My mouse's ears and eyes are red from scratching. What can I do?

Question

My pet mice has had some problems with scratching himself... He recently scratched a bit of his ear off, but it doesnt seem to affect him. Now he started scratching his other ear, and its starting to look red and irritated. Also one of his eyes also started to look red and irritated on the eyelid because of him scratching it a lot. I dont know what to do. Pet's info: Other | Unknown - Other | Male | unneutered | 0.05 lbs

Rebeccah Wood · Accepted Answer

Hello! I'm sorry to hear that Mickey is having some skin problems. Skin issues are not all that uncommon in mice, the location you mention (the ears) is common for irritated skin. The eye problem probably did stem from him scratching at his ears - sometimes they accidentally scratch the sensitive tissue around the eyelids and cause irritation unwittingly. The best thing you can do for Mickey is to trim his toenails - many skin and eye issues in mice are self-inflicted, and having short nails keeps them from being able to cause further damage. A small human nail clipper works well for this purpose, but if you are uncomfortable with restraining your mouse safely, a vet's office can do it for you. They may also be able to suggest an ointment for the irritated ear tissue. Additionally, they can check for parasites that might be causing him to scratch - this is unlikely, but worth ruling out. In the meantime, to protect the eye, a plain artificial tears ointment that you can get from the drugstore can be helpful. Be sure it's made for the eyes, and that it doesn't have anything in it except for mineral oil and white petrolatum. Good luck, and I hope that little Mickey gets well soon!

My mouse's ears and eyes are red from scratching. What can I do?

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