Itchy mouse- where did she get mites?

Question
Hi Natasha,

My mouse Daisy has started to scratch herself constantly. She's been doing it so much that she's losing hair in certain areas and her skin is irritated and red - especially on her face. I've read about mites etc. but she hasn't been in contact with any other animals. Everything else seems to be normal with her. Do you have any recommendations as to home remedies that I could use to ease her itching and heal her skin? Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Answer
Dear Kelly,

A vet visit and a skin sample would let you know for sure, but that kind of behavior sounds a lot like mites.  Still, if a vet visit is possible, you may find there is another problem such as mange or ringworm, or the vet can give your mouse an easier mite treatment than I can recommend.  

Mites appear on mice in two ways.  One way is that bedding can come infested with mites.  Some people freeze bedding for 24 hours before using it.  

The other fact, however, is that many mice simply have mites from where they came from, but for the most part it doesn't bother them.  You and I are carrying thousands of bacteria that could make us sick in larger quantities or if we become run down or weakened by some other illness.  The same is true for mouse mites.

Mice can live their whole lives without showing any effects of their mites, but if anything goes wrong, the mites take over.  A single mouse is very vulnerable because she has no friends to groom her.  Maybe she had a slight illness, is getting older, or the mites were simply slowly increasing in number for a long time.

In any case, treatment is crucial.  I use a flea and tick spray from a company called eight in one.  They have a version for small animals and a weaker one for birds.  The advantagae to using the weaker one is that the possible skin reaction will be less. The disadvantage is that if it isn't enough, you have to go through the whole treatment, which  involves two applications and two cage-cleanings, a second time.

If you can't find the spray in a pet store, you can get it at this link.  The sooner the better, because she is suffering and her immune system is getting weaker:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752081

The following post describes how to use the spray:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2009/1/mouse-scratching-itself-missing.htm

Best of luck to daisy.  I hope she recovers well.

squeaks,

Natasha