# Scratching and large lump behind/under ear



## Fewellie (Nov 19, 2010)

Hi all,

I hope someone here may be able to help. My partner has three mice and something odd is going on with two of them - the vet is stumped. His third mouse is a PEW - and she's fit and healthy and none of the following has happened to her (I mention this because I wonder if it's a genetic thing?). The other two mice are tans - one a silver tan, the other a chocolate (??) tan. They are smaller mice and I wonder if they are less hardy or prone to certain diseases?

It started out with what looked like a mite infection. Only the two tans were affected. They were scratching like nuts and ended up with really scabby ears and faces and cuts above their eyes. We cut as much protein out of the diet as possible in case it was causing irritation and the vet said that she thought it was mites come in with a batch of bedding. It was odd but the PEW wasn't affected in any way whatsoever.

They both seemed to respond to a mite treatment that she put on them once a week in the surgery and they were put on Baytril too - a drop morning and night. The silver tan had also developed a large lump behind her ear, which the vet attributed to the scratching. She tried to lance it but what she did manage to get out was solid. It doesn't seem to bother her so we wondered if it was maybe some kind of benign tumour or cyst.

But in the past week, we have noticed that the other tan has now also started developing a lump in the same place under/behind her ear. They're both still scratching but not as madly as before. The vet has no idea what is going on. I've told my partner that I will take them to my vet this week and see if he knows more than my partner's vet...

But I wondered if anyone here had come across this?

As I said, large lump under/behind the ear. Affecting two tan mice. Both mice have had some kind of problem causing them to scratch themselves to pieces. One PEW not affected in anyway.

Grateful for any thoughts.

Best,
Laura


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

Sounds to me like the start of obsessive scratching, an OCD behavior. Have you tried putting neosporin plus on the itchy areas? It dulls the pain and can help them let things alone so they can heal.

The lumps sound like abscesses. They need to be treated with ABs to prevent the infection from migrating to the inner ear. Not common, but possible if left too long or exposed to lots of trauma (being scratched at). The PEW is probably unaffected because she has a stronger immune system, and although she has mites, they are not causing trouble at this time. If she falls ill, or is otherwise compromised, they will.


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## jadeguppy (Jun 4, 2011)

Can you post a picture?


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## Fewellie (Nov 19, 2010)

This is breaking my heart. They look terrible - like my other half doesn't look after them when he does, he plays with them all the time, they're clean, well-fed and appear to be happy little mice - and the silver tan is scratching loads again. I can't understand what's gone wrong for this to be happening?

the silver - has the bigger lump and looks worse than the other one: http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6039/635 ... 3fdf12.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/634 ... 7dde05.jpg


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

Those are abscesses, it looks like to me. Either you have to get the chunky crud out, (vet will do it) or put them down. I think you need to continue treating for mites also.

Get them on antibiotics and mite/lice treatment, get the cavities clean and flush them with saline twice a day and they have a decent chance. Play with them as much as possible, offer healthy, immune system boosting foods and extra protien.

Poor things- they look dreadful. That must hurt.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

Oh, dear. Oh, my. I'm so very sorry. I'm afraid I have to suggest pts. Opening and draining abcesses of that size, on the face of the animal, I just can't see how that could possibly turn out well. In order to help the currently unaffected mouse, I'd also suggest having the vet (or, if you can handle it and are certain you'll understand what you see, yourself) open and sift through the contents of the abcesses. That could help you determine their cause, and help you figure out whether it might be infections or preventable.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

Laigaie, I've seen stuff that size heal well on rats in the same location. Sadly most were from Zymbal's gland tumors, which are deadly, and the abscesses recurred later. However- it's possible.

In a mouse it might just be kinder to let them go, though. Poor things. It makes me so sad.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

sorry to say but I would put them too sleep. They look like tumours to me I put one of my favourite does down last week because she had one in roughly the same area and it looked the same as that.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

An abcess that size on a rat would be perfectly reasonable. Full disclosure: I've had tumors removed from rats that are bigger than most of my mice. Rats, however, are much larger animals with different proportions. For an animal the size and proportions of a mouse, we're talking about too large a percentage of their body mass, and too close to bone. Infected bones are the worst thing I have seen in my life, and I would wish them on nobody's mouse.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

I meant proportionatly. But rats are indeed very tough, much more so than mice.


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## morning-star (Apr 9, 2011)

I looked into it for mice it's not worth removing it -there's a good chance they would die during the operation, there's a change it will get infected if the anti-biotics aren't used/or not given the right dosage. it's also probably painful and the kindest thing would be to just put it down.


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## Fewellie (Nov 19, 2010)

Hi all,
Thanks so much for your replies and advice. We took both the mice to my vet and had little Mau pts. However, the vet felt that all was not yet lost for Mo, so we came away with her and continue on the Baytril and a cream called Fusiderm on the lumps. She's still very bright and a perky little thing. Today, while we were applying the cream, the lump burst and pus came out. My partner did what seems to be a sterling job of getting the gunk out but she's obviously left with a sizeable 'hole' on the side of her face.

Looks like this: http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6108/6369 ... ecd483.jpg

Think we got it all out. Does it look ok to you? We will flush it through twice a day with saline as suggested and continue with the ABs (the vet suggested that this will probably be longterm). In terms of extra protein, how much extra? I just don't want to give too much and cause skin irritation.

Thanks again for your help.


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

That looks hugely better! Not too much protien, maybe just a small peice of dog food every few days or a small chunk of egg.

You -must- keep that hole open. It needs to heal from the inside out, and you will have to keep flushing. There's a good chance the hole will scab over and re-fill, but if you keep draining it and flushing it twice a day it will be fine.

I'm so, so happy to see improvement!


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## jadeguppy (Jun 4, 2011)

Wow, what a mess. It looks like the wound is clean and healthy tissue. HOpefully the supercharged metabolism of the mouse will help it heal quickly.

I feed Harlan Teklad blocks which have 18% protein. Some breeders feed a higher % to breeding stock and growing bubs. A bit of scrambled eggs may do the trick. Just don't leave them in the tank for too long.


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## Fewellie (Nov 19, 2010)

I wondered whether you might like an update on Mo. She seems to still be doing ok. The wound remains clean thanks to the flushing and fusiderm and she's as active as ever. I hope this means she'll recover if we all persevere.

I have to say I find giving her baytril nothing short of traumatic. The vet said to grip her and hold her on her back and force the syringe into her mouth. We're both left upset. Her because it must be horrible; me because I hate the idea that she may be frightened. Any better ways?

I usually hide baytril in nutella or jam on a bit of toast when giving it to my rats but it seems so much easier given the size of what they'll eat compared to the very small amounts mice eat. Plus mo doesnt seem interested in jam at all. Tonight, I have left a spoon of jam in the tank in the hope they'll get a taste for it. I tried to give mo a little jam earlier but she wasn't interested. Maybe she'll come around? I've also left some nutrical in with her as I am worried about her immune system. A little bit of chicken seemed to be welcome yesterday.


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