Mites....or not?

Question
Hello!
I have been too busy to write lately, even though I have had a question. My mouse, Miracle, has what I was sure to be mites and you said I should try the spray, which I did, but I decided to go to a vet. He took a test and confirmed mites, and she has had 3 doses of a special treatment. However she is not reacting well to the treatment and the vet thinks it may be a rare skin disease that has not yet been able to be treated. If she has this, which most likely she does, then we have been offered to try steriods (terrifying!) and other treatment. However, my mother and I are afraid that Miracle may be suffering and may have to be put to sleep. Her ears bleed badly and the poor girl is constantly scratching and uncomfortable. Any tips for what we should choose to do? How I can make Miracle comfortable? I am afraid she may scratch out her eyes or ears, and her claws are quite sharp. She can only clean one side of her face because of her missing left front leg.

Squeaks forever,
Sad Sarah :'(

P.S. Patches, my almost two year old mouse who suffered many respiratory infection, passed away of old age in her sleep on October 1st, 2010. She has a beautiful grave in our front yard to mark what an amazing mouse she was.

P.P.S On the brighter side, My friend Ellie and I are going to the AFRMA mouse show on November 20th. I shall perhaps buy a mouse from the breeders there and we plan to start showing. . .hopefully. Can't wait to see the fancy show mice! Literally, FANCY mice!  ha ha my own little joke xD

Answer
Hi again, Sarah,

I'm sorry about your loss of Patches. It's wonderful that she had a long life. Mice pretty much always have a disease called Myco, which can dog them their entire lives. It is kept under control but not eliminated by antibiotics. This is why she kept getting sick.

Poor little Miracle.  Did the spray and the Ivermectin (I assume that's what the vet used) help at all? When the vet confirmed it was mites, did he actually see a mite under the microscope? Did he check for ringworm? Apparently that can be done with a blacklight.  

*Have you thought about allergies?* I suggest you completely change her situation. For just a few days put her in a cage with only paper towels and cloth and only feed her oatmeal. Make sure you use no chemicals near the cage-- no air freshener or cleaning products. Even though doing this while you treat her might make it hard to tell what the problem is, it's important to relieve her suffering. When she is better you can reintroduce a different bedding and various bits of her food. Especially give her no peanuts, corn, or sunflower seeds, as these are common allergies. Also no mouse blocks, because these contain corn.

When you say she did not react well, do you mean she suffered something extra, like she was allergic to the treatment? Did this happen with both mites treatments?

I think the steroids are a good idea but it needs to be done immediately. Steroids are, for instance, what I used when I was stung by a bee and was very allergic. So I know they work very well.

There are many products which relieve itching for people, often by slightly numbing the skin. Please ask the vet which of these might be appropriate for her in very small doses. People often forget that besides treating the causes of discomfort in an animal, it is also important to treat the symptoms if the animal is suffering.

If those treatments don't seem to work and she is still constantly scratching and seems unhappy, maybe euthanasia is the final solution. However, the question is partly what her mood is. Does she seem chipper anyway?

Poor little Miracle. I am certainly rooting for her. She is very lucky that she has such a living mommy who can take her to the vet.

squeaks,

Natasha