Problem with pet mouse's eye?

[racinghamster]

Ah...now this may explain things. You have one mouse `barbering` the other mouse. Or, over grooming her! Now this is NOT serious, it just looks odd. She will appear to have shaved areas on her body. You can intervene when you see her doing this, but sometimes they will groom one another and during the night, so you can`t watch them 24/7.

Make sure they have good enrichment in their cage/tank. Cardboard egg box with holes in each end, toilet roll tubes etc...

Make sure they have water filled up and scatter feed too if your going away for the weekend. But hopefully no longer. Also make sure their cage is away from sunlight and the rom is ventilated by keeping a door open when you are gone, unless you have any other pets? If you don`t, then it should be fine.

Google `barbering images in mice` and this will explain things. Just ignore any idiotic webpages that say remove the mouse who is barbering or such like. You have a mouse who is dominant over the other mouse, that`s all. x

[racinghamster]

A mouse who`s being barbered or, over groomed, might look like this:

[Serena56]

I'm so glad that my mouse was fine when I got back, yeah she itches, but barbering does explain what is happening. So when my brown mouse barbers my white mouse she may feel irritated and start to itch? She doesn't have any missing patches of fur still, she just has certain areas in her coat that are thinner than others. I will provide more nutrients for them and I think they could go for some more ventilation as well. I'll research more into this and I separated my mice into separate cages before I left for the trip as a precaution but I will let them join each other once again.

Thanks for your advice as always, I wish you and all of your pets happiness!

[racinghamster]

There was no need to separate them really when you went away as doing so would have caused them to wonder where their friend was. Female mice only need separating if one is a real bully, but that is rare with females. If they are housed in a glass tank, the ventilation won`t be that of a barred cage so the room they are in should have a window open a little or the room door a jar during the day rather than fully closed. Obviously though if you have a cat or a dog then it`s probably better to keep them out and use the window for ventilation, but the tank needs to be away from draughts.

Mice like hamsters, wash a lot and scratching is part of that ritual. x

[Serena56]

Alright! I am going to go to the pet store to buy more things for their entertainment and I'll keep my window and door slightly open from now on. I'll move them both into their tank so they can see each other again.

[racinghamster]

Just make sure they still recognise one another. They should do, but leave them to settle again without cleaning out or stressing them. Female mice never need splitting up once they are bonded. No need to make too much fuss really. x

[Serena56]

Alright, I have them sharing the tank again and they have a whole bunch of new toys. I guess I always worry too much especially with the fact that my white mouse scratches too much but I'm hoping it will calm down and I'm going to be patient.

[racinghamster]

White mice can be prone to obsessive itching once it starts and if the cause isn`t obvious, it`s always better to keep things basic. Use shredded/chopped paper on the cage floor and plain white toilet paper as nesting, or mix the two together. Don`t use anything dusty or aromatic near mice. Don`t use hay/straw or anything that could bring in mites, lice or fungal spores.

Natural products like cardboard and egg boxes, toilet roll tubes and plastics that can be cleaned, rather than wooden items that can start to smell from urine. Cardboard products can be chewed also and replaced easily if they get chewed up of smelly.

Mice can be fussy with fresh foods, but you could try offering small pieces of fresh sweet corn, a garden pea, carrot (washed and grated) water cress (not the peppery type) and a little muesli cereal, dry porridge oats and puffed rice, as long as there is no added sugars or syrups added. Keep it natural. x

[Serena56]

Okay I will keep paper shavings and follow your advice! Thanks!