# A pictorial of health issues *WARNING - graphic images*



## SarahC

I have so many mice that I have and do experience a wide range of health issues.I thought I would start a thread of images.Feel free to add your own pictures and methods of treating if any.Starting with a womb prolapse.The mouse remains in good condition in the short term and exhibits no sign of pain but infection soon sets in as the womb is dragged in the substrate.Euthanasia is the only real option.When we had cavies you could clean them up and press the womb back in with cotton wool soaked in a sterile solution.They often came back out though.Not really practical for mice.

showing no apparent distress;









however things are serious;


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## racingmouse

First of all, I think this is a good idea Sarah and gives members a chance to post actual images of visual health issues and gives everyone a chance to comment or give advice about the problem if they can.

I just wanted to ask if this little lady could be put under anasthetic and helped? Maybe a vet could push it back in (I know these prolapses are not good) but she seems fine otherwise? I know you guys like to make your own decisions on this.


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## SarahC

not practical for me racing mouse but worth exploring for a pet mouse possibly.


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## geordiesmice

What can cause that and would the mouse be in pain?


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## SarahC

That particular mouse had a litter 5 weeks ago,presumably there was an underlying weakness of her womb.Having lots of litters is the usual cause but not in this case,she had only one litter.They don't show any pain when it's fresh and pink but as it shrivels they most definitely suffer and take on the appearance of a very sick mouse.I dispatch as soon as I find one but if you were to seek the help of a vet you would need to do it swiftly.


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## AnnB

Great thread Sarah, perhaps the forum could set up an encyclopedia of mouse ailments that we could all contribute to.


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## george

very good idea.


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## SarahY

All of my young Himalayan mice have ringworm at the moment :roll:

It looks like this:














































It is a tenacious fungal infection, but as it is easily (although not quickly) treated there is no need to cull infected mice. I am treating my young mice with athlete's foot powder and Beapher anti-fungal spray. It is contagious, so I have kept the afflicted mice seperate and I deal with them once all of the other mice have been fed etc. It is transferable to humans and all other animals, so care must be taken to disinfect your hands once the animals have been handled.

After treatment is finished, continue for another couple of weeks and thoroughly disinfect the cages as ringworm is difficult to get rid of completely. But, once it's gone, it usually leaves no trace:










Sarah xxx


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## geordiesmice

Humans can also catch ringworm years ago My mum tried on real fur coats (when fur was sort of excepted) lol when she worked for Fenwicks and caught ringworm the Doctor said she caught it from the fur sarah?


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## Rhasputin

I have a lot of pics I've saved up. . . 
Almost all are not from my own animals.

Here they are:
An African soft furred rat with a large air pocket under the skin. After it was popped and 'deflated', the animal survived and was absolutely fine.









A Mouse with a blood clot of some sort. Before, after, and during autopsy photos.









A mouse who (we think) had a tear or tumor in it's intestines or rectum, and feces collected in the tear and caused this problem.









Photo of a hydrocephalic mouse(right) and a normal mouse(left).









X-ray comparisons of a regular mouse(left), and a hydrocephalic(right) mouse.









A dumbo mouse, in this category because it's caused by a skull deformity.









A pinky mouse with some kind of intestinal problem, or malformation. Could not properly digest milk.









An extremely obese mouse.









A male prolapse.









What can happen if you use screen that is too large. 









What happens when improper bedding is used. Threads, hairs, or fibers tangled around the limb of a pinky.









Whisker barbering.


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## SarahC

fabulous pictures both.I have caught ringworm many times.Never seen some of the things in your pics Rhasputin.The air pocket is an odd one.


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## racingmouse

Really good variety of images there. I caught ringworm from one of my mice less than two years ago. I got Daktakort cream from my GP for the itchy bits on my lower arm and Lulu (mouse) was given a fungal shampoo from my vet but all it did was stress her out and never cured the condition. Lulu actually died from a tumour on her neck within four months of having treatment. She was also given a steroid injection back when she was having the ringworm treatment. That did`nt work either. :roll:

That photo of the white mouse trapped in that wire was unsettling.  I hope he/she was rescued? I would have been right in there with the wire cutters! Silly mouse!


