Ocd + Cortaid

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 10:49 am

Grahams OCD isn't terrible yet. She's thinning between her shoulders and ears, but for the most part, there's not any broken skin.
I'd like to keep it that way. So I've decided to be intensive about it.

My first question is Cortaid and Neosporinplus. Cortaid is evidently good for chronic scratchers, does anyone have experience with it? Would it be a good idea? NeosporinPLUS can act as a pain reliever / numbing agent. Would this work for a chronic scratcher as well? What are rules in using these, if any?

I know Scaredy kept her mouse in a KritterKeeper so she was able to monitor her closely during the day. I'm considering this, but I have a few questions. The keeper I have is very small. It can hold a hide, a food bowl, a water bowl, and a hanging toy with very little room left to spare. This has never been an issue because its only been used for vet visits and cage cleaning. Would this work, considering its only for the daytime hours? Or not?
Another concern is that I wouldn't want either mouse to get lonely, even if they see eachother for 30 minutes during the day and all night. Thoughts?

When you rearrange the cage, should you merely change the layout, or add new toys as well?

In the meantime I change the cage around. I'll be making MES's she's never seen and stopping her when I see her scratch, etc.

by **Peachy** on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 2:32 pm

I'm not sure about using Neosporin if there's no wounds that need to heal. Is it just thinning fur? Are you sure it's not from an allergy or high protein or something?

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 2:43 pm

True.
I did notice a small scab once, but that was about it, and it seems to have healed now. The fur is definitely thinning and she's definitley scratching.
I'm not sure. Considering she had lice recently and has been scratching ever since it seemed more likely to me that it was OCD, so I didn't bother to check. Should I? What should I do to make sure that it isn't allergies/high protein?

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 3:00 pm

The food is on the higher side of okay for a mouse. I think it's about 14%? They've been on it for roughly a month now. The only common allergy food I leave in the mix in wheat. They're so small and hard to find they're nearly impossible to take out, but I don't think the mice eat them anyway - not that I've seen. It's the one thing they leave behind in this mix. I'll change to that parakeet mix that doesn't have anything in it to pick out in a few days.

Bedding changed rather recently. I changed from Kaytee Clean n Cozy to Kaytee Clean Comfort about two weeks ago, but it's basically the same thing exactly and I think the problems with her OCD started before then. It's paper-based and non-dusty, do you still think I should change it?

I know I've seen it recommended to remove wood toys from the cage before. But I don't really wanna risk this considering there's a high possibility of it being OCD and leaving her with only the wheel, one house and some cardboard rolls would make her more likely to scratch.

What else should I try?

by **Peachy** on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 3:03 pm

I personally think it'd be worth ruling out other causes, just in case. When did you finish the treatment for parasites?

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 3:05 pm

Today was their very last treatment for it. I did three weeks, two week gap, and then another three weeks, so it should have been treated by now, right?

I'll go about ruling out allergies, yeah. What do you think I should try changing so I can rule it out??

by CallaLily on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 3:57 pm

If you're needing to rule them out, wooden toys can easily (and cheaply) be replaced with cardboard things. Boxes, egg cartons, tubes, drink trays, etc. They can be glued together in various ways to create fun things to climb in/on/through. If you have bigger pieces of cardboard, you can cut some to size to fit your tank to create foraging walls.

Edit to add: This person has some really great ideas for foraging walls and more: https://youtu.be/CiphcQvPJYw.

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 4:06 pm

Alright, thanks. I'll do that as well as changing the food this Tuesday. How long should I leave these changes before I can go back to adding in wooden toys and the like?
Should I do anything about the bedding at all, or do you think it's safe to leave it as is? Is there anything else I should do?

EDIT: I don't have velcro; what else could I use to add foraging walls onto the back of the tank? I do have tons of cardboard I could use to make MES's.

by CallaLily on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 4:11 pm

It might help to focus on one thing at a time, so if it does work you know what fixed it. I'm not sure on how long to wait for results. Errr, I wish I had my old posts on TFM when I was trying to rule things out with Daryl! I can't remember how long was recommended. Gaah

You could try just cutting the cardboard to fit very snuggly, where it can't move. Worked for me until I picked up some Velcro. I really need to get back into making them! My mice really enjoyed it.

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 4:25 pm

That's true. I'll start out making changes to the food and keep up with the distractment. I think I'll pick up some Cortaid too, because it'll help her out no matter what sort of allergy/scratching problem she has, right?
Thanks guys.

I think it was 1-2 weeks but I'm not certain which one.

by **Peachy** on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 5:53 pm

I remember being told to expect some improvement within a few days if it was irritation from food or something environmental. I was thinking if the parasite treatment was recently finished, the hair might be taking time to grow back... but I think the timeline was similar.

I did discover that my Pearl scratches her face much less since I switched her to food with less protein than 14%. It's not perfect yet, but an incredible improvement!!

I hope Graham will feel less itchy soon.

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 6:25 pm

Okay! Hopefully Tuesday comes fast. Till then - distraction will be my best shot.

That's good to hear! I really hope it works.

Thanks! Me too. I can only hope. She's still having a really great time exploring new things and playing, so I'm just glad she's not particularly bothered yet.

by MouseLover on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 7:54 pm

Gosh - that foraging wall is GREAT Very Happy

Good luck River, hope you get to the bottom of this!

by CinnamonPearl on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 8:02 pm

Switch them onto a bedding of shredded newspaper, remove all wooden toys, and switch them onto a food closer to 12% CP. Wheat usually isn't a common allergen for mice, so long as you're picking out striped sunflower seeds and peanuts.

by River on Fri 02 Sep 2016, 8:38 pm

Question about newspaper - is colored newspaper okay?

Does anyone know what suitable foods have 12% protien?

What should I start with first - food change, bedding change, wood toy removal...what?

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