Cold, shivering mouse

Question
I found a little albino mouse in the university aviary two week ago; she looked as if she had fled from a laboratory(she was found near the biology department). I am temporarily keeping the girl inside the building. It doesn't fall below 10 degrees Celsius, but because the room isn't protected much from the cold it can fall to about 11 degrees at early morning.

Because of the coldness inside, I am keeping her in a tank with a little bar cage and a little house inside, and I gave her a large amount of tissues and nesting materials for her to be warm at night.

However, when I came to visit her today, I found that she was shivering, or "vibrating" continuously as she ran around. She is as curious and active as always, and she ran up and down my arm when I allowed her to climb up. The shivering occurs at the part near the front legs, and other parts don't shiver.

I have not had mice before, so I do not know whether all mice do it or whether the girl is ill. I didn't take her to the vet yesterday because she didn't have any other symptoms(she doesn't make any sound, she is active and curious and her fur looks ok) and going out in the cold might be dangerous. Is this normal, or do I need to do something quickly for her?

Answer
Dear Sylvia,

A laboratory mouse is used to being kept much warmer than that. It is used to room temperature. Can you bring the little girl home with you? Or keep her in a heated office?  I would not subject her to much lower temperatures than 20 Celsius.

A mouse that very slightly vibrates when you are holding her, is happy-- like a purring cat. But you should not be able to see movement.

Get her in a warmer situation asap and then watch her carefully to see if she still shivers, or has any abnormal behavior. Then you can decide whether she needs a vet visit. If you are at all uncertain, a vet should see her.

If you do go out in the cold you must put her in a small container and wrap it up warmly, probably in a bag, being sure she can still breathe. Temperature fluctuation is very dangerous.

Thank you for saving the mouse. Maybe it was supposed to be fed to an owl?

squeaks,

Natasha