# I dont deserve to own mice. :(



## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

Hey, guys its been awhile. My mice are in horrible condition now. They all are weezy, puffy eyed and loosing fur. They do not look like mice who want to even be alive. They have something i don't know, one of them has an ear thats almost completley scratched off. They have horrible dyharea and have sloped backs. I've tried echinacea, ive cleaned their ears daily. I went and looked for any type of mouse medication. Even called vets, but no one will take them. Even if they did....would I be able to afford it? I think not. So heres my question. What should I do? I want to be responsible. If there was anyone who could take care of them better, I'd have given them to them in a heart beat. But there is'nt and meanwhile the poor things have been in this condition for a good long while. Please, HELP. I feel like a horrible person. I love animals so much.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

There's got to be some vet out there that will see them, even to just put them down. Instead of complaining please try a little harder to find someone to help. At the very least, you can buy Baytril at several bird stores.
Loose stool can be hardened by eating dry oats (oatmeal)
Hair loss can be fixed with Ivermectin pour on found at a feed or tractor supply store.

Your problems could be solve-able---you need to act fast!


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

I am not 'complaining' as you say. And I've called every vet in the area, there is only one small animal hospital a long while away, 60 bucks per mouse per visit. They already eat oatmeal, and several otherfood types....What does Baytril do exactly, or ivermectin? Because I dont even understand whats wrong with them!


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

I better clarify. I have around twelve mice now. three are fine, two in very bad contition, and the rest in bad. It isnt something that just developed, it has been this way for months. Please do not point fingers like "how could you let it get that bad?" well as I have said, I do not know what is wrong! its obvuisly not life threatening, just very very uncomfortable. i have tried a change in diet/bedding/cage to see if something environmental was wrong. It isnt that. Then I thought maybe its earmights, but i cleaned their ears with baby oil, even peroxide(my father used it gently with my old cats and it worked.) No luck. So I am not sure...Any ideas as to what it could be? I posted out of desperation. I don't like to post on websites like this. :/ Any help would be appreciated.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

There's not much that can be done at a distance; I'm sorry to say that you should have the ones who have been sick for so long pts. The ones that look good are probaby resistant to the infection that's made the others sick.

If you DO want to try to help them, I'll try to explain what Baytril and Ivermectin do. Baytril is an antibiotic that kills a wide variety of bacteria. Isn't that kind of self explanatory? The only thing I can't tell you is how much to give them; someone else will have to come through with that. Maybe someone more experienced at dealing with chronic conditions like this. Ivermectin PourOn or Iver-On is a chemical that kills mites, ticks, mange, worms...pretty much any kind of nastly crawly or wiggly inside and outside of the mousie. The Iver-On cost about $20 to 25 bucks and when I use it I dilute a small quantity with distilled water, just enough to fill an eyedropper bottle. Then I put three drops on the back right behind the head, sort of the shoulders area and work it in with the dropper so it doesn't drip off. I do this three times at one week intervals to be sure all the mites and any hatched later from eggs are gone. Changing the litter often helps too, as it will get rid of many of the mites and eggs.

It may not be mites. You can see mites by taking a clean piece of white paper like TP or whatever and then sprinkle some used bedding on it. Swipe away the bedding gently, and if you see little specks that move, that them! Yuck! But mousies can get other pests internal and external, like mange, and the Iver-On handles that as well as worms. I'd do the treatment even if you don't see mites. It's a harsh chemical, anything that kills is sort of harsh by definition, so young or weakened individuals may not do well and may die.

I suppose you know not to use pine or cedar bedding, and probably also know that paper bedding can harbor mold or mildew. Torn up newsprint in perfectly safe and generally free if your community has a local free paper. It's nearly impossible to get a mousie free of the crusty runny sores once they get started, and when it's been awhile, the prognosis is not good. The really sick ones should probably be pts. Sorry.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

Other questions about the illness may be related to the conditions: what's the temp where they are? do they have enough venitlation? do they have lots of clean water? what are they eating? how many mice are in what size of space? There could be any number of things going wrong.


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

1: Peroxide and Baby Oil are not effective treatments for mites, fur or ear mites, and in general will irritate the mice and will cause them to scratch and injure themselves.

Its better to treat with a topical or oral antiparasitic like ivermectin. Topical is the easiest, and most fool proof, mix 1part ivermectin to 10parts clean water. Pyretherin, and diatomeous earth are other options for antiparasitics, but I'd only use them if the Ivermectin wasn't effective, some bugs are stubborn.

2: You have changed the bedding and feed, that is good, but tell us from what to what, be as descriptive as possible. There are many environmental factors that can cause allergic reactions in mice. And the symptoms your describing could just as easily be due to allergies.

3: I'm not the first one to say take an animal to a vet, honestly if I have a mouse so sick it requires professional treatment, I'm more likely to cull it. But you have to actually take that step, if you do not wish to pursue veterinary care[for what ever reason] it's best to follow through and cull any animals that are chronically sick and suffering. This not only eleviates their pain, but also prevents them from constantly reinfecting the other mice. I'd encourage you to at least cull the 2 very sick animals, and isolate the healthy animals from the sickly animals.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Great advice all!


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Salemouse what have you decided to do?


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

I culled, Thanks all for your help, really, it was necessary. I'm checkin out the ivermectin for the others, though they seem pretty good, its best i think to make sure. Most cages hold about two mice, the females though have six. Im getting new cages today. Clean start i suppose. Plus i just found new babies....they were wandering my celler....Dx mr mousey must have got down with some wild female, though he never excaped. Oy vey.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

You should try using 5 1/2 or 10 gallon plexi aquarium tank for cages. The wire lids with the metal edges are heavy enough that they are very secure, or the plastic framed ones with latches. They are cheap and easy to clean.


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

Thats the thing...thats what I use! lol It's all so strange. 0.o I got some new ones today...the old ones look fine though....Lord.


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## jadeguppy (Jun 4, 2011)

I haven't had anyone escape from these, except the one time I didn't fully close one and she was found hanging out on top of the cage. Not too hard to build and they save a lot of space. You don't want mice gettng free, especially in a garage setting. It can be very unhealthy for them.


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

Mine are actually in aquarium tanks with good fitted tops. They've never escaped from those. I recon it happened when I went on vacation. My parents probably lost him, found him and didnt tell me. Anyways, It's all good now, the symptoms are clearing up, I'm moveing the fermales back into my room so they can be properly loved and cared for.  A good end I should think and I am happily awaiting some babies.


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## salemouse (Oct 9, 2010)

Mine are actually in aquarium tanks with good fitted tops. They've never escaped from those. I recon it happened when I went on vacation. My parents probably lost him, found him and didnt tell me. Anyways, It's all good now, the symptoms are clearing up, I'm moveing the fermales back into my room so they can be properly loved and cared for.  A good end I should think and I am happily awaiting some babies.


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