# ocd males



## cat (May 22, 2010)

Do males do some sserious preening or would repeated preening possibly mean mites????.. the two broken males i have from the lot i collected sunday are more often than not preening n scratching.. was thinking of gettin some mite spray and do the lot of em just incase.. the girls arent too bad.. the males defo ocd.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Mites sound like a real possibility.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Better to treat and they don't have them than to not treat and they do - it will not harm them if they don't have mites.


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## zany_toon (Apr 3, 2010)

I have a mouse like that - Marx. When he has mites though the obsessive preening turns into obsessive scratching and it is really hard to break him out of the habit


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## cat (May 22, 2010)

cool have ordered some spot on for small animals will do the males first hopefully will sort them before it gets out of hand... so im guessing as with administering treatment for this kinda thing as with all mite cases on any animal its treat the animal change all bedding chuck all loo rolls n shredded paper and start new.... how long do u continue the mite treatment for or basically till you see them cease scratching?


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Yep chuck everything wooden and cardboard and sterilise everything else. There should be directions on the pack as to how often but some people treat once (some types last 4 weeks) and some people use different types and treat a few times to make sure they get all life stages of the mites.


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## cat (May 22, 2010)

cool.. gonna treat all inc the mammates ... would it be worth poss doing a mite treatment routinely say maybe once or twice a month/week as part of reg routine.. or do mites become resistant to the med if same type is used too regularly?


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

You're not supposed to use the treatment on pregnant or nursing animals if you're using ivermectin. Pyrethrins based sprays aren't as harsh but it still says not to use on pregnant and nursing animals (though I have with no ill effects). Personally I only treat if I suspect mites, not as a matter of course, though some people do.


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## cat (May 22, 2010)

right i got another lil problem now.. have received the treatment for the lil fms ... *do not treat animals weighing under 50g*... weighed all mine and they all weigh between 17-22 g.... the treatment i got was beapher ivermectin spot on .. so now what are my options?? do i wait till they are heavier but in meantime have the lil bucks scratching like mad or is there another application that can be used at any weight/age? :?:


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## Lizzle (Apr 7, 2010)

Hmm.. can you describe the pattern of hairloss on your mice, or do their coats appear normal and healthy (obviously with the frequent scratching)? I've heard that round, bald patches can indicate roundworm, and I know from experience that mice with thinning hair around their faces and neck (plus the scratching) can indicate a vitamin A deficiency (do not ever feed your mice peanuts.. I learned the hard way  ). I can't say I've had any experience with mites, so I'm throwing this out there as another potential possibility just in case.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

You can use a mite spray like Bob Martin's etc for small animals, I have used this on babies with no ill effects.


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## cat (May 22, 2010)

lizashley.. there is no hair loss hence why i wanna catch this before anything further develops...mouse breeder.. i have seen the water based johnsons small animal spray would this be ok for any age?


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

I have always used Bob Martin's but couldn't find this last time I went to buy some so have something different at the moment. I have only just started using it so couldn't recommend it or otherwise as yet.


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

I used the Beaphar with my mice - have the same stuff you have. I think I used a drop per mouse - definitely split one pipette between at least 2 meeces. You can also get a spot-on called Xeno 50 that has a dose rate for everything from 10g.


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

spot on is a measured dose, its baically a tiny drop from a bottle, it is actually quite an accurate amount. 
just put a spot on a glass slide, dip a childs paint brush into it and dab this on the mouses neck. When I had an infestation in a stud of several hundred mice it was simple to open a box, clear out the bedding and dab every mouses neck from above with a childs paint brush. I knew which ones I had done as there was a tiny wet patch on each mouses neck. Job Done quickly. One drop or spot did many mice. 
Life cycle is vital in mites, you have eggs, half stages and adults. You will find that cleaning out every 4 days for a month will catch all the stages in the cycle of 99% of mites. If you wish to speed the process up increase the temp in the mousery. 
If like me you keep the bedding in the maxeys for the next show, dont forget to destroy that as well. One other tip that worked well was a vapona fly block in the mousery, however I dont think these are avilable now. I did find a good substitute before we had the modern treatments and this was to cut up a flea collar- dogs and cats into tiny squares and drawing pin a piece to the underside of each cage lid. Happy days.


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## cat (May 22, 2010)

kallan i have the beapher spot on .. but it states not to use on animals under 50g.. so ill keep that for later when they are bigger... mousebreeder i have ordered some bob martin small animal mite spray aka my little friend... from good ole ebay so will use that once it arrives....ill be back.. you say you use squares of flea collar on the inside lid of the cage and it seems to work... does the type of cage matter ..i.e enclosed plastic cage or wire cage as surely with wire cage it wouldnt make much difference??? i wont be showing my mice hence no need for maxey cages.What sort of change did you see in your mice once u had applied the drop of spot on.. would you say it worked?


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## matthetherington (Jun 5, 2010)

Just about to ask the exact same question. My satin male is doing the same thing. Since the mention of mites i've started itching all over. I know its all in my head though :lol: 
Need to buy me some mite spray! Better safe than sorry.


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## cat (May 22, 2010)

right next q.. i have my spray.. now which is the best way to apply it.. i was thinking of just having the lil chap in me hand and with a toothbrush just brushing the stuff in opposite way to which the coat lies... im assuming you do the belly too..?


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