# Barbering or Allergies?



## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

My mouse has hair loss on her neck and face. I have sort of ruled out ringworm because her cage mate is perfectly fine.

Do you think it is barbering or would you say food allergies. All my mice are on newspaper, so I don't think there would be issues with that bedding. I will try to get pics tomorrow if I can remember.

Thanks!-
P.S. They are quarantined.


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

Thank you to the mod that took down the 2 other copies  Not sure what happened there...


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## Fraction (Aug 29, 2011)

I remember reading that the face/around the face is a prime spot for barbering. If it's only affecting her, it's probably just barbering.


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

Okay, so separate the two? Do you know why mice barber?


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## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

Please post a picture of the affected mouse.


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

Here's the siam who is fine:

























Here is the splashed who has the hair loss:


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## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

That doesn't look lkie barbering. As far as food allergies, you've posted about what you feed them and asked lots of questions, so if you're following advice given it's unlikely to be that either. I think you've had mice with bald patches before? We didn't see pics of those.

I think there may be a few problems with the health of your mice. You seem to have quite a few issues popping up with them, which is distressing for you. Ringworm isn't the only fungal infection that can affect their coat. Also, aside from this there are many other potential causes for this hair loss. I think if you take this mouse to a vet, along with any others who are sick at the moment (from anything, not just hair loss), you may be able to get some information about anything that is floating around in your mousery and causing these recurring problems.


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

My mix is currently; oats, red wheat, rye, barley, tritikale, wheat, millet (they usually leave it but it's in the mix), flax seeds, thistle, black oil sunflower seeds, omega 3 dog treats (you can barely see them). I think that's all... Sometimes I treat them to rice crispy's... Oh yeah, I've been treating them to split green peas daily to get them used to it before it becomes part of the mix.

Are you sure it couldn't be barbering? I think I'll separate the two and quarantine them alone to see if Kenzie improves anyway. But I have tea tree and it's an anti-fungal so I can treat the two. I have had a few mice pop up with bald patches, they normally get culled though. One of em really just looked bad in general so she was culled. And them their is Karlie and Lily who I'm pretty much sure were barbered, because I SAW my buck barbering them.

I can't take her to the vet right now. The only other sickie I have is Cookie and, well let's not bring her up it's awfully upsetting for me.


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## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

Of course it _could_ be barbering. I just said it doesn't _look_ like it. But given that you've had barbering mice before, this could be the case. It could also be fungal. Or it could be a food allergy.

It appears you already know a reasonable amount about all of these things because you've posted about them all before. I'm not sure what more you want to hear. No-one on the forum can make a definitive diagnosis. We can only make suggestions, and it appears that we are just covering the same ground over and over.

You seem to be getting a lot of recurring issues in your mousery. That is why I thought you should see a vet, especially as you're breeding while these issues are unresolved. Things like barbarism can have a genetic component as well as environmental/behavioural triggers. The hair loss could be barbarism, or it could be something else.

I don't feel there's much I can add. I'll leave your further questions to forum members who have more time and patience.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

are you sure its not fungal? 
I have had fungal in mice -that affected one cage mate but never the rest.


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

Turns out it was barbering. I treated for a while and no change. But once the cage mate was removed, the fur grew back.


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