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## Rhasputin

That mouse was saved, yes. It was a photo from a feeder breeder, who settled on the wrong size wire because they couldn't find the smaller size, and it didn't pay off. :roll: 
They just had to push it's butt through by squeezing it's hips together.


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## SarahC

ouch.That sounds painful.Ringworm is simple to cure rm.Athletes foot powder is safe to use and causes no side effects.I use a product called imaverol which can be obtained from a vet or online.It's more suited to people with many animals as you buy a whole bottle which you dilute down.It's not licensed for small animals and should be used with caution .Treatments for thrush such as canestan can also be used on yourself and the mice but creams are a bit messy in the fur.


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## SarahY

Rhasputin, do you have permission from the owners of those photographs to post them on the forum?

Sarah xxx


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## racingmouse

Thanks for that info Sarah. I was surprised when Lulu got ringworm as it was`nt something I had ever came across either in my pets or myself. At least I know about it now having dealt with it! I`ll take a note of the athletes foot powder for future reference! So is Imaverol a foot powder or something else? Was`nt too sure if you meant this was the name of the athletes foot powder you use or the other product from your vet or online?

Glad to hear the mouse was prized out of his tight squeeze!


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## SarahC

imaverol is a liquid treatment for ringworm in animals.It's licensed for dogs,cats,cows,horses etc.Your vet will prescribe but you have to sign a declaration stating that you use at your own risk.If you buy it online you have to provide a prescription if you want it for rodents but if you state you want it for a dog then no prescription is required.Any brand of athletes foot powder is fine.

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Imaverol-100 ... /IMAVEROL/


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## racingmouse

Thanks Sarah. Do you feel the athletes foot powder does the job over time, or is it hit and miss? I would probably powder a cotton ball and dab that over the mouse`s skin rather than sprinkle it loosely incase the fine dust was breathed in. Hope I never need to use it again though!


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## SarahY

> Do you feel the athletes foot powder does the job over time, or is it hit and miss?


Ringworm takes weeks and weeks to clear up whatever you use, it's just the nature of the disease.

Sarah xxx


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## SarahC

racingmouse said:


> Thanks Sarah. Do you feel the athletes foot powder does the job over time, or is it hit and miss? I would probably powder a cotton ball and dab that over the mouse`s skin rather than sprinkle it loosely incase the fine dust was breathed in. Hope I never need to use it again though!


if you just had one or two pet mice you could apply the cream direct to the affected area.The powder has the advantage of being able to be spread over a few mice.I find 2 applications kills it but you have to wait for the fur to re grow.Ringworm eventually disappears spontaneuosly.The problem is if you keep having more animals then it infects them and the circle continues.My dogs have had it a few times as well.


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## Cait

How far does one bottle of Ivamerol go Sarah - I imagine it would last quite a while even if you were treating large numbers of mice? Also, do you use the same strength as mentioned for dogs or do you dilute it more?


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## WillowDragon

Fungal is quite common in guinea pigs, so because i have a few of those i have caneston, fungal spray and ivermerol in my animal medicine cabinet! Hehe
Never had fungal with the mice though.


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## Rhasputin

SarahY said:


> Rhasputin, do you have permission from the owners of those photographs to post them on the forum?
> 
> Sarah xxx


Most of them I have direct permission to use, the others, I can use under fair use.


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## SarahC

MouseBreeder said:


> How far does one bottle of Ivamerol go Sarah - I imagine it would last quite a while even if you were treating large numbers of mice? Also, do you use the same strength as mentioned for dogs or do you dilute it more?


very far.A bottle lasts me at least a year and that does 100's of mice multiple times so if you only have a few you would probably need only one bottle in a life time.One application is enough and it's the same strength as dogs,the ringworm is the same whether on a dog or mouse.I do mine routinely 3 times a year because as you know once it's been around and if you have a few mice it has a habit of popping back up,usually just before a show.


