she settled into a spot by the food dish.

I gathered my things to go do some errands. But before leaving I had to check on Pudding one more time. She was sleeping next to the the food dish in a crouching pose, her nose poking into the bedding and her breathing appeared to be regular.

I returned a sort time later. I looked in on Pudding and found her collapsed where she had been sleeping. She had not been gone too long. I was sad but I was more saddened that she had been alone, as that she had been with her babies when they had died. I took Pudding and laid her out on her burial cloth and gave her some treats for her trip home.

I then took out the remaining four. After checking each of them I let them take turns running in the adventure/explorer ball. I noticed that when I put the remaining four back in the habitat the youngest mouse ran down to where Momma Mouse Pudding would have been. She sniffed around and looked confused. I had removed Pudding's "sleeping bag" and removed the bedding around where I had found Pudding. So I suspect the little mouse had noticed Pudding was gone.