mouse scatching and chewing herself

Question
Hi!  I have 3 female mice approx 1 yr old living in 2, 3 tier cages attached by tubes.  2 mice are just fine, the 3rd mouse, Casie, is scratching and chewing herself to death- been going on for about 8 weeks now.  She started out scratching her ears, then neck and chest area- leaving the area raw and bloody.  The other mice are not touching her.  I thought she might have mites, so, I took her to the vets where she was examined and skin test done.  Vet found nothing and concluded the mouse is OCD and is stressed and put her on metacam for a week. After 5 doses, saw no improvement, just seemed to make her more stressed- being caught and medicated.  She became scared for me to touch her, so I stopped medicating her.  After a week off the medication, she will now come out to eat and will once again take treats from me.  Now, she is chewing at her front arms/ legs to the point that she cannot walk on them- she hops on her hind legs to get around.  She does use her from paws to hold food, eat and clean her face.  Her arms look so sore and swollen! I don't know what to do!  I called the vet and she said we could try another med, but I'm afraid she will become even more scared and impossible to handle.  The vet came highly recommended for rodents and seems knowledgable and caring.  Do you have any experience with self mutilating mice?  Should I try another treatment?  Should I have her put down- hope not, but don't want her suffering.  Should I wait and see if she calms down and recovers from her vet trip/ medication trauma and see what happens?  Could any of this be a reaction/ side affect to the meds?- vet didn't think so.  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Answer
Dear Debbie,

If the vet was highly recommended for rodents, he knows best. The main suggestions I have are to give her lots of toys and to coat her fur with something she will not like the taste of. Let the vet figure out what, so you don't poison her.

I'm assuming the problem with the meds was the unpleasantness of dosing her by mouth? I know that well. There are a couple of things you can try. One thing I do when I have to dose a mouse is I hold and cuddle her for a half hour before and after. That way she doesn't think I am going to torture her every time I pick her up. I actually developed a really close relationship with a mouse this way. I also always give the med in the same place, not where I have her the rest of the time. One time I used a box with a towel on it. The last mouse I just sat in the hallway and put her on my knee.

The other option is of course to try to get the med inside her in a different way. The two best ways are in her food or, as a last resort, on her fur so she will lick it off. Is there anything she will eat from your hand that you can mix her medication with? Peanut butter is a huge favorite (the commercial kind like Skippy). Also just a crumb of bread, depending on the taste of the medication. Try a little butter on the crumb. My rats take their meds mixed in blueberry soy yogurt, which they are crazy for. The mice love it too. And if nothing else works, smear it on her fur. Take the others out of the cage so she will wash it off herself. Put some on her face (whiskers area) and some on her sides where it is easy to reach.

The other thing you can do at the same time is test for allergies. In the following post I explain how. Pretty much, put her in a cage with paper towels and nothing but oats to eat, and go from there. Don't separate the mice though:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2010/6/Fur-loss-mouse-other-1.htm

You might also want to mention these ideas to your vet, to add to his arsenal of rodent info. He sounds like a great vet.

The very best of luck.

squeaks,

Natasha