baby mouse gaping problems?

Question

Wizzy day 10   Hi! 10 days ago my mom found a hairless baby mouse on the bathroom floor of a rest stop when returning home from being out of town. She gave it to me to care for and we believe it's a little girl mouse, so we are calling her Wizzy. Since having her, her fur has grown in and her eyes opened yesterday morning (7/30/2013)

She has done the 'gap' thing a few times and would usually get over it very quickly. Now however it seems to happen whenever her mouth comes into contact with the paint brush or even when licking milk off my finger. It lasts for quite a while and sometimes is on and off. It's to the point she can barley eat and it looks rather painful. Her body tightens up, mouth wide open, and her head retracts into her shoulders and she raises up looking like she is gasping until she falls over backwards. She'll then lay there gaping for a few seconds. Her front arms seem to kick/push at the air as well.

I've tried giving her a long break in between brush feedings, but it's not helping. I don't think she has a respiratory problem because her breathing is fine otherwise. There does seem to be a sucking noise when she does gap however.  

Wizzy's formula is; 10 oz goat's milk, 10 oz sterilized water, 1 raw egg yolk, 1 cup whole yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon corn syrup, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise like on the 'raising Matilda' videos on Youtube.

Her mouse cage has a heating bad to one side, shredded bedding as well as a bath towel (She would squeak and get upset without it since when we first got her that's what we put her in)We also put towels over the cage to block out drafts and keep the light off her.

She it still pretty active, crawls around and climbs fine. No bloat, and has been pooping and peeing regularly up until the last two feedings due to the gap problem. Her poop was yellow and a tad runny towards the end. Thinking about putting her on pedialyte for a bit to at least keep her hydrated since she hasn't gotten much of anything else.  

I understand  chances of hand raised mice surviving is rather low, but we've come a long way this past week and I've fallen in love with her. Have you heard or seen anything like this before? what can I do?

Answer
Dear Jax,

All I can say is that they grow out of the gaping. I have been told theories that the formula is too thick, making swallowing difficult. Perhaps you should try diluting with pedialyte. But this might be more serious.

If you are on Facebook and friend me (telling me who you are), I can put you on a message thread with a number of people who have raised orphans. I don't remember anyone specifically saying that their tyke gaped so violently, but maybe it did happen to someone. The woman who made those videos is also in this thread.

I'm afraid  if you are not on Facebook, I can't say any more than that. We have to hope she grows out of it quickly.

Squeaks,

Natasha