# Eugh, what the hell? Skin Condition? Allergy? WUT?



## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Leicester's most Gracious Toddington the First is a rather old (Two years ish) satin cream. She is a special favourite of mine, so I really would like to know what's wrong with the bugger. She's always had sensitive skin - I know when we have mites because she scratches herself bald. I've always caught her before she did any damage, however. Well, possibly till now.

My partner got her out yesterday and saw that her back end, the fur at the base of her tail and up, was matted and bloody. He cleaned her up a bit, noted that she seemed lively enough and let her back into the cage, having cleaned it out. Today I took her out for a closer look. She has two new cage mates from Willow Dragon and there has been some spatting, but mostly I think its the little ones squealing and running away. Anyway, her skin is broked in several places, there's a lot of dark matting which I cleaned off with some warm water and a cotton bud. It looks like loads of little pock marks or holes in her skin, which continue under her fur. She also has noticeable dandruff, and isn't bald around the wounds which I think means she hasn't scratched them in. She was grooming herself a lot while she was out. I have three theories;

1. The others are bullying her. It seems unlikely though. She does have what looks like a little bite on her ear, but these wounds don't look like bites. But then I've not seen many.

2. They have mites, and she's scratched/chewed herself. The wounds are all in reach of her teeth, and no where else. I treated all of them (Apart from the newbies who were treated a couple of weeks ago) with beaphor today, just in case.

3. Allergic reation. In the last couple of weeks I've changed their bedding from BioCatolet to Aspen, and added tiny amounts of Echinacea to their water, which has done WONDERS for their sniffles (honestly).

For now I've put her in an 18litre with paper bedding only, and her two smallest cage mates. I treated her with a third of a pipette of gerbil/hamster grade beaphor, and haven't added anything to their water. They've got a bit of Lactol because she looked so bedraggled, poor bub. I tried to take a photo, but because its all in her fur you just can't see what its really like.

Any ideas? Sorry for the essay.

Kage xx


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## bethmccallister (Mar 5, 2010)

Could be stress, perhaps too many changes for a poor old girl like her. I would try to go back to the original bedding, original cage mates (if possible), and give her a little allergy medication to help with any scatching or chewing...I think Kallan knows how to and what to use. Just a thought though, hope she comes around. Let us know how she does.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

She's a tough old bird, but its a good thought. I don't want to change her setup again so soon, so I'll keep an eye on her for the next few days and see how she does. She's most disgusted that the cardboard tubes don't go anywhere anymore, lmao. She misses her mousie palace. She's quite used to things changing around a lot, but that was a lot all at once. Thanks .


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm glad the echineacea seems to have worked =o)


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

It does seem to have. Even Todd's chronic sneezing (she's been sneezing since she was six odd weeks old XD) has gone down. But she has lesions under her tail now, and there's blood in the bedding. I'm worried she's getting worse :/.


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

Could it be some type of burrowing mite? If thats the case, most sprays and spot ons will only treat surface creepy crawlies.

This one treats both surface and internal parasites: http://www.equinecaninefeline.com/c...-flea-spoton-hamsters-gerbils-mice-p-711.html

It may not be it, but it doesn't hurt to try I reckon. For now though, i would move her into a small seperate cage, on paper substrate and bedding. Give her somewhere where she can hide, and don't bug her too much.

W xx


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

That's the one I used yesterday. Luckily my local petshop stocks it at a reasonable price, but it does say it takes 24hours to work, I think. She's in with the two baby chams in an 18ltr with only paper bedding. They've been together for two weeks now, and the chams are fine. I checked all under their fur yesterday. I just don't want to leave her on her own . And her old cage mates are literally three times her size o.o.

I checked on her this morning because I saw the blood... I was going to clean up the wounds with some warm water before bed. Should I just leave her to take care of it? I'm just worried because its under her tail and in the bedding...


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

If the babies are stressing her out though, it may be best to leave her on her own and see what happens.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

The only time I've seen injuries like that, or at least that I would describe like that, is with fighting. I would separate her from the younger ones...at least temporarily, and see what happens.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

does she have small round circle shaped open wounds on her on her tail ?


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Only at the base, and today they've come up on her vent really quite severely. Yes, they are round really. It was hard to see them under the fur, but its clear on her vent they're like little holes in her .

I took out the two little ones, and left her on her own. I could hear her squeaking. I think even if she gets knocked then it must be sore. If she's still getting new wounds tomorrow I think its a one way vet trip on Friday. She looks so sore.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Ringworm?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

doesn't sound like ringworm.When they get those small open circular wounds it is another mouse in my experience.It took me a long time to realise that, as the holes really do look like a parasite has crawled out of them.Like whisker chewing but worse.


