# Please help identify these skin lesions!!



## madmouse (May 19, 2012)

The doe in the pic is one of a set of related does from the same breeder. When I got them, one out of the four had a very tiny spot on her had that looked like a scrape. I thought she just dinged her head playing hard. During their quarantine, the "ding" disappeared. It's been over a month since I got them and now suddenly 3 out of 4 of the does have broken out in noticibly large bald spots. The skin at these spots seems a bit raw and a little moist. The spots are concentrated around the top of the head and the upper torso. I haven't seen signs of fighting/wounds, parasites, scratching, barbering, etc. It looks a bit to me like a fungal/ringworm or maybe a topical yeast infection [not sure if furry mice get yeast infections but hairless do], but I'm not really that sure. Do you guys agree? If so, what would you suggest as treatment?


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

Its ringworm- off down the chemist for some athletes foot powder. powder the mice and their cage, once a week till it clears up, simples. Happy Christmas.


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## madmouse (May 19, 2012)

Thanks for the confirmation! I too thought it was ringworm, but I wanted to get another opinion before I began a course of treatment (also, the only other ringworm case I had was in a rabbit and I used Tinactin cream on it, but wasn't sure if that was appropriate for mice).


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## scrapheapchallenge (Sep 17, 2012)

be aware that ringworm can be transmitted to humans and other animals too. Make sure that you also treat the mouse habitat, and use a fungicide to clean all the surfaces, replace any wooden toys etc too as it can live for years on anything they scratch on.


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## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

on the top of the head is a typical location for overgrooming, too. have you tried removing the 1 that hasn't marks and wait a few weeks?


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Overgrooming pretty much always includes the whiskers, and this mouse has full whiskers.

I agree that it looks like ringworm....the time scale also fits in that ringworm has a 3-4 week incubation....it also isn't always visible on mice (they don't always lose fur, so the 4th may have it and it just isn't visible)


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## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

I've had one or two mice that got lesions like that and after separating them the fur grew back without further treatment. If it doesn't get better with appropriate treatment for ringworm, I'd try separating them for a few weeks and see if the fur comes back.


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## madmouse (May 19, 2012)

This was certainly ringworm! I removed the affected mice and their cage mates from my home to a seperate quarantine area. I sterilized all their non-porous articles, threw away all their porous things (cardboard, wood, etc.) and powered them, their bedding and their environment with jock-itch powder on a regular basis. I did the same to the unaffected mice and their things. I even powdered my hands and forearms after touching affected mice. I've actually dealt with ringworm before, but I did not recognize it as previously I had only seen it on skinny pigs, not on furry animals. The spots began regrowing hair within a week and I've had no more problems, but I do continue to powder everybody anyway (and will for a while) to make sure its not still incubating about the mousery.


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