grown up orphan wild mouse

Question

baby mouse   Hi Natasha,

I was running and spotted what looked like a leaf on the floor, when I took a closer look I realised it was a baby mouse. I live in the U.K and it was a cold October morning in 2010. I picked the mouse up, she looked a little de-hydrated , and took her home. She survived the night and is still with us today. Can you tell how old my mouse is from the pic attached? Also, how long can I expect my wild mouse to live for? By my reckoning she will be three this fall. I didn't let her go because I didn't think she would survive the winter. She seems happy enough, however, reading this site I didn't realise she needed a friend.

Hope you can help.

Kind regards

Ellen

Answer
Hi Ellen,

Awesome! What a lucky little critter!

She was only about 3 weeks old when you found her.

Wild mice do live longer in captivity than fancy (bred) mice do, but I'm not sure how long they do live. Three years for a fancy mouse would be incredible, so she has already proven that.

When mice age, they sometimes seem to do it overnight. They will become hunched over, their fur becomes rough as they are less able to groom it, and their breathing can get heavy. At that point it is often only a week, though I have had a mouse last a good three months that way.

I can't tell you, but you can tell me! Please write back to let me know how long she survives. I would like to be able to answer the next person better.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha