❗️URGENT MOUSE TROUBLE❗️

by MousyHorse Sun 06 Oct 2019, 3:47 pm

Hello!

Last Christmas, all I wanted were more mice to add to my ever expanding pet family. To my shock, I actually got the supplies in order to own more mice. The very next day, I bought 3 lovely gals (I understand that adoption is ideal to buying but my overly excited brain decided that waiting months until the “Christmas fails” ended up in a shelter many MANY miles away was just too long a wait).

Their names are KitKat, Twix, and Snickers. I adore all of them and for many months after the holidays, everything seemed to be fine. Around April or May I noticed that my smallest and least dominant girl (Snickers) sported some fur loss around her ear. It looked red and scabbed, but I wasn’t 100% sure because I doubted my eyesight and she moved in my hand very fast. Then I noticed the constant scratching. Now I was certain the scabs were self-inflicted rather than a result of bullying. Fast forward to today in October and my girl has lost much of her beautiful fur (I still think she is beautiful) around her face. One side is completely totaled.

Snickers has been to my exotic animal vet (who has since retired). Although I wasn’t actually there for the appointment due to test-taking, this is basically what happened: My father takes Snickers to the vet. My father explained that I was confused because I was certain this wasn’t mites because the other girls, who shared a tank with her, had absolutely no scratching problems. It couldn’t be environmental because I deep cleaned the tank before scheduling a vet visit and afterwards she still scratched like a maniac. The best he could do was shrug his shoulders and prescribe an antibiotic that I wasn’t able to administer to her because she squirmed way to hard and the tips he gave were not all that helpful.

I have been dealing with this for months and every time I see her (sometimes it is days before I see her), I feel a pang of guilt because I haven’t gotten any closer to fixing a problem she desperately needs help from. What inspired me to write this message is the fact that tonight she was squealing in pain so loud that even I could hear her across the room. I couldn’t take it anymore. I have asked for help but the answers weren’t entirely helpful. She needs some help.

Before anyone gets the idea...I am NOT rehoming my babies! Yes, criticize me for her condition all you like. I’m not gonna give up on her.

I have compiled a set of pictures from today when I first put the girls in their fleece habitat.

BE WARNED. THESE PICTURES ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

ASK QUESTIONS PLEASE! THIS NEEDS TO END!

by CallaLily Sun 06 Oct 2019, 5:36 pm

There is a lot of information about scratching and hair loss here: https://www.petmousefanciers.com/t17-itching-hair-loss-and-parasites.

Mites: Even if cage-mates aren’t showing any signs, that doesn’t mean it can’t be mites. It’s pretty much guaranteed that all pet shop mice are carrying mites. That’s why many choose to treat new mice right away even though there may not be any symptoms. A lot of times you won’t see the problem until something like an illness or stress causes the balance to tip more in the mites favor. So if you haven’t ever treated for mites (or it’s been some time since you have) I would get them all treated just to get that out of the way.

Now even if mites were/are the problem, that doesn’t mean she’ll suddenly stop scratching and heal. A lot of the time with mice if the initial problem isn’t successfully treated right away (or even sometimes when it is) it can lead to chronic scratching. It becomes almost a habit. And sometimes applying topical medicines only add to the problem. If you think her wounds are infected or really even if they don’t look infected, you should discuss the possibility of treatment with your vet. I’ve seen fungus being brought up as the culprit on a FB mouse group with mice scratching like that. But if it turns out to be chronic scratching, the main advice I see given is to keep the mouse distracted as much as possible. This means tons of one on one time with you, changing up toys and providing a lot of activities to keep them super busy during the times you can’t be right there stopping the scratching. It’s not easy and will likely be an ongoing battle that comes and goes.
Here is some interesting info I came across in another group that might be helpful to pass on to your vet if it turns out to be chronic scratching : https://www.petmousefanciers.com/t1546-interesting-info-on-treatment-for-ocd-scratching?highlight=SCRatching.

by Robin~ Sun 06 Oct 2019, 5:56 pm

Another possible cause could be diet. Sometimes too high of a protein level can cause irritated patches on the skin. Generally sticking to 12-14% protein is best.