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## m137b

Very interesting. I've never seen pics of a mouse with ringworm, it's good to know what to look for.

The only interesting pics I have are of a newborn pinkie who had significant amount of free blood in the abdomen, probably due to some sort of trauma at birth. I found him when the dame was still cleaning up so less than an hour old, and as you can see in the first pic he was a little lethargic, anemic, he's next to a pup that was born earlier that morning as I brought him inside and fostered him to an inside doe so I could keep an eye on him. By the same night, pic 2, he had a big milk band, his color was back and I could see the blood moving around his intestines as he wiggled. Day 2 his belly was still darker, but he was already absorbing most of the blood and by day 3 I couldn't pick him out of the clump of babies. I picked him out again when their fur came in since he was a foster, he developed normally.

Day 1[1hour old)

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Day 1[12 hours old]

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Day 2


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## SarahC

my dog has just had a bleed on her spine.We got up in the morning and found her paralized.An mri scan revealed the cause.There is no treatment even for larger animals.You have to wait for the blood to disappear just like you did with the mouse.With our dog it has caused some lasting damage where it pooled on her spine and left her with a bit of a peg leg but still with a good quality of life.Medical intervention can disperse the blood over a larger area and make things worse.


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## Cait

OK, my turn! Here's a photo of a runt next to its normal sibling:









Brindle buck (UK, i.e. sex linked brindle) (these are culled as they do not usually live):

















Mouse with a badly kinked tail:

















Mouse with wart:

























Obese mouse!:


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## sarahsnake

i had some mice with ringworm, and i mixed up imaverol in a spray bottle and sprayed them once a week, three applications and it was sorted, luckily i have some in to dip the cavies in occasionally


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## SarahC

Rhasputin said:


> A dumbo mouse, in this category because it's caused by a skull deformity.


Are dumbo rats the result of a skull deformity?I assumed it was a different ear set and nothing more?

Was the male mouse able to retract his penis eventually?


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## Rhasputin

SarahC - As far as I know it is the same in rats. The skulls of dumbo rats are usually more broad, and sometimes even concave. 
And I believe that mouse was able to retract after some assistance, but I'm not 100% sure. I can't remember who's mouse that was . . . but it was posted on this forum.


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## racingmouse

I`ve never been a fan of Dumbo rats, never mind Dumbo mice!

Penile prolapses can be caused by a waxy build up that forms at the end of the penis that blocks the constant flow of urine that male mice pass constantly. This can in turn cause a urinary tract infection or (uti for short)

These penile `plugs` must be removed very carefully and very gently using KY jelly or similar gel. Once removed, they can appear to have a `tail` attached. They are extremely hard to the touch and the theory is that this substance produced is male semen that has been released and hardens once in the open.

The mouse may lean over and clean himself a lot. If the penis remains out, it can get dry and infected, so it`s a good idea to keep it clean, lubricated and have the mouse on antibiotics for a suspected uti. Synulox or Dupamox drops are better than baytril for uti infections, but your vet will advise on that.


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## SarahC

Rhasputin,thanks for the dumbo insight.I'm genuinely surprised about the rats,I had no idea it was a deformity.

Racingmouse,thanks for the further details on the swollen appendage.Helps us all hopefully to have the full info.


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## Cait

I've had a dig through some really old photos and found a few more ailments for this thread...

A doe with mastitis:

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A barbered doe:









Runt with normal baby:









Mouse with immune problems:


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## Cait

And another one - a mouse that had an abscess under the chin that popped and was healing:


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## Rhasputin

This is so great. I always thought about making a thread like this, but thought it might get poo pooed. :? 
I keep a 'mouse health' folder on my computer, and i'm saving all of these new ones.


