Problem with pet mouse's eye?

[Serena56]

Thank you both for your advice!

I think that since my other mouse grooms just regularly the problem isn't with mites but more with the bedding that my mouse had and maybe I should be supplying them both with more nutrients from fruit in their diet. Some areas of my mouse's skin must be somewhat irritated still so I think I may get some dandelion from the backyard or chickweed for her to roll in.

As for the vitamin D, I'll research more into that to see how it may affect my mice.

[Serena56]

The main thing she does is constantly rub her face, her head looks light pink in certain areas.

[racinghamster]

It could be irritation from fine dust in the shavings you are using Serena. I have an alternative for you to try and it`s cheap, so you will like it! Do you have a shredder? A small one or know someone who works in an office or a bank or anywhere that might fill a large bag with shredded paper, especially a cross-shredder?

Chopped, shredded plain paper (not glossy or photographic paper) makes a wonderful deep bedding for mice, as well as the plain unbleached toilet paper you use for nesting. I would switch to this and see if it makes any difference? It`s what I would do if I thought the mice had reacted to the shavings. Aspen is the safer option, but mice can be far more prone to health issues than hamsters are, so given you guys can`t get Fitch bedding or a decent paper based one except the wood pulped Carefresh which is highly dusty, the shredded paper is you best option.

As for feeding dandelion, well it`s not really advisable as it can be a diuretic. If feeding the mice fresh veg, probably best to put a few small pieces of things like apple, carrot, lettuce. garden peas, sweet corn, broccoli....those types of things in a shallow dish and let them pick at it. x.

[Serena56]

Today, my brown mouse has been scratchy as well. I put a small bit of olive oil on my white mouse's head as I heard it helps with itches and with the fur slightly damp I could see her skin better and I could have sworn I saw a black dot. She may have mites after all, I think I may ask for something to take care of mites from my vet. Then I can change to paper based bedding.

[racinghamster]

Mites are microscopic and can`t be seen by the naked eye, but lice can. Lice lay their eggs on the hair shafts and it can appear `sticky`. But rather than guessing, I would see a vet that is savvy with rodents and give you a proper spot on treatment. Do you have a cat or any other animals that could bring in/carry fleas or other parasites? Check the shavings you bought for any signs of infestation. Freezing them won`t make any difference because only high heat kills bugs. Hay and stray can be big culprits for parasites so if you have any, I would bin it.

Get the shredded paper going and have loads of it in a large sack. Maybe ask in some shops or offices locally, estate agents, those kind of places if they have any bags of shredded paper you can have. They will probably be only too happy to give it to you! x

[Serena56]

I don't have any other pets besides my mice. I asked my mother about seeing a vet earlier but she's convinced that my mouse is less scratchy than she was after using the oil treatment, which appears to be true, I also don't know if we have any vets in my city who are good with rodents. I changed the shavings to paper based shavings. Can mites still reproduce on the paper shavings?

[racinghamster]

Do you mean shredded paper? I`m not sure if mites or other parasites would live in paper shreds but I imagine so if they layed eggs. The mice could have skin mites or fur mites which usually irritate when the animal is stressed or the immune system is run down, although parasites can come in on beddings, food and from hay/straw/grass products.

If you follow my suggestions about switching to deep chopped shredded paper, toilet paper as nesting and keep the mice clean and make sure they are getting fresh foods like water cress, apple, greens like raw broccoli, garden peas and perhaps some chopped nuts that are safe for hamsters like peanut, walnut etc... the diet could be lacking in vitamins so check the packet to make sure too that the protein isn`t too high. Mice don`t need protein higher than around 15% as a maintenance diet, only if they are babies or nursing mothers.

How are they both doing? Do you suspect they have a skin problem or are they just over grooming? Any small cuts or scabs on or around their faces/neck could indicate mites, so a spot on treatment wouldn`t go wrong at this stage, but you need to be sure it`s safe to use on mice as most spot on treatments can be for larger animals like Syrian hamsters and be too potent in that dose. Xeno50 mini is the best one here in the UK. It contains Ivermectin. Most do, but because it`s an active nerve agent, a vet is the best person to apply it unless you know what your doing. x

[Serena56]

My mother went to a pet store to ask questions about mice and the lady there said that she could take a look at my mouse for any mites because apparently you can see them as tiny brown specks on your mouse's fur. I went there to watch and she moved my mouse's fur around a bit to check on the skin. My mouse has no visible scabs and the skin seems to lack proper redness and she doesn't have missing patches of fur. Just a small spot on her back lacking the thickness that it used to have. She apparently doesn't have any mites so the lady said to give it about a week from changing the bedding to see if the scratching stops. I will also take in your suggestions and provide a more healthy diet for my mice. I got worried with the amount of scratching being more than usual but she doesn't have any bad symptoms of chronic scratching so I'm going to wait a bit and see if its just the skin getting irritated by an allergic reaction and if it will go away.

Thank you SO much for all of your help and wonderful suggestions!

[racinghamster]

No problem. If your back to using Aspen shavings again when the mice were fine on them before then I would just air them off in a storage box without a lid well before using them to get rid of the fresh smell. By the time the mice need fresh, the shavings should smell less or of no scent. Still get a shredder up and running though to make some chopped paper perhaps to mix in with the shavings, or to switch to should their allergies worsen. Remember too that pet stores are not vets! So they may give an opinion but that`s all it is. It`s good to eradicate anything you feel might be the cause, like switching to a paper based flooring and add to their daily diet with a small amount of raw greens, a little apple and give them a little amount of water cress. Mice love to nibble on it. Make sure their protein levels are not too high as this alone can cause a reaction. Try and keep their diet varied and nutritious. x

[Serena56]

So the pinkish appearance of my mouse's head is gone but she still does itch more than she regularly should, but still no scabs, or bad hair loss. I noticed today, however, that my brown mouse was biting my white mouse's fur and yanking it out. I'm been forced to leave for a wedding tomorrow and I am not returning until Sunday. Why would my brown mouse be yanking out some of my white mouse's fur and is there anything I can do to help her?