Tail chewing

by Kaleb0426 Wed 22 Apr 2020, 12:27 am

So my mouse Apple has been chewing and grooming her tail a lot recently. She has a section about an inch in the middle of her tail that she's chewed raw and hairless that is red and scabby. I want to treat it with something, maybe neosporin or hydrocortisone but I'm not sure how to go about it so she doesn't run away. Any tips on what to treat with or how to do it? Thanks!

by Robin~ Wed 22 Apr 2020, 8:16 am

I would try to pin it to a cause before doing too much medically (although putting some saline solution or hydrogen peroxide on it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prevent infection). Is she housed alone, or is the cage not very busy? Bored mice can show their boredom by self mutilation. Female mice must be housed in groups of 2 (ideally 3) or more as they are very social animals. What does her diet look like? A diet too high in protein (over 14-15%) can cause irritated skin. Otherwise, it could be some sort of infection that’s irritating her, such as mites or ringworm, which must be treated by a vet.

by Kaleb0426 Wed 22 Apr 2020, 11:32 am

She has a friend in there with her and I'm planning on adding another two soon after she heals up. They were on a high protein lab block (oxbow) before I found out that it was way too high in protein for them, so about a week ago I switched them to a mix I made (1/3 wild bird seed and a few pumpkin seeds 2/3 oats, barley, pasta, and bran flakes) I also added some of the leftover oxbow in case I missed nutrients they need. Does that sound like a good mix? I tried following advice I found on this forum so I hope so but I do still worry I'm not doing all the right things.

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Wed 22 Apr 2020, 12:23 pm

Vetericyn Plus might help tame the itchy-scratchy-chewies. Be sure to use the "hot spot antimicrobial gel" product formulation for all animals, and read the instructions before using. (You may need a magnifying glass for that part, at least on the 3-oz size bottle!)

by Robin~ Wed 22 Apr 2020, 4:29 pm

Kaleb0426 wrote:She has a friend in there with her and I'm planning on adding another two soon after she heals up. They were on a high protein lab block (oxbow) before I found out that it was way too high in protein for them, so about a week ago I switched them to a mix I made (1/3 wild bird seed and a few pumpkin seeds 2/3 oats, barley, pasta, and bran flakes) I also added some of the leftover oxbow in case I missed nutrients they need. Does that sound like a good mix? I tried following advice I found on this forum so I hope so but I do still worry I'm not doing all the right things.

It's good she has a friend Smile

For the diet, you really want the majority of the diet to be a low-protein pellet formulated for rats/mice. Without a fortified main diet, you mice could become malnourished. Oxbow Adult Rat food is a great start; it has 15% protein which can easily be taken down to the recommended 12-14% with a seed mix. I would try to steer clear from wild bird mixes as they tend to not be as high quality in terms of the sources of their ingredients as they're made for wild animals, but there are plenty of options of mixes created for domestic animals like small birds and rodents that work really well. This lists several options for both pellets and seed mixes.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tlKugiWbxFFnE8uz-wEooidh_BZRLO6-bZWO4C_cdjs/edit?usp=sharing

As I say in the article, there's an unfortunate lack of misinformation, and I mainly got this information from my vet (who works closely with rat/mouse breeders) and the articles on the forum. Not the only way of looking at diet, but it's what I personally vouch for.

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