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## Lizzle

Oh wow, this is an excellent thread here! I don't keep that many mice, so when I do have the odd health problem here and there, I freak out and come to you guys and always assume the worst. D:

I've never seen many of the things that have been posted here, but they are great to be able to see nonetheless (obviously not because I'm a sicko). And that poor mouse who got stuck between the bottom grating of that cage is.. wow, honestly rather disturbing. I'm so glad he was able to be rescued! Let that be a lesson to anyone who's considering getting wire grating like that.. D:

I'd been wondering about dumbo rats and whether or not there were dumbo mice. I can't say I've ever been a fan - in either one, it just looks less cute to me for some reason. The only exception to this is the mostly hairless dumbo male rat I held at Rodentfest. :lol:


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## SarahC

eye infections.










very simple to treat with chloramphenicol drops which are available over the counter at the chemists.They are kept in the fridge so you have to ask for them.You must also keep them in the fridge and it's best to throw them away after you have finished treating,they are not expensive.The chemist won't dispense for an animal,they are not qualified ,so you have to say you require them for a human with conjunctivitis.They are exactly the same as the vet prescribes.Eye infections can be a secondary symptom to respiratory type illnesses.
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100003107.html


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## racingmouse

That`s another fine tip I`ve learned from you Sarah.  Eye infections can be hell to shift. Things like conjunctivitis and Blepharitis. When the mouse keeps scratching the area, it`s difficult to stop them re-infecting it. Sometimes the bacteria that cause these eye issues can be found even in healthy mice because they are just so prevailant and opportunistic.


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## Cait

I would like to add to the info already posted about the treatment of ringworm in mice. I use tea tree oil diluted with water and spray the mice with that, which also works.


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## SarahC

head tilt.Many causes,ear infections,stroke,parasites.They used to be bred deliberately and were known as waltzing mice.That's before it was known that the cause was neurological in those particular mice.I'm more inclined to think that ear parasites are the least likely cause and even if they were I doubt over the counter medicines would treat.My dogs are a breed that have constant ear problems and only prescribed medicines work.The odd mouse is badly affected and can only turn in circles and when lifted by the tail spin quite violently.No hope for those.The rest manage quite well,one eye on the ground,one on the stars and apart from removing from the breeding program can be kept as pets if you are keen to save them.


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## WillowDragon

I had a female that shortly after giving birth, had one major seizure that I witnessed (She may have had more i didnt) and a few days after that developed a severe head tilt. She could not stay still, constantly going in circles even when picked up.
It was a truely pitiful sight, and i decided to cull her... the babies were fostered to another doe shortly after thier birth anyway due to mum fitting, and none of those mice for as long as i had them showed any sign of seizures at all.


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## Lizzle

WillowDragon, I am guessing that she had a stroke actually. Based on humans.. after we give birth, our chance of blood clots/emboli goes wayyyy up. I had a male mouse who had at least two TIAs (transient ischemic attacks, basically mini strokes) and developed the head tilt in addition to being wobbly on his feet and he tended to walk in the same direction (in a circle) most of the time. Poor guy was so disoriented. He died about a month ago suddenly, and I'm going to take a wild guess and say he had another stroke or MI. D:


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## Malene

Mini mice
I don't know the correct term in english, but they stop development at a young age (about 2 weeks old if I remember correctly), have a hunched back and a very skinny tail (looks like pearls on the tail). They usually don't live very long.
The defect can be hereditary. I once thought I could get rid of it, but I just kept getting more of them. Needless to say, I stopped breeding from that line.

Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I have:


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## SarahC

browsing for treats for my parrots I came across this and thought that it might be useful for mice.Birds are far more sensitive than mice so products are generally safe to use.
http://www.24parrot.com/Wheeze-Eeze-Res ... 0ml-P6341/


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## SarahY

That's very interesting, I shall buy some! Thanks Sarah 

Edit: Just looked around the site and I might try this for new arrivals, see if it aids against New Shed Syndrome:
http://www.24parrot.com/Vetark-Pro-C--Probiotic-with-Vitamin-C-for-Small-Animals-P661001/

Sarah xxx


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## SarahC

theres some good stuff available for birds and with many species being very valuable they are pretty safe.I thought the product for nursing sick birds sounded good to,in particular for people with treasured pets and orphans.I have spent a fortune on toys and snacks for the birds on this site and they are a reliable company.The birds of course view most new food and toys with sheer horror :evil:


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## Matt Haslam

SarahC said:


> browsing for treats for my parrots I came across this and thought that it might be useful for mice.Birds are far more sensitive than mice so products are generally safe to use.
> http://www.24parrot.com/Wheeze-Eeze-Res ... 0ml-P6341/


That stuff looks good.


