Male mice- mites? -- spray

Question
Hi! I have two male mice. They have a small cage due to lack of space. One of the mice has sores all over his face. it is red and you can see them through the fur. They have a wheel, a little house, a food dish, and water. I use carefresh bedding. The mouse with the sores is what I assume to be non-dominant- he's less active and more friendly towards people. We got these mice from a pet store. They are feeder mice, so they weren't kept in a very big cage in the first place. I've been looking online, and some people say that it could be mites, but I find this unlikely since their are no sores whatsoever on the other mouse, and they often sleep together. Others say bullying- but the mice are sleeping together, and the sores are predominately on the face/muzzle area. I'm wondering if it could also be a virus? When we first got him, this mouse sneezed sometimes... Any advice you could give would be very helpful.
I changed their cage and put them in a bigger one very recently.

Answer
Hi Lily,

Thank you for putting them in a bigger cage. Because males very often can't live together, you need to watch them carefully. They should be in such a place that people would hear if they started squeaking and fighting.

However, the problem is very likely mites. Mice always have mites at a low level, and any kind of stress, whether physical or emotional, like being sick, will make them flare up in that mouse. The second mouse may not show symptoms yet but he is in danger of a flare-up too.

The best thing to do is to bring both mice to the vet, who can diagnose the mouse, because it also might not be mites.

If that isn't possible, you can start by treating for mites at home, and hope that solves the problem.

See if you can talk a vet into giving you a kitten supply of the anti parasitic Revolution. Or maybe you or someone you know has some for their dog or cat. In any case, you want to put one drop on the back of their necks, specifically on the skin and not the fur. Rub it in very gently. Keep the mice from licking themselves for ten minutes.

Then put them back into a cage which has been thoroughly cleaned, and with toys which have all either been scrubbed, boiled, or washed with a bleach solution when possible; and anything that you can't wash should have been frozen for two days.

If you can't get Revolution you can use a flea and tick spray from 8 in 1. In the following post I explain where to get it and how to use it.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2009/7/mites-killed-mouse-mite.htm


Best of luck,

Squeaks,

Natasha