Help! Runt Orphan Not Thriving?rz

Question

Girl Runt   Hi Natasha,

We found two abandoned baby deer mice in our kitchen last week. We guess they were about 2-3 days old at that point.  One was a boy (healthy looking and bigger) and a girl (much smaller and clearly a runt).  We'd have given up on her right away, except she was feisty and very much a fighter.  

We bought them a glass tank, placed an electric heat pad underneath it, added a wash cloth "rug" to act as a barrier, and threw in some toilet paper.  Since then, we've fed them KRM (diluted x2) around the clock (every 1.5 - 2 hours) with a paint brush, stimulated them to go to the bathroom, and gave them light wash downs with a paint brush and tummy rubs.  

Things went OK for the first 5-6 days, but then suddenly, in a matter of maybe one or two feedings, the healthy boy lost a lot of weight and started to literally "dry up".  He and the runt actually matched each other size!  While still somewhat active, he was very stiff and dry to touch.  We immediately started him on electrolytes and moved him off the heat pad.  After a few feedings, he seemed to respond favorably, so we put him back on formula.  Unfortunately, the next day, his symptoms returned full force and he passed away in my hand :( We think he was ill from a parasite because he passed a worm in his stool at one point (I didn't witness it, my sister did and actually doesn't recall which mouse it came from, but I assume it was him).

Anyway, now we just have the little runt girl and she seems to be ok, but she doesn't appear to be 'thriving'.  She's still feisty and probably close to 12 days old now (we've had her 9 days as of today), but she's still pretty skinny.  The skin around her neck is very loose.  Her fur is very sparse as well (a little on her head and back). She peeks her eyes open a little now and then and can wobbly walk and climb our hands with relative ease.  She seems to move around the cage pretty well now and can be a maniac when we're holding her, burrowing and throwing herself all over our hands.

A few things -

She poops a lot sometimes and it seems to actually hurt her some of the time as she'll actually squeak in pain when she passes the stool.  Some feedings, she won't go at all, but other ones, she'll go more than once, up to as many as 4x at once earlier today at it's worst.  They are tan in color and very much whole poops (not runny).  Also, she seems to be going to the bathroom in the cage as well (which we try to clean up).  I try not to overfeed her, but just give her what she's willing to eat until she seems no longer interested.  This can range from 4-5 brush fulls to as many as 15 brush fulls per 2 - 2.5 hour feeding.

Also, sometimes after a brush full feeding, she'll open her mouth wide and stiffen up like she's actually choking or dry heaving.  Usually, she stops after a few seconds and then feeds more, but there's been two occasions where she didn't stop and we thought she was choking to death in my hand. It took 30 seconds of light prodding and massage to get her to stop and go back to normal, but it was pretty terrifying.

My questions are -

Are her bathroom habits a concern?  Should we introduce pedialyte into her formula (assuming she's constipated)?  
When she gapes her mouth, what was happening to her?  Was she aspirating?  Do you think we're overfeeding her?  
In terms of her not thriving, are we doing something wrong?  Could she be sick as well and we're just prolonging the inevitable?  

Thanks!
Brian

Answer
Dear Brian,

To be completely honest, it does not sound good at all.

The mother may have abandoned the babies on purpose because she knew there was something wrong with them. They do this so they can give more milk to the ones who are healthier. Certainly if the little tyke had a worm that would give him very little chance.

I am not a vet, and if it is worth the long shot to you to take the pup to the vet, it is definitely an emergency. But that probably doesn't make sense for you. I wouldn't. The chances are very small.

The only thing you can do is try to keep her hydrated. Dilute the KMR with the electrolyte and not with water. Since she is drinking a lot, I don't think nutrition is a problem. So dilute it 3:1 pedialyte: KMR (that is 1/4 KMR). I do not know why she seems to be choking when she is drinking from the paintbrush rather than being drop fed. Try to slow her down a little when she drinks.

If she has internal parasites I do not think anything can save her. This would explain the pain when she poops and if her pooping is erratic.

Sounds to me like you have done everything right. If she can be saved you are giving her the best chance.

I wish her the very best of luck and health.

Squeaks,

Natasha