How to tame excitable baby mice

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 females who live together and had their litters very close together. I removed the male as he was on loan, so only 2 females and babies in the cage. Everything was going along fine the babies are 3 weeks today, however I found of the mothers dead, it looked like the head had been chewed off, why would this have happened? Was it the other mother or the babies / mother? The two female mice got on very well together before babies and looked liked there were no problems after the babies came along.

ANSWER: Dear Sue,

Don't worry, the other mouse didn't murder her. She died for some reason, and mice have the instinct to eat a dead body so it won't rot and make them sick, and draw predators to the nest. I'm very sorry that the mouse died; I think and hope the other mother can take care of all the babies.

Swqueaks,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: These baby mice are very jumpy and bite, very hard to handle as opposed to the babies I've had in the past. Are they a bad batch or is there something I can do.

Answer
Hi,

If all the babies are jumpy it's just genetics. The best thing to do with jumpy mice is to handle them often and carefully. Baby mice have short attention spans and learning curves, so I recommend holding each mouse twice a day for at least five minutes each. Here is a way to hold a jumpy mouse: Take the mouse out of the cage in a toilet paper roll if need be. Wrap her up loosely in the bottom of your T-shirt against your tummy. Keep her in there, but let her wiggle around, until she is calm. Then very carefully take her out in a gently closed hand. With the mouse on the palm of your closed right hand, hold onto the base of her tail by her butt with your left hand. Slowly open your hand. As she becomes more trustworthy, you can give her more space, but be cautious.

Best of luck : ))

squeaks,

Natasha