Mouse losing fur

Question
Hi Natasha,

I found a mouse outside at a summer festival several months ago and brought it home because I didn't think it belonged outside.  I don't know anything about mice but I've tried to create a nice home environment with the help of PetSmart employees. ( I'm a dog person)  Anyway, my mouse developed a sore under his ear which I wrote off as excessive cleaning, but kept an eye on it.  It has now progressed into fur loss on his face which seems to now be moving down the back of his head. I had him for 3 months before this started so I thought about any recent changes that may have led to this.  I recently changed litter type so I thought maybe he got mites from the new litter.  I cleaned his tank and bought paper litter.  I also started treating him to different foods and have cut those out but he does not seem to be getting better.  I feel that if it was a food allergy I would see a positive repose when the bad food was removed.  My guess is mites.  How do I safely help my little guy?  My husband is not thrilled with this so my chances of going to a vet are small.  
Please help!  He's so itchy!   
Btw...I think I wrote you before??  When I thought my mouse was pregnant.

Answer
Dear Janice,

The best thing to do is to convince a vet to let you have a kitten supply of Revolution even without an office visit. If you have a few vets, call them till you find an understanding one. Use just one drop! On the back of his neck. Rub it in gently into his skin and not just on his fur.

This will kill anything that bites him for a month.

Before I learned that some vets will dispense Revolution without a visit, I could only tell people about your second option, using a flea and tick spray by 8 in 1. This method is far more difficult, far less pleasant for the mouse, and you have to repeat the whole procedure including indepth cage and accessory cleaning 7-10 days later.

Here is a link where I describe how to use this spray. Since I am on my phone I cannot copy it for you, so here is the link:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2011/12/procedure-mouse-mites-spraying.htm

Certainly it is best to wheedle some Revolution out of the vet. Or do you have some from your dogs? If you have the dog strength, you are going to want to make it a very small drop. The dog version is twice as concentrated. I do not know if you can water it down effectively.

Best of luck. Thank you for rescuing him. You are absolutely not the only woman whose husband disapproves of her rescue of a mouse. What is it with men? Lol

Squeaks,

Natasha