Should I help the runt?

Question
My mouse gave birth unexpectedly ten days ago to 12 babies. Two of them look small and thin with no hair. I'm wondering if I should just give them a chance to catch up to the others or should I help them out by trying to feed them myself. I don't want to do more harm than good. Please let me know what you think and what exactly I should do to feed them if at all, what type of formula etc. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Heather,

Twelve babies is a lot of babies!  It's understandable that two of them may not be getting enough nutrition from mom.  At ten days old they should have a thin coat of hair, be plump, and their eyes may even start to open.  Separating them from mom and nursing them yourself will help not just those two (if they can be helped - some pups fail to thrive for genetic reasons), but also all of the other pups get more milk from mom.  If you feel comfortable doing so I would take them from the litter and hand-raise them, but if this is not something you think you can do, it would be best to immediately seek out other local breeders, vets, rescues, wildlife rehabilitators, and pet shops until you find someone who can lend you a hand or perhaps has done it before.  Make no mistake - raising pups can be very hard to do, but if you are successful, everyone will benefit from it.

You will need an eye/medicine dropper (you can find this at a pharmacy), powdered kitten milk replacement, a separate enclosure where mom cannot see them and worry, a heating pad with a "low" or "warm" setting to place beneath the cage, and cotton swabs or squares of gauze.  Please read through this website, which is a step-by-step how-to on raising orphaned mice and rats (the only real difference is that rats take longer to wean, whereas mice should be exploring water bottles and solid foods by 4 weeks - once they can drink on their own reliably and are eating mouse food they can be weaned from the formula):

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm

This article is targeted toward found mice and rats, who may have been without mom for a long time before receiving care.  Since they are so small, you will want to pretend that they are a little younger and go ahead and feed them every 2 hours for the first few days, increasing to the 3-4 only once they begin to gain more weight and grow fur (once they look more like how the other pups look now).  The most important thing is that they steadily gain weight, and the next important is that they are protected from chill until they have a thick, full coat (and even then small mice chill very quickly, so they will always need to be put back dry after mealtime).  Baby mice cannot eliminate on their own, so until you see little pee and poops in their enclosure, and maybe even longer just to be safe, you will need to stimulate their genital/anal region before and after each meal to help them go, which will also encourage their appetite.  This is what you need the gauze or cotton swabs for - dip into warm water and gently massage the area like momma would before nursing until they go to the bathroom.  I also find it helpful after meals to gently stroke their sides from shoulder to butt as they lay in their enclosure to aid with gassiness, as a sudden switch from milk to formula can cause stomach upset for the first few days.

If they lose any weight at all after the first 6-8 hours or if they begin refusing meals no matter how you hold them, it is time to seek emergency help.  A vet who is familiar with pocket pets may be able to help, as can other mouse breeders who may have had to do this before.  Try holding them in different positions - some mice prefer to eat standing up, some like to lick the milk up instead of taking it from a syringe, some want to be gently held head up tail down in a sort of cradle while eating, and some have to be convinced it is momma.  Natasha once told me that she suggested using a small, warmed beanie baby mouse or something like it to disguise the syringe/dropper, and that worked!  They will let you know what their preference is.  Around 2-3 weeks they will start to explore solid foods, so provide mouse mix or even tiny bits of stale bread for them to play with and gnaw on, but do not stop giving them formula until around 4-5 weeks once they begin to drink on their own from a water bottle.  At that point, if they are females, they can be reintroduced to momma or any other female siblings, but if they are boys, they will need to be kept alone.

Hopefully this helps, and my thoughts are with the little ones!  If you need anything else or have any questions please let me know and I will help out as best I can.

-Tam