# Can Mice Have Worms?



## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm asking because one of my new mice has a rounded belly, but her tail is skinny. You can see and feel the bones in it. How would you treat for worms? I had other mice get skinny tails, and they died. I'd rather not lose her, is there anything I can do for her? I don't think she's pregnant, she doesn't have that look. Would feeding her high quality food help, or extra fresh food?


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## Jacqueline (Jul 16, 2009)

Mice can have worms unfortunately. Recently I had to treat my mice for worms and I got drops that are based on ivermectine. I gave all of my mice 1 drop and repeated this the week after and to be sure a third time at week 3. It can be necessary to give 4 treatments to get rid of all of them.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

In the US, you will need to find some Iver-On, which is a liquid spray-on sold for large animals like horses and cattle. I find mind at Tractor Supply and it usually costs about $35 but the amount (since it is meant for large animals) can literally last you a lifetime. Dilute it 1:5 Iver-On:water and spray the mouse at least twice weekly for three weeks. This kills all internal (worms) and external (mites, lice) parasites.

The regular kind of paste ivermectin is deadly because it is not mixed adequately enough to feed a mouse. You might end up feeding them a very tiny portion that does nothing or a very large portion that kills them.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

I've actually used puppy and kitten worming powder for mice (as recommended by the vet) and it worked very well.

http://www.fancymice.info/worms.htm


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## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

What kind of dose did you give your mice?


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Iver-On only coast me about $25. from Jeffers, and it's supposed to work on worms as well as mites and lice, and stuff like that. I've had bad experiences also with Ivermectin paste, and I've used Revolution for Puppies and Kittens, but that's really hard to apply in the correct amount, plus it's way, way too expensive. I just finished a full round of treatments for teh cages that were affected and it appears to have worked well with no noticeable side effects. The meece were annoyed bit by the wet patch on their back, but that was the only downside. I gave them treats after each treatment so they wouldn't try to lick it off each other.

I've used Sevin powder in the past, but I believe the Iver-On is a better option. It's a lot of work powdering each mousie and brushing it through the fur thoroughly. Some of the meeces seem to really enjoy the brushing, though.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Oh yeah. There are two sizes of the spray on, a larger one and a smaller one. I got the larger one a couple years ago, which is why it cost more, probably. I treat all of my mice every few months as a preventative measure for worms, mites, lice, and other nasties.

The thing I like most about Iver-on is that you can use it on even newborn pinkies without any ill effect. When I was first told this I thought "surely that can't be right?" but I tried it once and it was true.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Autumn2005 said:


> What kind of dose did you give your mice?


All the details are on the linked page, including how much the vet told me to use per mouse and how I administered it. However ivermectin would also be an easy way to treat the mice as others have said, I was just covering other options


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