ear injury on mouse

Question
Young nephew's beloved pet mouse has a hole in his ear..it is small but it is like the ear is pierced. there is dry blood around the injury. Is there anything I can do to encourage healing and minimize infection?

Thank you so much,

Mary

Answer
Hi Mary,

Ear injuries aren't uncommon, and normally heal up just fine with minimal risk of infection.  You may see tearing in the future, if the hole catches on anything, but this also carries little risk of infection or other troubles.  To keep it clean and help it heal you can do two things, provided he's relatively calm and easy to handle - you can dip a cotton swab in a solution of betadine (drop a couple of drops of betadine from your local pharmacy in warm water until it reaches the color of tea) and apply it to the injury (you can dab it back off if you want to, but it's a safe disinfectant), and you can also try applying a small amount of antibiotic ointment such as neosporin to the wound.  Neither should come anywhere near the eyes, however, so if the mouse is a little skittish you can try dabbing a cotton ball in a little warm water with a small amount of salt dissolved in it and moistening the dried blood/scabbing.

You'll only have to worry about infection if the ear continues to be a bright red, swells or develops a bump, or oozes anything icky.  If that occurs you may need to consider visiting a vet to prevent bigger problems from developing, but the risk is really quite slim.

I would also be sure and check the cage in case you can determine what caused the puncture.  Is there anything sharp in the cage, or a more aggressive cagemate?  Is the mouse scratching more than usual, and might have hurt his own ear on accident?

He should be just fine, and let me know if you have any more questions!  :)
-Tam