Raising orphan litter of mice

Question
QUESTION: Hello natasha!

So my albino mouse just gave birth today i didn't know how many but my last count was 8 and lizzy was helping her with the babies :D So what are some good foods for both baby and mother mouse?

ANSWER: Dear Divine,

Leave the babies and the nest alone for 7 days. The babies should not be out of the nest before they have a good coat of fur.

To hold the mom, only do so when she is already out of the nest, and don't hold her for more than 5 minutes, once a day. She nurses the pups every 30 minutes and needs to take care of her own needs in between. Luckily, she has her girlfriend to sit on the nest while she eats, and she may even get time to run in the wheel!

Give her a little extra protein such as scrambled egg or a roasted nut, nothing raw. Mice should never have raw peanuts. You won't be giving the babies anything to eat until they are about 3 weeks old and then they will just eat normal mouse food.

Take the boys out at 4 weeks. Mice can mate at 4 1/2 weeks, and although it is usually the girls who mature first, sometimes there is a precocious male.

Have lots of fun with the little ones, and don't drop them!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha



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QUESTION: Hello again natasha :(

My albino mouse died the reason why is because a stray cat entered the garage were i place the cage. when i come back to put some scrambled egg on their cage. I saw the cat eating my albino. It was yesterday she was eaten and the babies are just one day old. I looked at some video's to how to take care a orphan mouse. They are all fine but they only drinking a little baby milk because there is no kitten milk in the pet shop of my aunt. Are they going to be fine? because their color is not that pinkish but a little bit purple? oh and our country was very hot, we don't even have any snow here so it is okey to not use heater???

ANSWER: Dear Divine,

Oh that is just terrible : ((((.

If you cannot get kitten milk, can you get puppy milk? Or goat milk? Even soy milk is better than milk meant for humans. If you use puppy or goat milk, dilute it by half with clean, filtered water.

It may be normal for the babies to be a little purple, depending on the shade-- also depending on the color of the father.

Isn't the other mouse keeping the babies warm? That should be enough. There is no reason to take them away from her. In fact, occasionally a mouse who has never been a mother will begin to lactate and be able to nurse babies from an absent mother. You would know this was happening if the babies had the milk band when you went to get them-- the way you can see the milk in their tummies after they have nursed.

If for some reason you can't keep them with the other female-- I'm not sure why that would be-- the temperature should be at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit/ 24 degrees Celsius.

I truly wish all of you the best of luck. If they survive, you will have some very loving pets.

squeaks,

Natasha



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pinkies  

are they healthy?   QUESTION: Dear natasha.

Do you think they are healthy? they just chirp when im feeding them with milk for babies. We have soya here but the difference is the soya has flavoring's like milk and chocolate flavored soya. I feed my pinkies using Q-tip because when i try using paint brush they don't like it at all and they are 3 days old now. I put lizzy away because she eats two pinkies after she ate does lizzy's tummy become huge and nipples has shown up, I think she was just fat because she still run on the wheel.

Answer
Dear Divine,

They look great to me. Beautiful milk bands.

In your situation I would continue to use the milk. I don't know how they would react to the flavoring.

My worry about the Q-tip is choking on a tiny piece of cotton. Would they perhaps take the corner of a paper towel or cloth?

If Lizzy's nipples showed, her body is ready to nurse. But apparently she doesn't understand what to do. I am surprised she would eat them if she was in the nest when the babies were born, and was never separated from them. It might be yet another instinct which tells her she needs the nest for her own babies, if she perhaps thinks she is pregnant herself. It is unfortunate.

I have to warn you that when people lose hand-raised pinkies, there is often no warning. It is just hard to replace a mouse mommy. You just have to do your best. Don't blame yourself if they don't make it. You are doing a great job.

Lots of luck!

Squeaks,

Natasha