My mouse is losing all his hair.

Question
I've had a pet mouse for about 6 months and about 2 months ago he started to lose his hair. It started out as just a small patch on his back leg then eventually he lost all the hair on his testicles and now he lost a large patch on his one front leg. I tried changing his bedding to the kind that was allergy free and that worked for a while then it got worse. I'm not sure if he's doing it to himself or if he's allergic to something in his cage.

Answer
Dear Trisha,

There are several reasons why a mouse would lose its fur.  You are right that allergies are a suspect.  Has anything changed recently-- air freshener, cage cleaning chemicals, has the cage been moved?  

The next suspect is mites, and this is quite likely.  A vet can test to find out if it is mites or another skin problem.  If you can bring the mouse for a test, that's great.  If you can't, you can try to treat the problem and see what works.  Of course the mouse will be the most happy if he can just go to the vet and be properly diagnosed and treated.

To treat for mites, get a bottle of 8-in-1 flea and tick spray for birds (not rodents).  The bird spray is 1/2 the strength of the rodent spray, which can cause the mouse skin pain.  The instructions say to spray the mouse, but on the parts where he is bald I would suggest you spray it onto your hand and apply it gently.  Make sure he is completely dry and warm before putting him back in a clean cage.  Every mouse in the cage must be treated.  The cage should be thoroughly cleaned and all paper or cardboard items thrown away.  Plastic items should be washed either in boiling water or in a very mild bleach solution with dishwashing liquid.  

If this helps, you should see a change within a few days.  After a week to ten days, apply the spray and clean the cage again.  This is to kill the mites who were in eggs at the time of the first spraying.  If this makes a big difference but the problem returns, then it is time to buy the stronger, rodent version and try that.

If there is no improvement within 3-4 days after the first spraying, the mouse probably  has a skin or fungal infection such as mange or ringworm (not a worm).  This is something a vet can diagnose and treat far better than you can at home.  The vet has access to medications for the problem that you don't have access to.  The only home remedies I can suggest are a little neosporin rubbed in gently or a little athlete's foot powder mixed with vitamin E oil (cut a gel-cap open from a normal bottle of Vitamin E).  If you don't have the vitamin E, actually even a little peanut or other mild oil will work.  The vitamin E oil is, however, excellent for the skin.  In fact, I recommend a little Vitamin E on the skin in any place that it is inflamed or dry/flaky.  I had a mouse who lost her fur and I rubbed Vitamin E oil into her skin every other day.  She loved it!!

Best of luck.  If your vet has other suggestions, I'd love an update so I can add to my own knowledge of skin health.

squeak,

Natasha