Candycane had bad/has mites... were treated, now hes itching...

Question
QUESTION: Hello Natasha,

We had 16 mice. One, Candycane, had the starts of mites. He was treated, and it didn't work; it soon somehow spread to his father, Peppermint. (They were separated.) It got worse and worse... finally, no medicine worked and they were starting to bleed they were scratching so much. We took them in as an emergency, and what we got finally worked... but Peppermint was too weak for the meds. He died the next day, on Easter Sunday. Candycane is fine so far, but he started scratching again.

Even though the vet gave him itching meds, it still isn't enough. He's scratching like crazy and might start to bleed like Peppermint did. We gave him aloe on his neck for now to sooth him, but is there any other natural thing we can use? We've called the vet--they said bring him in again for an outpatient, but he's not due for another 7 days... They want more of our money, obviously, which we don't have. (We spent $300 last emergency visit.) Anyhow, any ideas are appreciated. :)

Thank you,

Lydia--Worried mouse mommy :o

ANSWER: Dear Lydia,

My first questions are whether it's possible that he was re-infected.  Did you:  treat all mice at the same time, boil or bleach all plastic and glass toys and accessories and throw out paper or wood, completely clean the cage at the same time?  I don't know what the vet used to treat them, but with a spray or a short lasting topical treatment, mites that were in eggs at the time of treatment will hatch and re-infest the mice.  If you think they might still have mites you might want to use a $5 spray instead of paying another $300 to the vet.  Btw the spray will not work if it isn't shaken well (that was the clue to the last difficult case I had).

It's also possible that the litter is infested; the way to make sure that isn't the case is to freeze it for 24-48 hours before using it. Is it possible that they have contact with wild mice?

I also don't know what you mean by itching medicine... not sure what would make a mouse stop itching.  If the vet thought it might be an allergy they might give them cortisone. Another question is, did the vet rule out another cause for itching such as ringworm?  They ought to be able to examine a skin sample under the microscope. You can see ringworm with a blacklight too.

Yet another question is whether an allergy could be the culprit, though it sounds like you had something spreading from mouse to mouse. Did you change the bedding material recently? How about their diet?

As for something to soothe the skin, aloe is my first thought as well.  Find the pure stuff-- not what says "made with 100% aloe" because only means there is aloe IN it.  Try to get as close to actual 100% aloe as possible.  

I hope these comments at least give you some avenues to explore.  Poor little Candycane! Please let me know what happens so I wil have more information to help the next difficult case.  

squeaks,

Natasha

PS with names like Candycane and Peppermint I'm wondering what the other names are... Christmas names?  Different kinds of candy? Holiday themes?  lol

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Candycane :)   QUESTION: Hello Natasha,

Thanks for your response. He *was* treated before, with the cage *thoroughly* cleaned after-wards, and was given fresh bedding. He remained with mites, and it somehow spread to Peppermint. (They lived separately.) Thanks for the spray idea, but I can't use it. He was just on Saturday treated with a different cream, cleaning medicine, something to soothe the itching, and we were given antibiotics that were to be given a few days later. So if we gave him the spray on top of this it would probably kill him. But thanks, I'll keep that in mind after the vet in the future. :)

Yes, I might switch to Care Fresh, or another paper product; even though freezing is effective, I still wouldn't trust it after this. Candycane is currently in toilet paper. No, no diet was changed, and their bedding (toilet paper; we thought it was an allergy) was and IS changed daily. We have no clue at all how it was spread between the mice; they lived 2 feet apart from each other in separate cages. But VERY long before this all, the entire family had a quick "meeting" in a neutral territory. They liked it; and I have it on video (C:\Documents and Settings\Parent\My Documents\My Pictures\Lydia's Camera\Videos from Camera\Lydia's Camera 057.avi). :)

Okay. I'll look for more 100% aloe, which is what I'm using now. Is there any other ideas you can give me by any chance? :)

Yes, I hope that too... I'll keep you updated as much as I possibly can. =D

~Lydia

P.P.S.: Yeah, all males are Christmas names, females are flowers and only the daughter is another kind of name (Sugarplum), lol. =)

Answer
Dear Lydia,

I'm afraid this is where I have to defer to the vet.  I wouldn't want to interfere with such a complicated treatment.  If they were my mice I would wait a week and then treat them with a different chemical. As far as I know Ivermectin is the most effective treatment; I don't know what the vet used.  My only question is, is this a mouse vet? Mice should be treated by someone trained in "pocket pets" or "exotics."  If the vet isn't trained for mice, they might not know what the most effective way to treat them is. Training on cats and dogs just doesn't do it.

As for the transfer of mites, unless you wash your hands and change your clothes between handling the different mice, and never put them in the same location even at different times, that's how they can transfer them.  Mites can survive quite a while between mice.

Actually Sugarplum is a very Christmassy name!  In the Nutcracker Suite there is a famous dance of the Sugarplum Fairies. And in The Night Before Christmas, the children have sugarplums dancing in their heads (dreaming) as they sleep!!

I really wish you the best of luck.  

squeaks,

Natasha