Will 2 week old orphan mice survive?.

Question
QUESTION: So yesterday, i was walking my dog and he went ballistic over this rock and turned it over and there i find a litter of mice! before i realize what was going on, he got the mom and killed her. So i am left with four baby mice!! i couldn't leave them because they were so helpless and i felt terrible! So i gathered them up and i brought them home, and i got a hamster cage, with grass/hay bedding and a fleece nest! they are staying warm in the nest and seem comfortable. They haven't really eaten though; i gave them a piece of bread with puppy milk, and some shredded cheese. What i am most worried about right now is if they have the hantavirus disease or not???! They look to be about 2 weeks old, their eyes looked to have just opened and they have fur, but are still super small!! should i be worried that they got the disease from their mom or should they be ok?? Oh so obviously, they look to be some type of field mouse, i found them next to a field with railroad tracks

ANSWER: Dear Morgan,

Thank you for caring about the little tykes!

First: if they are not eating, it is because they are too young to be weaned. You will need to give them the formula either from a small paintbrush or from an eyedropper or syringe. If you use an eyedropper or, especially, a syringe, you have to make sure not to force too much on them or they could aspirate it and get it in their lungs. If you ever see it come out of their noses you must change what you are doing. Luckily they are old enough that you don't have to get up every two hours all night long to feed them, but every four hours is important. Give them as much as they will take. Keep food in the cage so that they can decide to wean themselves soon.

Although mouse pups do not get hantavirus from their moms while in utero, I have not yet found out if they can get it through nursing. That is the only way they could have been exposed.

Hantavirus is extremely rare but when you have it, it can be fatal. If you look it up online on a website such as the CDC (Center for Disease Control), they will do their best to terrify you. After all, if they say the risk is minimal and someone gets it, they could be sued. So I think you should go to the CDC site to specifically check the map to see if there have been any cases in your state, and when and where, but take the dire warnings with a grain of salt. You can also call your local wildlife and game department. They will also want to scare you.

I am NOT saying it isn't scary, and not saying there is no chance. However, to be on the safe side, scientists, doctors, and health officials will pretty much tell you to wear a hazmat suit if there are mice within fifty miles. It makes more sense to me to be  cautious and thoughtful.

The mode of transmission has almost always (I would like to find out if it is actually always) been from breathing in dried urine and feces in an area (old house, barn) infested or previously infested by mice. So a precaution would be not to put your nose in the cage when you change their litter. Sites also write "scientists surmise" that it could come from a bite or some other way... That means it has never happened, but if it does, no one wants to be sued.

Happily, there is also a test for hantavirus, but they should probably be a little older. Give your vet a call for details.

For myself, I would not be worried unless I were in one of the four corner or Midwestern states where there have been the most cases; or somewhere else where there had been recent cases. Some people actually got hantavirus from an infested cabin in one of the National Parks just last month. I think it was Yosemite? But overall there are so few cases that each one is documented. And remember, the statistics are for about the last 20 years (sorry I am not online where I could look it up and be more specific!).

Best of luck with the little tykes. These hand raised orphans, if they stay tame (at the age you found them it could go either way), make awesome pets and live longer than house-mouse based pet mice. You'll just want to separate the males and females at 4 weeks. Type in or paste the addy in my profile for sexing mice and check it out. It starts when they are tiny babies. The most conclusive piece of evidence is that if they have nipples they are girls. But sometimes they are hard to see, so not seeing nipples doesn't mean they aren't girls.

Have fun with the little darlings.

Squeaks,

Natasha





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

QUESTION: Ok. So I fed them yesterday through a syringe with the puppy milk. I already kind of knew about that because i raised my bird from an egg and when he hatched, i had to syringe feed him every two hours. Anyways, so they did eat last night when i syringe fed them!! They drank the heck out of it! So now i am just worried about them surviving in general. I can tell they are still very young, and they seem so helpless. But they are super comfortable with us and we will sit for hours holding them to keep them warm! So thank you!
And as for the virus, i live in Texas, and the CDC said there were like 34 in the whole state, but i cannot figure out where exactly. So i am still a little concerned...

Answer
Dear Morgan,

In terms of their survival  it is very lucky that they are so "old" (lol) and that they didn't go through the kind of trauma many orphans have, since you took them right when their mom was killed and they sustained no physical damage. So the chances are actually quite good.

There is also a good chance that tomorrow they will start jumping like crazy and be hard to hold. A day or so after they open their eyes, they realize how scary the world is. Even babies raised from very young, and very attached to their humans, sometimes go through a crazy phase. But since they have gotten used to the safeness of your smell, they should become tame again pretty quickly. Holding them for hours is *absolutely perfect.*  The more love and handling they get, the better. After all, they are used to having a warm mummy sitting on them most of the time. And it is a great way to earn their love. Even when they are crazy, you will be able to enfold them in your hand, and when they calm down you can hold them for a long time.

I can't really say anything more about hantavirus. You might want to contact local officials to find out if there have been any cases in your area. I myself would take care of the babies, carefully not sniffing their feces, and get them tested when they were older.  

I really want to find out if they can get it from their moms. This question comes up all the time.

I am sure they will be wonderful little pets. Try to sex them right away. It is easier now both because they have less fur and because they are easy to hold and turn upside down. The sexes must be separated at 4 weeks to be very sure.

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha