Aging Mice with scabs

Question
I have had four pet mice for the past 2-3 years, two of which have died already, and one that I suspect is about to pass soon. One thing I noticed about all three of these aging mice is that they all became isolated from the other mice, they lost energy, they became skinnier, and they accumulated a lot of scabs on their back while losing their hair. All of these symptoms make sense for dying mice except for the last one. I hear that scabs and hair loss are usually caused by mites, but none of the other mice are affected and they don't scratch excessively nor do they look unhappy/stressed. What could be the cause of this?

Answer
Dear Nikki,

The losing energy and becoming skinnier are part of growing old. They also may get hunched over and have rough fur, and be unable to move easily.

Acquiring scabs and losing hair does sound like mites. All mice have mites, but so few that they don't cause a problem. But when anything happens to their immune systems-- like if they get sick, stressed, lonely, depressed, are exposed another mouse with a problem, or *get old*-- the mites can become a problem.

Your other mice then have mites, and they have them at a level which would re-infest the older mouse if you only treat her. ALL of the mice have to be treated. The easiest way is to go to the vet and get Revolution applied to the back of their necks-- it causes mites who bite them to die. If you can't do that, you can buy a spray and do it at home. This is not as effective, and much less fun for the mouse. A vet can also tell you if it isn't mites at all; there are other, less common, reasons for fur loss and scabs, such as a fungus like ringworm.

I described how to treat for mites with a spray in the following post. Read it carefully and follow all directions or you will have mites again.

squeak

Natasha

<:3  )--~