However, it would be odd if she were the only mouse to show symptoms. Still, worth considering if it is too high as it may reduce how irritated the skin is over all.

by MousyHorse Sun 06 Oct 2019, 6:46 pm

Her food is at 14% crude protein. It is Sunburst for mice.

by Robin~ Sun 06 Oct 2019, 7:07 pm

MousyHorse wrote:Her food is at 14% crude protein. It is Sunburst for mice.

Perhaps it’s an allergic reaction? There are a few allergens on the ingredients list, such as peanuts and sunflower seeds.

by Mousiemouse Mon 07 Oct 2019, 2:13 am

I’m so sorry to hear about your girl Worry

I’ve had a mouse who scratched themselves similar to that, though not quite so bad, in the past. Took them to the vet and it was indeed allergies, to Timothy hay I believe. This is just what my vet said: but he recommended children’s Benadryl in cherry at 1 cc per 10 grams of mouse per day, and using the neosporin “effective germ killing formula” original ointment to help heal some of the scratches on my mouse’s face. He said it’d be ok if the mouse accidentally got a little in his eye or ingested some of it while grooming. This is just what my vet said when my mouse had allergies- and I’m not a vet and ofc I havnt seen your mouse so i wouldn’t say this is an exact diagnosis or anything for your mouse, but I think the neosporin portion may atleast be of some help for your girl? Hoping she feels better soon Heart

by Sparrow Mon 07 Oct 2019, 4:49 am

My male mouse looked similar to this, however, his scabs and bold patches were all over his body and not just his face. The cause of it was him obsessively over grooming himself. It seems to be a problem that a lot of mouse owners face, however, it is more common with males rather than females, due to the lack of company.

Nothing worked with my little boy and he would start to scratch till he bled. He was treated for mites, checked by the vet almost every week in case it was anything different but essentially we came to the conclusion that it was simply just obsessive grooming. He did it when he was bored or stressed or annoyed - or just wasn't occupied with anything specific.

I tried everything from cleaning the cage every two days, to buying and making new toys almost daily, to constantly coming up with new puzzle toys... the only thing that was a good enough distraction was taking him out.

Spencer soon became my "personal mouse" and now he goes everywhere with me, just to keep him away from scratching. I work night shifts most weeks, and so I take him with me, he would be just chilling in my sleeve, on my shoulder, playing in my hair or just snoozing in my pocket. He is my work companion now, and he absolutely loves it.

The issue is that he needs 24/7 attention. Otherwise he hurts himself. It's tough to keep going like this but it's the only thing that helps my little boy. His scabs are finally gone and I have not seen him bleed in almost two months. His hair is growing back and even the vet commented on him great improvement.

Over grooming is something that is very common. You might want to consider trying to spend as much time as you possibly can with her - it can do wonders in terms of distracting her from scratching.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Mon 07 Oct 2019, 10:31 am

Also remember the success in curing OCD scratching in laboratory mice by keeping their nails trimmed. In the study I read about, their wounds were being "treated" with a Vetericyn product, which is a very dilute-bleach antimicrobial gel spray. There is a Vetericyn+plus hot spot formulation that is safe for all animals, sold at many pet stores and at farm supply stores.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160106215525.htm

Ask what the vet thinks.

by MousyHorse Mon 07 Oct 2019, 5:59 pm

Snickers is like my "personal mouse" too. Unfortunately, I cannot spend a lot of time with her since she only comes out when it is very late and the place I mainly do my work at for school is not mouse-proof. The only safe place for her and her sisters (her sister Twix has her head leaning to one side and she stumbles a lot. I think she has a tumor. Most of my free-roam areas are elevated so they are no longer safe for her) is the bathtub which isn't exactly the most thrilling area, especially since I would take up most of the room. I could try and do one on one time with her, but she is more apt to explore and no longer enjoys simply sitting on my shoulder or lap.

by kookiesenpai Wed 09 Oct 2019, 9:57 pm

I’ve had pretty good luck with coconut oil for my dogs. I know they aren’t mice but it seems to help a lot of skin conditions... though I don’t know how well it would help her maybe someone else has experience with it?

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