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

But Whisker chewing is barbering right? So this is a form of barbering? :?:

If I read it right, its the cham girls Kage got from me that are being housed with this girl... I have never had a case of barbering or anything remotely like this in my shed ever!!
If it is them that is doing this, I would wonder what changed thier behavior so dramatically.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Me too! And there are five in together normally, and no one else is showing signs. I saw thw chams grooming her, but nothing more serious... I wondered if she itches she might have done it to herself? She's on her own now, I'll see if it gets better. She is tiddly though, and lost weight now.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

WillowDragon said:


> But Whisker chewing is barbering right? So this is a form of barbering? :?:
> 
> If I read it right, its the cham girls Kage got from me that are being housed with this girl... I have never had a case of barbering or anything remotely like this in my shed ever!!
> If it is them that is doing this, I would wonder what changed thier behavior so dramatically.


I don't know the answer and we haven't seen a picture but that's my experience of those perfect small round holes as a pose to scabby rough patches from the result of self scratching.When another mouse has done it the holes are almost perfect circles and the tail is always involved.Make of it what you will,it's an odd one.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

next time I get it happen I'll take a picture for future comparison but it isn't common and I've only ever had brokens do it.


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

It is interesting, its something i've never seen... the odd notch out of the ear, or tail nips when boys are kept together yeah, but never a problem with my does.
Pictures would definately be appreciatted!


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

I tried to take some of Todd but its mostly hidden in her fur. When I wet it all you could see was what looked like a pussy mess, but its actually very clean. Most perturbing.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

here you go.The doe that did this was about a year,never attacked before and then this.She's gone to mouse heaven and these wounds are not fresh and I got rid of the perpetrator before the damage inflicted spread to other areas


















the wounds were reasonably deep when fresh and much neater looking than they are since healing has begun.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

is it just nature.I picked this bird up last week,pecked to within an inch of it's life.Why :?: The pinkies are not live


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

They look a bit similar, but Todd's are at the stop of her tail, around her vent and all up he back to maybe halfway. She would have had to have been really gnawed on, and I've not heard squeaking to indicate an attack (they live in my room.). Although she has always been a tiny sickly mouse...


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

theres another mystery.Why doesn't the one being attacked defend itself?It appears that they allow it.I don't have the answer.


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Gah. Its not the chams - I seperated her from all of the other mice yesterday, and today she has new wounds. DX. She is generally getting better, but she definitely has a couple of new pink wounds. So I think she must be doing it to herself o.o. Perhaps it was an allergy?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I wonder if it could be a cancer?


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Does cancer do that? o.o. Like a skin cancer? I don't think I have the stomach to look it up. I better take her to the vet on Monday...


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## The Boggit keeper (Mar 5, 2010)

Hi, It 's just a thought but as it sounds like little holes around your mouse's rear end maybe your mouse has Burrowing Rat Mites?? I don't know much about Rats but found a Website I had saved when I was desperate to find a cure for one of my previous mousies Ear sores that didn't respond to any treatment. Hopefully there are some Rat experts out there who could advise you as to whether this could be a possibility. I know how frustrating it can be when you can't get to the root of a problem.If nothing else it may be another thing to eliminate from the list of possibles. 

http://www.lilratscal.com/ tumors.htm - Health page-Ectoparasites
Quote from lilratscal; Burrowing mites of rats are Notoedres muris. These are the ear mange mites. A skin scraping and a microscope are needed to see these mites. They attack the ear pinnae, tail, nose, and extremities. Lesions caused by this mite are reddened, crusty, itchy areas. These mites are spread by direct contact, so it is important that you keep wild mice and rats away from your pets. They may also infect other rodents, but are not known to infect humans


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## Kage Davies (Dec 21, 2008)

Just to let you all know, I went away for a week and Todd's skin healed up beautifully. Before I went I was stroking back her fur to check underneath, and the whole scabby bit came off (really freaked me out) and left her with just a bald, smooth pink bit which is now slowly growing back in. All her scabs are gone, even the deep ones on her vent.

I think it must have been a reaction to the aspen or the echinacea. I've put her back with her cagemates, and I'll be keeping a very close eye on what happens.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

good to hear! hope she continues on the path to recovery!


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## zany_toon (Apr 3, 2010)

Hoorah!! I'm glad Todd has recovered - and here is hoping that she never suffers from it again!


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Could it be mange of some sort? Maybe treatment for pests would help...though I imagine you take care of that regularly anyway.


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