Poor Flynn had a terrible day :c

by Unicorn Wed 01 Feb 2017, 7:12 pm

So last night I noticed that Flynn's face, which I'd been keeping an eye on (he was squinching one eye shut a lot and I wondered if he'd poked it on something) looked worse- there was some irritation from that eye to the ear on that side. By this morning it was worse still and I was on the phone with the vet. They could get me in right when I was scheduled for work that day, or Monday. He obviously couldn't wait that long, so I called my boss. Thankfully she is great so he was in his wee carry box a minute later and off to the vet we went.

He's been getting so much tamer (ironically, the other day I took video of him to show to my mousie peeps here because I was concerned that he won't step up on the hand and I wondered if he was scared of me... turns out what I thought was trembling was actually bruxing, he was chittering his teeth hanging out on my shoulder!) And I was so sad that this might set us back but what else could I do? He did not care for the way the vet office smelled. He did not care for the office cat crying to me to give her the "toy." He did not care for the matter-of-fact overhand handling of the vet (I nearly always scoop him up from beneath) and he was traumatized by having a scraping done of his owie. Not once, however, did he squeak or bite, or even attempt to bite or nip. Because he is a trooper!

He was breaking my heart though, trying to hide in my hair then huddling into my hand. I stroked and rubbed him and cooed soft things, cupping him in my hands and generally trying to soothe him. He seemed to respond to the petting at first, then splayed himself onto my hand and just sort of went into a mousie fugue state, only his head showing, calmly staring into space as the vet shined a bright light in his eye trying to see if he could spot any lice or mites (he found eggs in the sample but no adult bugthings), waiting stoic and accepting for death or whatever other horrible things we were going to do to him in this stinky torture chamber. Finally we left, clutching some topical Ivermectin and with all our parts intact.

The vet is near my work, about a 40 min drive from home (I used to live around there), so I took him with me to work (pre approved by Boss). Boss let me take him over to her house which is right down the street, to recover in the quiet. So he still had to sit in that stupid tiny thing not really meant for long term being in, but at least he could recoup in peace. I picked him up after my shift, took him home, cleaned his tank with Lysol and everything in it, laid down paper towel for bedding because I stuck both sacks of his different beddings into the freezer in the event they are the source of his infestation, then practically doused his whole head in Ivermectin, hoping fervently I got it everywhere it needed going, and put him in there to recover from his Very Bad Day.

My poor wee angel!

The Horror. The Horror:

Poor Flynn had a terrible day :c 32615873266_ee1ba4c0e5_z

Poor Flynn had a terrible day :c 32615873266_ee1ba4c0e5_z

(in this pic you can kind of see his beautiful colors- from a distance he gives an appearance of being a uniform cream color, but up close he is peppered with fine freckles in a sort of tan-brown-orange-yellow, "is he a redhead, blonde, or brunette?" kind of color)

by Peachy Wed 01 Feb 2017, 8:25 pm

Poor Flynn. Sad

I hope he feels better soon and will be able to stay away from the stinky torture chamber.

I love his color, so pretty with his dark eyes!

by CallaLily Wed 01 Feb 2017, 8:30 pm

Poor Flynn! Feel better soon!

by Unicorn Thu 02 Feb 2017, 6:12 pm

He seems to be feeling better already, and his face is starting to look better after just the one application (I think it must not itch so much now so he's not scratching himself to bits any more). Now instead of a line of aggravated, angry red scabbing from ear to eye, he's got a ring around the eye and a ring around the ear, much less red than before, and the skin between them looks more or less normal.

So relieved. I was reading up on the condition and got scared it would be the catalyst for him scratching himself to death and would never be able to go away. I have to apply again another 3 times but doc said a week between and another cage cleanout just before each application (we're trying to murder any new hatches). So we're not 100% out of the woods yet, but it seems like it isn't going to be the world ending horror I was afraid of, either.

by scaredymouse Fri 03 Feb 2017, 2:17 am

A terrible day indeed! Poor Flynn.

by Unicorn Fri 03 Feb 2017, 8:35 pm

He was scratching again today, my poor muffin. He's got quite the bald spot on his face and was bleeding a little. I smeared Neosporin on it, sure hope it helps. My poor tiny angel, I feel so bad for his wee faceyface.