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## geordiesmice

Cider vinegar is good for all round health in birds I dont know about mice though?


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## SarahC

geordiesmice said:


> Cider vinegar is good for all round health in birds I dont know about mice though?


I give my mice apple cider vinegar.


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## Cait

What does cider vinegar do for them? I will have to tell Dave (my OH) that as I put vinegar on loads of stuff and he teases me about it (as do my family lol). Maybe I'm doing myself some random good :roll:


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## SarahC

just a tonic really.You give it to horses and rabbits as well.


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## Cait

OK here's another one to add to the list. Tonight when feeding the mice I discovered a newborn that had been forgotten or pushed aside from the nest and therefore hadn't been cleaned up properly by the doe, and still had its placenta attached. I had not seen a placenta as intact as this before so I thought I'd share (don't look if you don't like blood and gunky stuff lol)...



















And a close up of the placenta itself:


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## Matt Haslam

Wow!

I think we should add a warning to the title of this topic though, as this is graphic


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## Cait

Fine by me, I did think that hence my comment. I suppose a lot of the photos on this thread could be potentially upsetting, sad to say you kind of get used to it once you've seen all the things that can go wrong when keeping animals


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## ian

I had a whole litter of these a few weeks ago, the mother had obvioulsy freaked out and didnt do any postnatal care. I thought they were all dead as they were blue and freezing cold, they were stuck to the bedding and shavings. I havent had many litters recently so had no does to foster them too, I popped them in with an ancient doe which had been a nanny in the past and she cleaned them up and she even started lactating and feeding. It was a nie surpris when I checked in the next day I was expecting to see an empty nest. The babies are doing well and there's a nicely marked broken buck in there who's going to be my new stud


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## Cait

This baby was otherwise ok, just needed a bit of motherly attention and feeding. I popped it back in the nest after I cleaned it of bedding and took a few quick photos.


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## Matt Haslam

ian said:


> I had a whole litter of these a few weeks ago, the mother had obvioulsy freaked out and didnt do any postnatal care. I thought they were all dead as they were blue and freezing cold, they were stuck to the bedding and shavings. I havent had many litters recently so had no does to foster them too, I popped them in with an ancient doe which had been a nanny in the past and she cleaned them up and she even started lactating and feeding. It was a nie surpris when I checked in the next day I was expecting to see an empty nest. The babies are doing well and there's a nicely marked broken buck in there who's going to be my new stud


The wonders of mice!


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## ian

Eye Defect in new born (no eye in socket)

















More Ring Worm









Pregnancy 









This lump grew very quickly in an older doe. I had originally thought it was a tumour possibly originating from the mammory gland as it continued under her armpit and slightly under her chest. It was actually filled with fluids and pus but was very firm to the touch.


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## Anne

Malene said:


> Mini mice
> I don't know the correct term in english, but they stop development at a young age (about 2 weeks old if I remember correctly), have a hunched back and a very skinny tail (looks like pearls on the tail). They usually don't live very long.
> The defect can be hereditary. I once thought I could get rid of it, but I just kept getting more of them. Needless to say, I stopped breeding from that line.
> 
> Unfortunately, these are the only pictures I have:


Can anyone tell me what this is called in english? I have tried to find a translation without luck.


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## Kallan

Satin coat with white teeth vs normal coat with pigmented teeth:


satin vs normal by Noweia, on Flickr


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## Rhasputin

Disected mammary tumors


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## tinyhartmouseries

Wow, this is a great thread. I hate seeing so many mice in pain but what a useful tool for diagnosis.


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