Author: Dr. Jerry Murray

Skin disease is the most common problem seen with pet mice. Many different things can cause skin disease in pet mice. Fur mites are common in mice, and three different mites can infect mice: Myobia musculi, Myocoptes musculinus and Radfordia affinis; M. musculi is the most common type. Mice typically get infested with mites from contact with other infested mice or from infested bedding or wood chips. This is especially common in pet stores. Infested mice have a thin hair coat mostly on the head and back, an oily appearance, itchy skin and skin damage from excessive scratching. Fur mites can be diagnosed when your veterinarian does a skin scraping and looks for mites under a microscope. Sometimes the mites can be seen on the hair and skin with a magnifying lens. Fur mites can be treated with ivermectin either by injection, orally or topically. Selamectin and moxidectin can also be used topically to treat the mites.,Mice are one of the common small rodents that make good pets. In general, mice do not bite and are fairly disease-resistant. They are also small enough that their enclosure fits in most homes or apartments. They are omnivores that eat mostly grass, seeds, grain, berries and insects. Their dietary requirements are well known from laboratory studies, and several different pet food companies make good rodent pellets and treats for mice. Pet mice are prone to two common diseases: skin problems and mammary cancer.

A common health problem seen in pet ferrets is hair loss. Hair loss is frequently called baldness; however, the correct medical term is alopecia. Alopecia means partial or complete hair loss from an area that normally has hair. There are different locations for the hair loss depending on the underlying cause of the alopecia.