# chewed furr??



## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

I have a cage of mice that look like there fur has been chewed?! 
they have patches of fur missing, only small patches and they are just random over the mice.. they dont have any scabs or seem to be itching, they are kept on aubouise (sp) and tishue.
the fur near the patches looks cropped like it has been chewed short.

any ideas?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Have they always looked this way? It might be genetic.

Or, it may be mites, or ringworm.


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## Rainsong (Jun 3, 2010)

It could be barbering? I know rats sometimes go around barbering their cage mates. Rabbits, too- honestly, you wouldn't thing cage mate's fur would be THAT tasty, but.... I guess sometimes it is? I seem to recall it sometimes (rarely) being a sign of protein deficiency but someone else is going to have to back me up on that one- I could be misremembering.

Best bet is A LOT of studying to try and determine the cause. When I had mites crop up with my rats and my rabbits, they didn't itch so much at first. I caught it early due to observation... I saw the mites and some of the signs other then the itching first. Ewww.

Ringworm... aagh. There's one I hope I never see.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Yeah, I usually find mites before I see the effects of the mites on the mouse.

Barbering might be it. Keep an eye on your mice and see if they're using each other as chew toys.


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## Jemma (Mar 11, 2010)

If they're not scratching and seem fine otherwise, I'd guess you have a barber.

Do the mice have all their whiskers? I found that my girls who liked chewing patches of fur off the others also liked relieving them of their whiskers :roll: Obviously not all mice that barber go for whiskers too but it'd be a bit of a giveaway if they're missing.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Whisker nibblers and barbers are so annoying. Especially when they grab a tuft of hair and pull it hard enough to hurt and then holds on while the the victim runs squeaking around the tank until the fur is pulled out or breaks. Isn't it a form of dominance grooming?


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## StellaLuna (Jun 22, 2010)

moustress said:


> Whisker nibblers and barbers are so annoying. Especially when they grab a tuft of hair and pull it hard enough to hurt and then holds on while the the victim runs squeaking around the tank until the fur is pulled out or breaks. Isn't it a form of dominance grooming?


Yes, I think I read that somewhere. Ah, here we go: http://www.fancymice.info/behaviour.htm I'm so glad all my little ones get along.


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

thanks for all the advice so far..
I thought lice but they should be clean (i recently done them) but i have done them again incase (although they dont have visable lice or sore patches) I also thought ringworm but again nor patches of sore or scabs. It does look like when I had guinea pigs and the female used to chew the fur but they never left it bald up to the skin ( but the cropping looks like that)

the group is two females and the 5 week old babys(4 of them, so 6 altogether)


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

here are a few pics of them to show you what it looks like... Its just the two larger females out of the babys ( the two smaller babys seem ok and both mums.)

h


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

That looks like fighting to me. Or mating/dominance mounting.


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

they are both young females though from same litter? they are still in with the mums ... I have never had anything like this before... when i have had males fight i have scabs on rump and tail where they keep nipping, or on testicals. 
never had young female siblings fight


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

It's probably just one of them, doing it to the others.


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

naughty girls!!


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

:lol: Yeah, I'm sure if you keep an eye on them for a few days, maybe move their cage to somewhere you can watch it really well for most of the day, you'll figure out who the culprit is!


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

I guess all of us are only speculating, but it's worth telling you that this looks EXACTLY like a problem I had a while back.

It was definitely not fighting or any kind of damage caused by another mouse. 
Ivermectin didn't help and it spread amongst my mice (from cage to cage) like wild fire!

It was, however, easily treated by making a tea tree solution (essential oil mixed with water) and spraying the mice twice a day, morning and night for a good few weeks.

Are your mice sctatching?

Also worth noting, I also use Aubiose.
xx


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

I have not noticed them scratching but they are kept out doors and all eyes turn to me for food when i go into the mouse shed!
I will try the tee tree thing and see how that goes.
:O)
how much water do you add to the teatree oil?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I'd be almost certain that it's ringworm from the pictures.Get some athletes foot powder and sprinkle every one in the cage.Do them twice and any fungal infection will be killed with no harm to the mice.It's very contagious so wash your hands to prevent catching it yourself and transferring it to the others.


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

I have done the ones in that tank and will do the rest a little later ! (i had some power in from when i had mouldy reptile eggs) when should I do the next treatment? and you say only need to do them twice?
I really hope its not ringworm but best to be safe than sorry!


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I find twice over the course of a week does the trick but you can do more safely.After I introduced it :evil: via someone elses stock I always powder new rodents prior to mixing them in.It's such a persistant thing once it takes a hold.


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

I have reacently taken in some mice from a different breeder! although I found these patches in one of my other cages I did find a new patch today on the new mice! so dont know if it came in or I had it?? or have it even??

I feel all itchy now , I am constanly washing my hands (slightly ocd) but you have to when your have a room full of rodents and another full of reptiles... but I still worry incase it spreds to handles ect...

If it is ringworm do you think i have caught it early enough ? do you think once its in the collection it will keep popping up?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

it kept popping up in mine time and time again.Depends how early you've caught it and I have a lot more mice than you.It disappears spontaniously in adults eventually but keeps breaking out in the new rounds of youngsters.It's more of a nuisance than anything.It spread so much in mine as I didn't realise what it was until I caught it,you don't get the classic ring shape on the mice.You can apply canestan cream to individual patches and yourself if you do get it.The powder is good as you can quickly apply to all the animals if needs be.


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## laoshu (Sep 16, 2009)

well hopefully i have caught it early enough if it is ringworm.

talking of you having alot of mice ! how is your new year resolution going  have you cut down at all or increased?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

well I have kept reasonably well to it but I've had such a lot of trouble with my pups and sibling rivalry that I've not really gained any time.Sometimes wonder why I have to complicate life with animals.should have stuck to rodents.


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

It is definitely ringworm. I spray with tea tree/water mix but as Sarah said you can use athlete's foot powder too (never tried it myself). It is a very difficult fungus to kill - a quick google will bring up loads of info on it in humans and other animals.


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

When I had it in my mice, I treated for Ringworm, although I admit to not being 100% sure at the time that it was. I expected Ringworm to look much worse, all scabby.
I wish I knew where it came from.

I treated with both a Tea Tree spray and used the Athlete's foot powder alongside (2 times a week for the powder and didn't use the Tea Tree on those days in case of a reaction)
It was an effective treatment and all mice were healed.

I've been lucky enough not to have a repeat.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

powdering for fungal infections has just become part of my mouse health care regime the same as treating for external parasites.I treat for both two or three times a year and all incoming and outgoing animals are done as well.It's more costly and time consuming to wait for an outbreak.I worm and flea the dogs routinely which is the accepted norm so why not the rodents.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Does anyone have photos of ringworm on a fuzzy mouse?


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

It was much worse on my Fuzzy (only one of which got it). 
That was scabby, really awful to look at and much harder to heal, but heal it did. I used skin healing cream to help that one along once the fungus was gone.

I did not think to take any pictures, sorry Rhasputin.
xx


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

no sorry,I had it under control before they arrived.On human skin it starts as a small intensely itchy red patch which if you look very closely errupts into miniscule raised bumps before the classic ring develops that has normal skin as the inner.The outer ring is the live outwardly spreading fungus.Perhaps a magnifying glass might help on naked or lightly furred skin.


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