mouse with tumor, hair loss, cant get to vet

Question
My son has two female mice about 1 1/2 years old. One has a lot of hair loss and a lump on its back. Because of finances we can't take it to a vet. Is there anything we can try, to help improve her health?

If she dies, would getting a very young mouse to be with the remaining mouse who is also 1 1/2 cause problems? She has always been very dominant.

Answer
BAD LINK SORRY!!

Dear Jill,

I know from my own experience what it's like not to be able to get a  mouse to a vet.  I've seen some experts come down hard and say "Don't get a mouse if you can't afford its vet bills" but I completely disagree.  We all need pets, regardless of our finances.  And mice are usually pretty low-budget.
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It is possible that the lump is an abscess.   A vet would be able to lance it and give her antibiotics.  I don't lance them myself (had a tragedy that way), so I don't recommend it, though my breeder does it himself.  But I do give them antibiotics that you can get over the counter.    This comes with all the risks of giving any medicine to anybody, but I have never had an adverse reaction. This should shrink the lump if it is an abscess. The antibiotic I use is called Tetracycline, which is sold for fish.  Here is a post explaining how to dose the mouse:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/11/Mouse-Respiratory-Infection.htm

If this does not help within a few days, the mouse most likely has a tumor.  Tumors are untreatable.  Even if you had her operated on, which she might or might not survive, she would get another tumor or tumors.  Rat tumors are isolated and can be removed, but mice get a different kind.  So your vet would have no cure for the tumor. A tumor is mostly an impediment to the mouse.  It won't hurt her but it will get in the way.  You will need to keep her as comfortable as possible.  Make sure her food and water are easily accessible.  If she is a friendly mouse and likes to be picked up, give her lots of love. When it seems that she can no longer eat or move properly, or when she seems very unhappy, you have the question of whether to put her to sleep.  Try calling around, because a local vet (not an animal hospital) *might* be (in my eyes) 'honest' enough to charge for the fact that a mouse only needs 1/2 ml of poison whereas a cat or dog needs much, much more, and thus it doesn't cost THEM much of anything to put her down... so some small places might charge less than the usual standard all-animal fee.  There are no other easy options for euthanasia, though some brave people do carefully break their backs or cut off their heads.  Sorry to write that!
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Hair loss can be due to age, and 1 1/2 is starting to get old.  However, it can also be mites. Most mice actually have mites but they are healthy enough that it isn't a problem, in the same way that you and I have bacteria in our bodies that are not enough to make us sick.  But when something goes wrong and the health becomes more frail-- such as when a mouse becomes ill with something else, becomes, old, or lives alone-- the mites can cause a problem.  The way I would deal with this is to examine the mouse for other signs of old age.  Is her coat clean and neat where it isn't balding?  Is her spine straight or is she a little hunched over?  Does she walk more slowly or run less in the wheel?  Those are all signs of old age.  If she is showing these signs, I would not necessarily treat her for mites because the slight  hair loss may be normal, and she might not be strong enough for a treatment.  If she actually has bald spots or scabs, though, the mite treatment is the right thing.  The following post describes treatment for mites.  You must treat both mice, and do so before you introduce any new mice to the cage:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2009/2/Mouse-mites.htm
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Lastly, yes, a young mouse is the best idea for a new companion for the aggressive mouse.  It is more likely to accept the aggressive mouse as the A-Mouse submissively if it is a baby.  Consider getting two little mice, both because they will each get less of the brunt of the aggression, and because the other may not live that much longer (though she *could* live up to another year!), and so you may want to avoid the tragedy of one mouse being alone when the other goes.  In fact, to avoid that with this mouse now, you might want to get the new mouse/mice before the other goes.  I like to have three mice for this reason.

This is probably the longest answer for the shortest question on this site!  Good luck to your mouse.

squeaks,

Natasha