inflicted wounds and strange behavior

Question
I have a female mouse and for the past month she has been scratching pretty deep holes in her. I thought it might be mites or lice and I still do. I will take her to vet but i wanted advice for the mean time. Lately she has been sitting on her water bottle at the very top of her cage under her lid. she will only get down to eat and drink. she stay up there almost all day. I have kept her bedding and food and everything the same since I have had her. She never had any issues before. I use the care free natural paper bedding. I don't know why she won't get off her water bottle and sit in her hut and sleep. Do you have any ideas?

Answer
Hi Marissa,

For the scratching, yes, mites sound like a very good place to start.  Each time she breaks the skin while scratching it gives a new potential for an infection and illness, and makes the problem worse, so hopefully she can visit the vet soon.  If not, there is a treatment available over the counter called 8-in-1 mite spray (comes in both rodent and aviary, I typically start with aviary as it is gentler but still effective).  This is available in local pet stores, as well as can be ordered online.  One simply has to follow the instructions on the bottle and remember to shake well first (very important!), and to give two treatments spaced apart as the directions say.  You have to clean and sanitize the entire cage at the same time, and be careful when treating the mouse to keep it out of her eyes and let her dry completely before putting her back so she won't get cold (I use gloves to massage it in and keep it off me, and a towel for her to snuggle in as it soaks into the skin).  You do not have to spray the ears or anywhere raw for it to work, just get as much of the coat as you can without getting it in her eyes.  A very small amount of triple antibiotic ointment can be used on any spots that are raw in between treatments or between now and your vet visit, to cut down a little on infections from scratching at injured areas.  She will eventually groom it off, but you can put a small amount on any bad areas, JUST enough to cover it, a couple of times a day to form a barrier for debris.

You can also sanitize any bad spots with betadine, available at your local pharmacy, which can be diluted the color of tea with warm water, applied to a cotton swab, and gently dabbed onto bad areas (again, avoid eyes).  You can then dab it away again after several seconds to allow for some sanitation.  It's okay if you can't remove it all - betadine is an iodine solution and completely safe for mice.

As far as her behavior, there's nothing bad about digging hanging out on top of the bottle.  Sandwiched between the bottle, the side of the cage, and the top may be a feeling of security and a great way for her to get sleep.  To encourage her to come down more and feel comfortable in the main area of the cage, try making sure the bedding is always kept clean (if you can smell it she already could) and supplying some toys and jungle gyms.  You don't have to buy them from the pet shop - there are a ton of ideas to make her home more entertaining to her right in yours!  For instance, try old tissue boxes with the plastic bits removed, paper towel or toilet paper tubes, anything you can build out of popsicle sticks and hot glue, etc.  Get creative, and remember to use materials that are not choking or hanging hazards, can be easily cleaned, or can be thrown away and replaced each week when you change out the cage.

Hope I helped, and let me know if you had anymore questions or if I wasn't clear enough on anything!  :)
-Tam