mouse seems beat up?

Question
hi i have 3 mice 2 female and one male they have been doing fine together but i noticed that one is a little beat up today my question is why after being good together for so long are they now fighting what would cause this?

Answer
Dear Mike,

If the mice were babies and are just growing up, they might be trying to establish dominance now. However, it is rare for them to actually injure each other. I wonder if what you are seeing is scratches and scabs that are self-inflicted due to mites. Sometimes only one mouse seems to have mites out of a group.

The best thing to do is to bring all the mice to the vet to be examined. If that's not possible, you can treat for mites at home. I explain how to do so in the following post. You need to treat all the mice and change the cage, washing everything in it very carefully.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2009/7/Baby-mouse-losing-hair.htm

Best of luck to your little mice.

squeaks,

Natasha