by Unicorn Fri 03 Feb 2017, 8:39 pm

He was scratching again today, my poor muffin. He's got quite the bald spot on his face and was bleeding a little. I smeared Neosporin on it, sure hope it helps. My poor tiny angel, I feel so bad for his wee faceyface. I really hope he heals soon, I'm going to need blood pressure medication if this keeps up...

by Unicorn Sun 05 Feb 2017, 11:30 pm

Continuing the saga of my poor little manz, he is scratching his little self to shreddies now. I've been applying Neosporin and in some small desperation today I patted down his back with a cotton ball I'd dabbed in olive oil, hoping the distraction of licking the oil off would keep him from scratching long enough for the pain relief in the ointment to ease his itching. He's supposed to have another dose of Ivermectin on Wednesday but I'm going to call the vet to see if he can have it tomorrow without harm because he's just really giving himself the business, he's got little scabs everywhere. :c Here he'd shown such initial improvement, too! Augh he's giving me a lot of anxiety.

It's heartbreaking too because he just got to liking petting and now of course I've got to handle him in ways that are annoying and unpleasant for him. He still lets me soothe him after and seems to appreciate these cuddles very much, but I feel like a monster and he's not seeking me out so readily as he was because I have had to prod his owies so much trying to keep him from doing himself a damage...

by AnonONIagent Mon 06 Feb 2017, 11:15 am

Oh dear, I certainly hope he's not developing OCD; that would be awful! Hopefully it's only mites and the scratching will stop soon.

by Unicorn Mon 06 Feb 2017, 11:24 am

Called the Dr today to see if I could give him more Ivermectin. He said yes and also said he'd had another look at the slide, and it looks to him like avian lice. Everything I looked up online suggests bird lice don't survive long outside their usual host. How and where did he get bird lice and why won't it go away?!!!

Now I'm really worried. I put a really generous dose on him and have my fingers crossed but like you said, I'm wondering if this is the start of just scratching his little self to pieces. Everybody please keep Flynn in your thoughts!

by Unicorn Thu 09 Feb 2017, 6:46 pm

Today we had another dose of Ivermectin- I really saturated the worst parts. Poor baby! I was scared I was seeing mites in his fur but on closer inspection I actually think it was bits of his scabs coming off. :c

Photo of poor boo's worst owie and the mess he looks when he gets dosed...

Poor Flynn had a terrible day :c 32657315692_071a63ea14_z

Poor Flynn had a terrible day :c 32657315692_071a63ea14_z

by CinnamonPearl Thu 09 Feb 2017, 7:45 pm

You're not putting the ivermectin around his face are you? It can be dangerous if it gets in his eyes or ears. Just put a single drop between the shoulderblades and smear it down his back. That is all he needs, no more.

by Unicorn Thu 09 Feb 2017, 7:51 pm

Dr B said to put it on a Qtip and smear it into the effected areas so that is what I do- however, because I don't want it in an open wound, I put it on the top of his head rather than in that ouchy spot, and then between his shoulders and down his back where he's got the rest of his scabs, my poor misused little one. However, I do take a second Qtip and smear Neosporin into that thing a couple times a day- it makes him stop itching it for a wee while.

Poor baby! I feel like it has had a souring effect on our friendship because he deeply dislikes being dosed and fights it highly (one of the several websites I referenced to make sure it was safe to give him Neosporin was all "once they realize it makes them feel better they usually like having it put on"-- HA). Even so, he's never ever tried to bite or so much as squeaked or opened his mouth- he just squirms, runs up my arm, and hides his head in my hand. He's a very good boy.

by scaredymouse Thu 09 Feb 2017, 8:56 pm

Ivermectin doesn't work like that, it soaks into the bloodstream through the skin, them the mites bite the mouse and ingest the poison through the blood. The same as flea medicine works. You put a drop on the back of the neck and then it goes from there. Please don't put any on his head at all, regardless of what the vet says. I hate to undermine a vet but I have to speak up on this.

Edit to add: He will forgive you. I have done some terrible things to animals in the name of medicine and they all forgive, bless their gentle souls.

by Unicorn Thu 09 Feb 2017, 9:24 pm

Oh geez, so it's like Revolution that I used to put on my doggie. Well, that's good to know actually, it will make subsequent dosings a lot lot easier on us both. Thanks for telling me! Poor Flynn, hope he'll be all right. I'm so worried about him.

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