Mouse diet (2nd Q)

Question
QUESTION: Hello natasha :)
Pepper is slowly progressing, he hasnt been scratching much but i have to repeat the mite treatment on monday. And his wound seems to be forming into a scab, which i am guessing its a good thing?
I just wanted to ask if theres other ointments i can use to disinfect his wound (if it reopens) because neosporin isnt available in australia, i have tea tree oil, which is really good. But wen i use it on myself it stings like hell, so can i dilute it with water or anything? His appetite is getting better and hes drinking plenty of water. And it also seems like he finally caught up on his sleep, because he used to suddenly wake up just for a scratch.
I also want to ask, if he licks his wounds, is it doing more harm than good?

ANSWER: Hi again,

Whatever you do, DON'T use tea tree oil. OMG I tortured a poor mouse with that when I was given that advice. She was in agony for over 12 hours, jumping and squeaking in my hand. That is actually the mouse and situation that spurred me to sign up as an expert on this site three years ago, because I didn't get good advice, neither from the experts here, nor from the pet store attendant, and this mouse suffered terribly as a result. Poor Ultra.  I still feel simply terrible about her. I help others in her name.

Did I mention vitamin E to you? What I recommend is a mixture of half vitamin E oil and half vegetable oil. You get the vitamin E oil by cutting open a capsule. Vitamin E is oil based and it is made into gel capsules filled with oil. Pepper will eat it but it is of course harmless. The reason I recommend mixing it with vegetable oil is that it is very thick and hard to spread a thin layer. Vitamin E heals skin, both on the wound and taken internally.

Yes, scabbing over is a great sign. Licking his wounds is fine. He is cleaning them. And you couldn't stop him if you tried.

Best of luck to Pepper. Let me know how it goes.

squeaks (in Ultra's name)

Natasha


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello natasha, pepper responded well with vitamin E oil, his wounds are closing. I am pretty certain he is mite free becase he has no more flaky skin near his neck, but im not sure if its because the weather changes from dry weather to humid really quickly that pepper still scratches his ears. Maybe dry skin? Is it ok to rub some vitamin E oil near his ears? He is also licking his rear alot.. I am suspecting he is bored, my fault because i havent placed new toys in his tank, im so paranoid because pepper ended up having mites because of me placing tissue rolls inside without freezing beforehand, i felt as if i made him suffer :( so now im searching for plastic toys! (learning from my mistakes!) i am also thinking of buying a bigger tank for him :)
Thank you sooo much for your help so far, it really helped me alot! I thought i was going to lose pepper shortly after salt passed away or unknown reason
I am so glad there are such nice people willing to help those little critters people often dislike!

ANSWER: Dear Rachel,

I am so glad Pepper is doing so much better : )).  Yes you can put the vitamin E near or gently on his ears. You are right that he needs toys. You should do that right away because if his behavior is from boredom, he might get in the wrong habit and not stop. I don't think he could have gotten mites from toilet paper rolls. In fact, I feel that TP rolls are the most important toy after the wheel. Mice can get mites from litter though. They also pretty much always have mites at a low level, and for various reasons when their immune system becomes compromised, the mites can multiply. I have lost track of your original messages but if Pepper"s problem started after Salt died, that is a very common event.

Best of luck and keep me posted. I will send this answer to both questions because I don't know if you used the wrong email again.

Squeaks,

Natasha

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello once again :)
I went to the Supermarket and saw a box of rat and mouse food mix, i dont want to buy from pet shop because i dont know how long its been sitting in the shop, and its all dusty inside. I jist wanted to ask if these ingredients are suitable for mice

Wheat
Sorghum
Oats
Crushed maize
Black sunflower seeds
Crushed lupins
Oaten chaff
Lucetne chaff
Vegetable oil

Answer
Dear Rachel,

The mouse and rat mixes (don't use a hamster mix) sold in the stores are fine. You are right that they should not be old, though. However, if you want to get complicated about it : ) , here is a link to all the nutrition info you need:

http://thefunmouse.com/info/diet.cfm

The link mentions different types of mice because people breed very specific kinds of mice for shows; don't worry about that.

Here is a more simple home made mouse diet:

http://www.afrma.org/pp_seedmixmouse.htm

Pepper will be happy either way. And fresh vegetables are a nice addition to make it more exciting.

squeaks,

Natasha