AboutNatasha Expertise I can answer questions about raising mice and caring for them as pets, with knowledge from my 35 years of having mice as very tame pets, including some breeding. I know about illnesses and problems which have come up in my experience with my mice. I also may be able to use contact with a fancy mouse breeding expert who is a friend (he knows a lot about illnesses too). Right now I have 4 sweet show (fancy) mice named Clara, Brandy, Little Honey and Fluff (who will have the name Clementine when she is big enough for it). My expertise is pretty broad, and I have numerous mouse books to fall back onto.
I want to stress that my advice is about tame mice, which may be very different than advice by someone who breeds rather than lives in the company of mice. This can lead to differences between experts, so be sure you are asking the right person. If I contradict what a breeding expert says, this is why.
Experience I have had mice for 34 years (since I was 5!). I raised them when I was a child but now I keep all females, and never fewer than three so that if one dies the others are not devastated, because they have each other.
Education/Credentials B.A., M.A., M.A. in Linguistics: Yale University and University of Connecticut
Expert: Natasha Date: 6/9/2008 Subject: WHITE MOUSE PET
Question WE HAD TWO MICE THOUGHT THEY MAY HAVE BEEN FIGHTING ONE HAD LITTLE SORES ON ITS BACK BY TAIL AREA, SEPERATED THEM LOOKED LIKE IT WAS HEALING BUT THIS MORNING A PATCH OF HAIR AND THE SKIN FELL OF HIS BACK A LITTLE BIGGER THAN A QUARTER, ACTUALLY FOUND THE PIECE IN THE CAGE IT WAS HARD, BACK LOOKS RAW NOW, WHAT IS THIS AND WHAT CAN I DO FOR IT, CAN'T AFFORD A VET RIGHT NOW THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE US!
Answer Dear Lori,
I haven't had that exact experience, but I can tell you what I would do if it was my mouse:
I would first want to avoid any infection. It's possible that the mouse had an infection under its skin and that's why it seemed fine but the skin came off. There is an antibiotic called Tetracycline, which you can get as a powder in capsules in the aquarium/fish section of your pet store.
Mix one capsule powder with about a drop of water to form a light paste (you have enough capsules to play around till you get it right). Pick up the mouse by the scruff of its neck-- the loose skin on the back of its head. It will struggle but it doesn't hurt it-- that's how its mom used to carry it (kittens too). Try to get a little of the paste into its mouth, and rub a little more around its chin and whiskers (not its nose- so it doesn't suffocate). It will ingest this when it cleans itself. Make the paste a little more watery and gently coat the wound. Then put a full capsule in a large or a half capsule in a small water bottle. Shake it up well. This should be its water supply for about a week. Change it every other day.
If the mice have to stay separated, make sure their two cages are near to each other so they can chat-- they do it constantly, only it's too high for human ears to hear-- and each mouse will need a lot of people-love to make up for its single status. You can probably hold them at the same time, though.
I think most mouse owners aren't in a position to go to a vet, so don't feel bad. I can't afford it either! Vets charge too much and a mouse is usually a small-budget pet.
Best of luck. If the mouse develops any other symptoms, write to me or another expert (give her the url for this exchange to start her off) and describe them.
