Just A Little Confused

by CucumberMouse Sun 10 Dec 2017, 11:21 pm

So, when I went to check on my little mouse this morning, I noticed that the fur on one part of his back looked a little off. When I got a closer look, I could see that some fur was missing and there was a little scab on his back. It's very small, and really no big deal, it should probably heal pretty fast. It wasn't on him last night when I fed him, and he doesn't live with any other mice. There's not much in the cage in the cage that I can see him getting his fur caught on or anything like that. He has a little wood tunnel that has a piece of splintered wood, but he never goes near that, and I really can't see how he'd get in a position where the fur on his back could get caught on the wood. He also has a hanging bird nest made out of hay, which he sleeps in every day, and he's never had an issue with it. The nest is filled with toilet paper and I've never head of a mouse's fur getting stuck and pulled out by a hay hide. Would it be possible or normal that he would over-groom himself to the point of pulling out fur and getting a little scab? Could his scab be an early warning of other health issues? It's very small (maybe around 2-3 square millimeters or something like that), but should I do anything to treat it? He also seemed a little more skittish than usual, but maybe he's normally that skittish and I was just being paranoid Undecided

. Anyone know of anything that might've caused the little scab?

by Peachy Sun 10 Dec 2017, 11:39 pm

Has he been treated for mites? What do you feed and what kind of bedding? Scabs like this are usually caused by excessive scratching, which can be triggered by something like allergies or too much protein, or from external parasites.

by CucumberMouse Sun 10 Dec 2017, 11:57 pm

Right now he's eating a mix of Reggie rat and mimi mouse, vitacraft vitasmart rat mouse and gerbil food, kaytee supreme finch food, and higgens vita garden rat and mouse food. They're all mixed evenly, so the protein is around 13.75% or just a little higher. The bedding I'm using is carefresh paper bedding, and it's unscented. He's been on this bedding for pretty much the entire time I've owned him and never had an issue with it. He hasn't been treated for mites. How would I do that? Thank you for the help by the way

by Peachy Mon 11 Dec 2017, 12:13 am

Here's the info on mites, treatment info is at the bottom- https://www.petmousefanciers.com/t17-itching-hair-loss-and-parasites

Does he seem to be scratching a lot?
The bedding probably isn't an issue. I would treat for mites first, they're common and can come in on the mouse itself or any supplies you bring in. Even if it's not the cause of scratching, it's beneficial to treat him anyway because the medication can act as a preventative. If he's itching a bunch because of mites, you should notice improvement within the first week or two after you've started.

If treating for mites doesn't help, I would look into what allergens may be in your food (sunflower seeds and peanuts are common culprits) and/or consider lowering the crude protein. Many mice are fine with 13-14%, but sometimes they just do better with the minimum.

In the mean time... innocent scratching can sometimes lead to more serious "OCD" scratching, so do your best to keep your boy busy and distracted.

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Just A Little Confused

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