Dirty Mouse Feet

by pumpkinmouse on Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:57 am

I hope I'm posting this in the right section, lol.

I am pretty allergic to all animals with fur. My mice have never bothered me in the past because it seems they're too small to produce enough dander to really affect me, even in groups of 10. The only issue I have is cleaning their cage each week when I have to dispose of the dirty bedding... I am seemingly very allergic to their pee. Thankfully that is what gloves are for.

When handling my mice, who are constantly dragging their tails / walking through pee - my entire arms & hands break out in hives. I can pretty much guarantee they have pee under their claws, because the ones with sharper claws I tend to instantly break out with while handling. This still happens immediately after cleaning their cage & everything in it. They are not impressed with gloves, so I don't even make an attempt Wink

I'm wondering if there's anything I can use to clean their feet before holding them. I would prefer not to cut back their social time with me, but it's at the point where I'm putting them back in their cage earlier than usual because the hives are dime sized & the itching is so intense I can't deal with it. A wet washcloth with plain water is not helping at all. Is there a mild soap / pet soap or something along those lines I can use? Baby wipes? I feel like a wipe would be the least stressful option for them, I just don't know what is safe to use.

Any advice greatly appreciated, I have tried to ignore it but I don't think my hands can take much more :c

by CallaLily on Tue Oct 11, 2016 9:11 am

Yikes, that stinks. How about wearing long sleeves? I had a designated fleece hoodie that I used with Daryl like that (though not because of allergies). I wore it backwards and he loved climbing all over it and in the hood. Might help to just keep them from contacting your skin?

Or instead you could create a safe play area for them on a table or in a bin and just interact with them that way. Maybe the reaction will be less if they're touching you less?

I'm not sure about washing their feet or if that would even help. Hopefully someone else comes in with better ideas.

Dirty Mouse Feet

Dirty Mouse Feet

Re: Dirty Mouse Feet