Pimple-like prominnces and a lot of scratching..

by Misha_usa Wed 18 Oct 2017, 5:00 pm

Hello there.
It's been really long since last time I wrote here and I'm quite sad it's to ask for help once more...
As some may know, I'm from Catalonia. There is not a lot of people here who has mouse pets, or maybe it's just tht I don't know where to look for them (?) but the issue is, I fin it really difficult to look for advice on the mice field here on in Spanish sites so excuse the inconvenience.

Some time ago, I spotted a tiny lump on Nimh's back when petting him. It wasn't noticeable by nude eye actually, but when caressing the area I could feel a little pimple-like prominence on the area past the neckline, between the shoulder blades or so. He didn't seem to experience any pain or special tenderness on the area though, and I didn't note any change on his demeanor.
I contacted a veterinarian by email first, and following his advice kept him under observation for some days before doing anything, and the lump aparently faded out.

This was some months ago and, since the problem disappeared, I didn't thought about it anymore.
However, a pair of days ago I noted more lumps on him, apparently not one but several (Nimh is naturally restless when being handled and it's really difficult to properly feel it) over the same area, more or less. Paralelly, I've notticed he's apparently really itchy somehow? I never saw him scratching very much, but he does it constantly now and that makes me think he could maybe have some kind of parasyte? Which seems strange since I live on a flat and there are no more pets on my home or anything, but I dunno...
Also, and I don't know if this could mean anything or if it's just him being him: he's picking the habit to empty his food bowl totally all over the place, simply scrambling the food out, and I see him gnawing a lot more than usual too, being awake also more hours a day than he used to be.
I'm maybe paranoid, that can also be.

Of course I'm willing to take him to the vet asap, but I'm afraid I can't do it as immediately as I'd wish so I'd highly appreciate your advice anyway, in case some of you may've experienced something similar with their mice.

Thanks a lot!

by Peachy Wed 18 Oct 2017, 6:42 pm

External parasites like mites can come in on supplies... bedding, food, toys. I would have your vet check him out, parasites are what it sounds like to me. Or else it could be an allergy. What do you feed and what do you have in his cage?

The food thing sounds unrelated. Is he acting okay otherwise? Still playing, wanting attention, and such?

by Misha_usa Fri 20 Oct 2017, 8:31 am

Thanks Peachy for your answer.
I used to buy Cunipic's (I think it's a brand from here) hamster's food mix, getting some components off, but recently replaced it by the same brand's specific mix for mouses, which I was unable to find before and realy looked a lot better. Also fed him cereal and fruit mix bars, the ones usually selled for birds and so, that he actually liked very much. Plus some fresh food from home, like fruits, beggies, bread and so.
For the cage I used a prepared paper bedding mixed with a little of hay (also prepared).

I took him to the vet yesterday in the end since the scratching got so bad he was already hurting his skin.
Effectively I was told the pararistes seemed like the most suitable option (he talked about a virus called "Scratchy" that could also be the cause, but for now he rooted for the parasites), and was intructed to remove mostly everything from his cage and use home-made newspaper bedding and also the same food we ate at home instead of the mix I was buying.
He was given an anti-parasite, spread on his back on liquid form (we call it a "pipeta" here, but dunno if there's a corret translation in English), and if the diagnosis is good he is supposed to get better in a few days.
I'm visiting again in two weeks if everything goes well anyway for him to be checked.

I'm still a little worried since I was also asked to look after him for any neurological effect the product may cause on him, like balance-loss or so. I checked on him and it seems to be fine, but he's very fidgety and the way he moves was already a little funny -I think because of the itchyness itself-... he shakes his head from time to time and looks kinda "insecure" on his pacing.
I really hope this is solely because of the discomfort of being all itchy, plus the big and sudden change on his habitat. The former bedding was basically staying on the floor and he'd walk on it, but the new one is forming loops and ruffles of paper and, while I think he enjoys having the opportunity now to get under it, it also seems quite uncomfortable to walk on.

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Pimple-like prominnces and a lot of scratching..

Pimple-like prominnces and a lot of scratching..

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Re: Pimple-like prominnces and a lot of scratching..

Re: Pimple-like prominnces and a lot of scratching..