Strange growth

Question
I've had my mouse for less than a year and she recently developed this strange growth right under one of her eyes. Her eye, itself, looks like its ok, but im worried about the pink round growth. Its about half the size of a pea. Do you have any idea what might have caused it, or if it will go away on its own? She is a perfectly happy, healthy mouse otherwise, eating, pooping and exercising normally. She's a very friendly and doesnt have and strange habits. What can i do about this growth?

Answer
Dear Lauren,

First off, if you can afford a vet visit, an examination may lead to a diagnosis not within my realm of expertise.

One possibility is an abscess.  In this case you want to give her antibiotics. The following is my home remedy which works for many infections.  This is what I do:

Go to a pet store or aquarium store and buy Tetracycline, which is for fish.  It is in capsule form and there is powder in the capsules. Take about 1/2 capsule and mix it with about tiny drop of water until you form a loose paste.  If it doesn't work the first time, you have plenty of capsules left to use.   Take the mouse by the scruff of the neck-- which means the skin right behind its ears-- this does not hurt but the mouse will squirm.  Try to get a teeny bit of the paste into the mouse's mouth.  Put a little around her mouth too, but be careful not to plug her nose.   Next put a half capsule of powder into her small water bottle or a whole capsule in her larger water bottle, shake it up well, and change it every day.  It will not be a problem for other mice if you have them. This will make an abscess go away.  But it may not be an abscess.

A sad thing about mice is that they do get tumors, and they rarely survive an operation, usually developing new tumors afterward if they do survive.  Your mouse may have a tumor and if she does, you can't do anything about it.  You will have to decide at some later point whether her life is worth living-- I mean, if the tumor is causing her to be unable to walk, eat, or engage in normal mousie activities and she seems unhappy, it might be time to put her down.  But she may have a long time yet to go.

Again, a vet is always the first bet.

I wish mousie well and a long happy life.

Squeaks,

Natasha