# Issues in the mousery



## Mc.Macki Mice (Nov 24, 2012)

I have been dealing with some issues lately in my mousery, some of my does eyes are looking bad. They are young does too! The skin around the eye gets puffy and pink, and sometimes the eye is sealed shut. I try using eye drops to stop irritation, but it doesn't seem to be working. Is there any other homemade treatments I can do for them? I also have a very young hairless buck who's penis has fallen out of place and won't go back in, someone said that there is such thing as a prolapsed penis? Is there anything I can do about it? I really need this boy for breeding?

Here are some photos of the eye problem.






And here is the prolapsed penis.


If anyone has any ideas on what to do please help me!


----------



## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

Have you alreay treated them against mites? If they sit in the area arount the eye, they itch, the mouse scratches and the skin can become itrrtated, red and swollen. 
Other possibilites could be an eye-infection (which should clear up with the right antibiotic drops applied 2-3 times a day) or an irritation, e.g. due to bedding/dust/...

the penis prolapse: yes, looks like one. How long has he had that? Usually they pop back in by themselves. If they don't you have to help them. sometimes it's enough to apply a bit of petroleum jelly and gently manipulate it to go back in. If it stays out, a vet would be a good option. the blood vessels, esp. the veines can be pinched off and the penis swells. that's quite painful and needs medical attention. It doesn't look like that in your photo, but it can happen and you need to have an eye on this buck.


----------



## Miceandmore64 (Jul 16, 2013)

MY TWO YEAR OLD DOE'S HAVE SAME EYES :,( Umm should I lead it? They are really old have it for ages doesn't seem to really bother them


----------



## Mc.Macki Mice (Nov 24, 2012)

Serena: If it is mites which I'm hoping its not how do I treat them and what do I use. I'm currently using pine bedding right now because my mom bought me it because it was cheaper. I prefer aspen though. The mice have been in pine before and haven't had too many problems or or at least none that I saw. And the penis has been like that for at least a week or more now, I honestly thought it would go in by itself it has turned purple but I'm going to try to save it. I just push it back up there? What if it doesn't work we don't have any small animal vets around?


----------



## Awaiting_Abyss (Nov 19, 2012)

The mites that rodents get can barely be seen. Try running your finger through the mouse's fur slowly and looking for tiny moving specks (they can be gray/brown/black or bright red). They are extremely small and can be easily looked over if you're not looking closely (the adults are about the size of a small grain of sand).

I treated my mites by using a flea/tick/mite spray for small animals. I soaked a wash cloth with the spray and then rubbed it on the mouse's body (but not around the head) then I used another wash cloth to dry the mouse until it was completely dry. Give the mice a "bath" like this weekly until the mites are gone (usually it takes a month). The bedding must also be changed weekly and be sprayed down with the spray. All toys must be thrown away, baked or frozen. Wooden things or rocks can be baked in the oven... I baked mine at 300 degrees for 10 minutes. Things that cannot be baked can be frozen for 2 or 3 weeks (3 weeks is safer to make sure the eggs are also taken care of). If your mouse cage(s) are in a carpeted area, then you must vacuum thoroughly during the treatment time.

If it is mites, then you will also need to treat your other animals as well. I used ivermectin paste for my other rodents, but I did not know the dosage for mice or if mice could even be given ivermectin so I just used the above treatment for my mice.

About the bedding- Pine bedding is completely fine if it is kiln-dried pine. Does the bedding bag say that it is kiln-dried? Kiln-dried pine is the only bedding I use for my animals, since I and a few of my gerbils are allergic to aspen.


----------



## Mc.Macki Mice (Nov 24, 2012)

I really really hope its not mites, how do mites come about? Do they live on some of the bedding sold in stores? Also I pushed the penis back in for my little boy but it fell back out again, so I did it again hopefully it stays now.


----------



## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

Most of the mites that infest mice you cannot (or barely, if you are very nearsighted and get really close  ) see with the naked eye. 
If you see rather large red mites, you have a problem, because that's the tropical rat mite (or in rarer cases the red bird mite)- then you need to treat the cage and the surrounding area, too. For other mites this is not necessary, but it doesn't hurt (if you have many wood toys etc, it's advisable to treat them, and clean the cage when startin threatment). While they may survive sometime without the host, it's not weeks like in the two red "plagues" and they don't wander around so much.
Freezing the hay to prevent re-infection if you have the feeling they came with it is a good idea.

Mites are transmissible from animal to animal, some can come with the bedding. Most mites are easily treatable with ivermectin. A topical solution applied like Awaiting_Abyss mentioned is fine. There are spon ons for small mammals, too (beaphar e.g.). You can ask your vet to dilute ivermectin for cattle with propylenglykol (I don't know the receipt by heart, but I can look it up), and apply a drop in between the shoulder blades. Some people say, dilution with water works as well, but I haven't tried that one yet (search engine here should give you plenty results for that)
Also, Stronghold (active substance: selamectin) works very well. The dosage here is 1 drop of the 45mg-Solution in between the shoulder blades per mouse.

Treatment schedule is usually every 7-10 days for 3-4 times. this way eggs that were laid prior to treatment can hatch and get killed, too, since ivermectin doesn't kill mites that haven't hatched yet.

If Ivermectin isn't available, fipronil (Frontline Spray) is a good choice, too. For mice always use the spray, never the spot-ons! The spot-ons are of a far too high concentration and can kill your pets! 1-2 spritzes on a gloved hand, then rub it onto the fur sparring the head area and the bum. Always wash hands thoroughly after treatment. schedule is the same as for ivermectin and selamectin.

*BUT* It doesn't have to be mites. There are a few other possibilites, that can be the cause of the sore looking eyes.
If they have new bedding, maybe it's that. For that you could keep them on newspaper for a couple of weeks, since that's usually not irritating.
If it's an eye infection, you need antibiotic eyedrops or an eye ointment. Probably you haven't had the right ones yet.

Sorry for the long post (just read a book on parasites in small mammals ^^"). I hope your mice get well soon!


----------



## Awaiting_Abyss (Nov 19, 2012)

The ivermectin I used was an apple flavored paste in a tube for horses. It did not need diluting. I gave an uncooked grain of rice size amount to each gerbil (for mice the amount would be smaller) and that killed the mites when they fed on the animals. This of kind ivermectin is fed.


----------



## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

Yes, you can give Ivermectin orally, too. 
I simply prefer the topical route.


----------



## Mc.Macki Mice (Nov 24, 2012)

I feel as if its not mites, but the bedding has been causing problems. Like before I had pine I had Aspen they were fine on that, then when I switched to pine(which was not kiln-dried) I saw problems start to arise. Around the eye are got pink and you could see the eye anymore at times. I know how you said mites are very tiny but how tiny I really looked through the fur of my mice and couldn't see anything other than spread out whit dots which I think was just dust or dandruff? It didn't move so...idk?

Also the prolapsed penis keeps coming out every time I push it back in....does that mean its too late and it might as well stay like that for the rest of his life?


----------



## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

Yes. If he can't hold it in anymore, then some part of the structure holding it in place has degenerated. If this is a breeding mouse, he definitely should not be bred and I'd suggest putting him down. If it's a pet mouse, daily monitoring of his condition would get you more time with him, but do remember he would be suffering. That is a very sensitive part of his body, and it's hitting dragged through bedding and hit on things and generally not kept safe.


----------

