# Best way to treat Mange.



## mich (Sep 28, 2013)

Has anyone got any really good tips or ideas on how to treat mange in mice please?


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Mange is caused by mites so you would be best to get a skin scraping to confirm it and what type of mite it is, I don't know if mice get Demodex or Sarcoptes like dogs do of it they just got diffrent groups of mites. I'd imagin they may require diffrent treatment,.
But I'd guess a good mite treatment would be a good start.


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## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

There are several different mites that can affect mice.
Tha nastiest is the tropical rat mite. Similar to this is the red bird mite, just as nasty. If you have one of those, you need to treat the room/apartement, too (they only are on the host for feeding and the other part of the day you can find them in bedding, corners, etc.). Just like you would in a flea infestation.
Those two also take other pets and sometimes humans as hosts. So always treat all your pets when those buggers are around. 
If you have an extreme case, please use the services of a licensed pest controller.

the most common finding are fur and hair mites. They only live on their host and are easily treatable with fipronil or ivermectin. Selamectin works too. Always treat all animals in a colony.

from the group of mange mites there are basically 3 species that can be present in mice: Psoregates simplex, Trixacarus diversus (syn.: Sarcoptes anacanthos) and Notoedres muris (ear mange mite)
you distinguish them by clinical signs and scraping. Treatment usually consists of either ivermectin or selamectin.

Demodex are a possible finding, but seem to be quite rare. Like in dogs, you most often have an underlying condition that allows the mites to thrive. healthy animals rarely have severe cases. treatment here is lengthy.

So you can see treatment depends to a part on the species that causes the problem (you can kill most of them with ivermectin or selamectin, but the schedule for administration varies). skin scrapings by a capable small animal vet are an excellent idea. If your vet is familiar with the really small furries, s/he'll give you the precise treatment instruction and dosages, too.


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