Instructions for new litter of baby mice

Question
Hi again :)

Thank you for your last reply and I found it so funny how you said that people thought that your mouse was a hamster! :)

I was wondering how I should look after the babies and how long I should wait without disturbing them too early which aparantly will make the mum eat them if she is put off!

Also,  what is the number of mice that Ginger could have do you think?

Thank You!

Answer
Dear Olivia,

I will answer both questions here, and refuse the other.

In my own experience, a mouse can have between 1 and 18 babies. The norm is 8-12.

Mother mice can sometimes eat their babies. They may do it in these conditions:

1. The baby died for whatever reason.
2. The baby is sick, defective, or too small.
3. The mother thinks it is an unsafe place to raise babies (thus make sure there are no loud noises, the nest is not disturbed, etc.)
4. The mother gets stressed out. If she likes to be held you can take her out to hold her once a day. Never take her out of the nest. If she does not like to be held, don't take her out. Don't chase her around the cage. You can use a toilet paper roll or pick up the wheel, to make it less stressful.
5. A first time mother can get confused.

You should leave the nest alone for 7 days. Then you can take them out: Take mom out when she is already out of the nest. And have someone else hold her or put her somewhere she likes to go, if possible. Rub your hands in the dirty litter. Then very gently take all the babies out and keep them together. Take each baby individually and hold it in your hand, maybe kiss it, dor just a minute or two. You will continue to do this once or twice a day, and the time you hold each one will get longer and longer. You can take a baby for around five minutes when it is two weeks old. So add about a minute a day after the first two days.

A day or so after they open their eyes, they will get crazy. Vision is a scary thing! They will be jumpy. And they have very strong legs and weigh next to nothing. They can easily jump two feet up in the air! This is called the "flea stage" or the "popcorn phase" and you will see why.

I calm them down by holding them wrapped up in the bottom of my Tshirt. You let them wiggle around but not get out. When the baby is calm, you take it out and hold the very base of the tail, by its rump, very gently but also firmly, with your left hand (reverse if you are left handed). The baby should be on your right palm, with the hand somewhat closed. When it pushes, give way a tiny but, but don't let it out. Slowly, as it calms down, open the hand. Eventually it will be sitting on your right, open palm, and you will still be holding the base of its tail. From there you are on your own to decide how much to trust it. Catching crazy baby mice when they jump is very difficult to do without hurting and terrifying the mouse, so be conservative.

Good luck and have fun!

Squeaks n giggles,

Natasha