Lost drenched mouse

Question

This it the mouse   QUESTION: Hello Natasha,

I don't know how long it will take you to reply to the site so in order to get a quick response i decided to message you on facebook aswell. I found your facebook from when you sent it to someone - so i'm not a crazy stalker! hahaha.

okay, so i walked into the bathroom and went to clean out the bath so i could put my mice in there in order to clean their cage and i saw a container with a mouse in it! it isnt one of mine, and in the container there was some water in it and the mouse was sitting in the water, absolutely drenched. For fear of it getting pneumonia (it's summer here, but i want to be doubly sure because the poor thing is so small in comparison to humans). I don't know what to do! I t doesn't look like it's a baby, so it's definately been weaned and stuff, but it's drenched and I don't know how to dry it off.

It hasn't bitten me, and it seems friendly, doesn't mind being picked up but is kind of jumpy. mum thinks my cat may have brought it in and taken it into the bath (my cats know the mice can't get out of there - it's horrible) but he must have accidentally dropeed it into the container and couldnt get it out again then given up.

It doesn't look beaten up or anything, and it's breathing still. But it's cold. I have a feeling it's a girl too, but i didn't really check. I've put a towel in the bath and i'm going to put some food in there for it too so it can eat. But what else can I do?

Thanks, Claire

ANSWER: Dear Claire,

Oh my goodness, the poor thing! She needs dreadfully to be dry immediately, or she will die. It maybe be easier to use paper towels to make sure you get as much water off as possible. You can put a bunch in your hand and fold her in it. And she needs to be kept very warm.

You will need to give her a cage because as soon as she dries off she may become very jumpy. After drying her as much as you can, set up the cage or temporary box so the heat from a standard (incandescent) lightbulb shines into it. Give her a little blanket or small box so you don't blind her, and be super careful it does not get too hot, which can happen fast. She may dry off pretty quickly.

The next  step is to get something to keep her cage warm. A heating pad on low with a towel between the pad and the cage is best. A hot water bottle can do ; in fact, in a pinch, you can throw an unopened bag of frozen vegetables in the microwave to make a quick heating pack. She is really vulnerable to sickness right now.

She is a fancy mouse. See those huge ears? Even for a baby those are large. Are you sure you didn't lose a mouse at any point in the past year or two? She could be its daughter or grand daughter. Because of this, you don't want to let her go again unless she is crazy unhappy in a cage. She should calm down for you. She is barely out of the flea stage, so she will get less jumpy.

She is very lucky that she was found by a mouse person. If you need help taming her, search here under "Natasha mice mouse tame instructions" and you should find a post or two with a detailed list of steps you can take to get her used to you.

You need to watch her very carefully for signs of illness. She may need antibiotics. Get her to the vet if you can; or get her some tetracycline and use it as indicated in a number of my other posts. Always choose the most recent post.

Best of luck. Poor little tyke. Let me know what happens.

squeaks.

Natasha



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi,

Okay thankyou so much, i will definately do that. She started to dry off a bit. I've never had mice up until a few months ago, and i don't have fancy mice. So i have no idea where she came from at all.

I have a bit of a dilemma now though, because I'd set up a cage for her, with food and bedding and a toilet paper roll, but as i was sitting on the floor with the cage and the mouse, about to put a bit of mesh over the top she jumped out and is in my room somewhere. There's no possible chance she has gotten under the door, i blocked it off with my doona, but is there anything i could do to entice her out? I'm about to look in and under everything in my room, but if there's anything that woul help make it easier?

Answer
Dear Claire,

That is indeed a problem. A mouse that knows you or its cage would eventually come to you or the cage.

Can you turn up the heat to about 28? Or perhaps it is already that hot. I am very worried about her being cold. Definitely the right thing to block the door- though I have no idea what a doona is. I assume you mean you put something in the crack under the door?

The best is of course a live trap. If possible, not a plastic one where her moisture would build up, but a wire one like a havahart. You can probably lure her to a nice dark spot under the bed, say, with some yummy smelling commercial peanut butter, but I do not know how you will catch her without a trap. She will want to follow the walls rather than come into the middle of the room. Unless she is actually someone's pet, she isn't going to make this easy. She probably wants you to go away.

If you can't get a live trap, here is my best attempt. Would you mind putting a little peanut butter directly on the floor? It will be far less scary than a plate. You are going to lie on your bed being pretty still (OK you'll probably want to read a magazine or something, but make no noise and as little movement as possible turning the pages) and wait. Your trap is a smear of peanut butter on the floor right by the wall by the bed, with a bunch of empty toilet paper rolls or halves of paper towel rolls around it. You are in a position close to your ad hoc trap, best on your stomach near the edge. Your pet mice are nearby. Now wait. A long time. When she comes and begins to eat the peanut butter, wait until she is a little bit comfortable. Then make a bit of a movement so she races into a toilet paper roll. Quickly put your hands on both sides of it and you have her trapped.

Foolproof? Not in the least. Other than a live trap-- actually if you look online you can find plans to make a simple one out of household times-- I can't think of a better plan.

I hope you can get her, and I hope she is OK. Poor little wet and scared thing.

Squeaks,

Natasha