orphaned baby mouse questions

Question

minnie 6days old   Hello!
I found two baby mice in a parking lot. one died after three days, but I still have the little girl. I have had her for 8 days now. I'm worried because she is very small,doesn't walk well(not sure if thats normal so young) and though she is eating, she is very skinny.she has been eating puppy formula, sometimes I think she eats to much, her stomach looks like it might explode to me...so
1) should I should keep feeding her even tho she look full?
2)Also, she poops okay, but not everytime, and I dont want her backed up, any advice?
3)She is grey w a slight fur, not sure if she is a field mouse or a pet mouse, and tips on figuring that out?
4)And I'm also worried bc I thought at 6days their stomachs were no longer see through, however at 8days it still is, so Im worried shes not getting enough nutrition.

sorry for all the questions Im just really worried about her! oh one more thing, she wont eat every hour, so far she does best at every 4hours, do you think thats a problem? should i try and force the 2hour feeding? any advice would be welcomed! thank you!

Answer
Dear Corissa,

I have always felt a pup knows how much it should eat, and if she is skinny she is not getting too much. It worries me though. When an animal eats a lot and stays skinny it generally means a tapeworm. But I just don't think there is any way an infant mouse has a tapeworm. I would try every two hours-- don't force, but offer a few times, wait 5 minutes, try again. Then stop; you don't want to hassle the poor thing.

Hand fed pups are usually behind their age in development. The reason for not seeing the milk band as they grow is their fur should cover it. Orphans often have trouble with fur development because they are supposed to have a momma mouse licking them all over their bodied repeatedly, stimulating it to grow.

When you stimulate her, I have learned by listening to many people with experience, you want to rub more than just her genitals. You want to rub abdomen, genitals, and anus, sometimes for up to 5 minutes. I recommend a pinky finger because it won't rub raw, as can be a problem with a Q tip, and because you will know what her stomach ought to feel like, so you would notice bloat immediately.

The house mouse babies I know were black at that age.  House mice and pet mice are the same species. She looks pretty dark in your photo, though you describe her as light grey. Let's wait and see ;)

Are you on Facebook? If you are, I can put you in a group I have called Oh, No, Babies! It is to help people with orphans and with oops litters- rats and mice.  You would have one thread headed with a photo (so you can find it) and you would ask your questions. I would assign one or more helpers-- people with experience and a vet tech-- to your thread. You could also post a stand alone post in an emergency and tag people.

There are links to reading; you can read other people's threads; and you can post and enjoy cute baby photos!


Friend me here and pm me who you are:

https://www.facebook.com/natasha.mouserat

I also run a rat and mouse group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/RatsandMiceareAwesome/


These are the info links we have:

Orphan rat kittens (or kits) and orphans mouse pups are raised by hand pretty much the same way. Mouse pups usually get (half strength) KMR and rats soy infant formula but it isn't that important.

The Rat Fan Club: Raising orphaned rats or mice
http://ratfanclub.org/orphans.html

American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association: Caring for Rat & Mouse Orphans
http://www.afrma.org/rminfo8.htm

Allexperts.com: Guide to orphan mouse pups
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2013/4/guide-orphan-mouse-pups.htm

Raising Orphan Mouse Pups: ten videos about raising orphans from day one (1/10 through 10/10) by Aud Fischer, member of RAA
http://m.youtube.com/user/CreekValleyCritters/videos?query=raising&desktop_uri=%

The Fun Mouse: Caring for Orphaned mice
http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/orphanedmice.cfm


I am very sorry to have taken so long to reply. I have been ill for a few days.

Squeaks,

Natasha