Mouse Underweight/Itchy Skin/Cut on Ear

Question
My white pet mouse, Snow, is about 1 1/2. Her female companion, a little older,
died about two months ago. Sorry, this is so long.

About a week ago, I noticed she was shaking pretty badly. I gave her some
water mixed with honey, thinking maybe her blood sugar was low, and held her
with a washcloth, warming her. She stopped after about thirty minutes. I also
noticed she was pretty thin, I could feel her bones. It seemed like it happened
overnight, she was fine and healthy looking the day before and I've been feeding
her the same as always.

The next day she was barely breathing and very lethargic, not moving much at
all. She refused food, even her favorite treats, for about an hour and she
wouldn't drink water. I had to dab some on her mouth. I really didn't think she'd
make it through the night so I just spoke to her and held her. Then suddenly,
she started nibbling on a treat I repeatedly offered her. That night I also saw she
had a small cut in her ear.

Over the course of a few days, the cut has gotten bigger. She has a pretty big
scab in her ear now. I've also noticed she's been scratching a lot. Her coat is
dull, she's losing fur and she's still very thin, despite giving her some extra
treats. I'm thinking she might have mites? So, I got her a spray from 8 in 1, for
fleas and ticks. It was the only one in Petco but it had Pyrethrins as the active
ingredient, and I've read in multiple places that it helped mites, so I figured I
could try it. I followed the directions and applied it to her coat. I also disinfected
her cage, switched from bedding (I can't remember the name, but it wasn't pine.)
to newspaper and threw out her old toys.

I'm hoping this works but I was wondering if you could shed some light on her
situation. I was also wondering if you could help with this underweight issue.
Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Sarah  

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Make sure you shake that 8 in 1 spray, as the main ingredient has a rotten habit of not staying in solution.  I certainly hope it helps because the itchiness sounds right.  Natasha explained to me once that most mice have mites, but they're usually kept in check by social grooming - however, when a mouse who is used to living with another mouse is suddenly alone, the mites can get out of hand and really cause a problem.  Remember to treat again a week or so later to get the next round of mites, if it is indeed mites.  You should start to see improvement in her skin and coat within a couple of weeks.  Yesterday's News, Carefresh, and aspen are all great beddings with minimal irritation - though if you do go back to using bedding, freezing it for 24 hours before using it can help control the chances of mites hitch-hiking in.

If treating for mites just doesn't help, though I hope it does, it could also be stress.  She did just lose her cage mate, unfortunately, and that can cause some weird behaviors.  Giving her lots of extra attention and care can help her stress a bit less.  The cut on her ear is probably from scratching.  To help prevent infections you can dilute a little betadine (animal-safe and can be found in your local pharmacy or general store) to the color of tea with water.  This can be dabbed on the area with a Q tip, then dabbed away gently with a clean moist Q tip.  Antibiotic ointment like neosporin can be used as well (most of it will be groomed off, so you don't need much!) but should be kept away from her eyes if you can.

The weight loss concerns me the most.  Though I don't usually associate mites or similar conditions with extreme weight loss, refusing food and drink is something to take very seriously.  It can be a sign of an intestinal illness, which her immune system may be more susceptible to if she is very upset about the loss of her friend.  If you can get her into a vet that is your very best option - a professional will be able to figure out what's going on in person and let you know what your best course of action is.  You can start her on a general antibiotic called tetracycline yourself and it can be found in the fish section at your pet store or in feed stores.  Here are some instructions on how to use it:  http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2010/2/Tetracycline-directions-sneezing-mou...  In the meantime you can help make what she eats extra valuable by supplementing with high protein treats like dry cat food, or scrambled eggs made with kitten milk replacement instead of cow's milk.

I wish her the very best of luck!
-Tam