Places with thin hair?

by AnonymousMouseOwner Mon 12 Jun 2017, 8:02 pm

Cotton has areas on her fur where I can see pink through it, like there's not much fur in that area and I can sorta see her skin. Otherwise, she is young and healthy, no problems. I'm just trying to figure out what it could be, it's been like this for a week or so. Allergic reaction? Maybe her sisters are over-grooming her? It doesn't look bad, I tried to get pictures but it didn't even show up in the pictures. It is kind of thinned on her head and somewhat on her back. They are on Carefresh bedding, they eat Vitakraft Vitasmart parakeet, and they do have wooden and cardboard toys. She doesn't excessively scratch at all, and has been treated to prevent mites.

by Rodents rock! Mon 12 Jun 2017, 8:22 pm

I can only tell you quite some time ago Mickey was scratching all the time and was getting a bald spot. I stopped making him things out of popsicle sticks and his scratching stopped and his hair grew back. Now I mostly just use things that are plastic or ceramic. I still give him little wood chews and small woven willow balls, they don't seem to bother him. And I use Carefresh bedding and torn up paper towels which he uses to make his nests.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Mon 19 Jun 2017, 6:09 pm

Thank you Rodents Rock! It very well might be wood allergies. I'm not sure though. I finally got it to show up in a picture.

So can anyone guess what it might be? Does it look like over grooming or allergies? If it was over grooming, then wouldn't other mice be showing thin fur too? Should I try removing wood items?

by CallaLily Mon 19 Jun 2017, 6:20 pm

The way it's across her forehead like that I feel like it's overgrooming, not an allergy. The other mice wouldn't necessarily be barbered too or it might just show better on her. Check to see if any of them are missing whiskers.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Mon 19 Jun 2017, 6:44 pm

CallaLily wrote:The way it's across her forehead like that I feel like it's overgrooming, not an allergy. The other mice wouldn't necessarily be barbered too or it might just show better on her. Check to see if any of them are missing whiskers.

Oh no. Ok, I will try to look later when they are all out and active. If it happens to be overgrooming, what should I do? They already have a super packed tank full of stuff to do. Not sure of much else I could do.

by CallaLily Mon 19 Jun 2017, 8:51 pm

Maybe try moving things around more often or switching out toys every other day? More outside of the tank playtime if you can swing it? Anything to keep them extra busy. Hopefully someone with more experience with barbering will come by. So far I've had one case :::knock on wood::: and it wasn't an ongoing problem.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Tue 20 Jun 2017, 2:14 am

Great ideas, thank you! I will make them more mousie pinatas and sprinkle seeds around the tank often. I can try to bring them out more, but they aren't the tamest mice I have, they don't really come out voluntarily. I will throw in toilet paper and cardboard pieces often too, they seem to like that.

So, I checked, and both Willow and Petal look totally fine to me. How would I tell if whiskers are missing? Would it be obvious? I didn't really notice anything unusual.

by CallaLily Tue 20 Jun 2017, 7:57 am

I would think it would be obvious, with the whiskers either completely gone or shortened pretty good. From what I've read that's the most common sign of barbering but I've seen a few threads where the whiskers were left alone so I'm not sure. When two of my girls had spots that looked like overgrooming, their whiskers were still intact as far as I could tell. But it wasn't too long before the spots grew back so idk for sure what was going on. Confused

by AnonymousMouseOwner Fri 14 Jul 2017, 12:23 am

So, now Petal is starting to show the thin fur on the head very similar to Cotton's. I think that means Willow is the culprit. What kinds of toys can I add in to entertain her that I can just throw out every week? I already use TP tubes, boxes, and egg cartons. I may buy some napkins for them to shred. Can they have the napkins that are like colored or themed? Like the type you would find in the party section...?

by scaredymouse Fri 14 Jul 2017, 1:34 am

I use party supplies. If they are safe for kids, they are safe for mice. I also use crepe paper in the party section, which are those rolls of paper based party streamers. my mice also love tissue paper.

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sat 15 Jul 2017, 5:19 pm

Soooo, today I went to a yard sale and got a nice sized, very tall tank. I then went to the dollar store to get some items to fill it with. I got crinkle paper, napkins, paper cups, and some crepe paper. However, the crepe paper says it "is not a toy" and "for decoration purposes only". As well as "KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN".... Should I be worried? I know they aren't talking about the bag, because generally you don't use a bag for decoration purposes Laughing

by AnonymousMouseOwner Thu 27 Jul 2017, 11:28 pm

Just wanted to update - I upgraded their cage to the 2 ft tall tank nearly 2 weeks ago, and Petal seems to have no more fur missing. Cotton's fur is a lot thicker than it was, which means it is growing back! So I guess Willow was over-grooming out of boredom. With so much to do, she doesn't over-groom anymore.

by scaredymouse Fri 28 Jul 2017, 11:00 am

yippie!

by CallaLily Fri 28 Jul 2017, 11:44 am

Great news!

by Rodents rock! Fri 28 Jul 2017, 3:43 pm

That is wonderful news!!!

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