Will mouse runt survive? unexpected litter; skinny mouse; breeding

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I thought I had 2 female mice but now there is a litter so obviously not! They have opened their eyes now and are running around and at the flea stage so I'm guessing they're 2-3 weeks. As the mummy and daddy mice are nervous I've been reluctant to check the pups properly but I had a look yesterday and one of the pups is half the size of the others and its fur is very fine and it had baggy skin. It's opened its eyes and is moving around but I'm worried that it will die if it's not getting enough food. I did get it out and try to give it diluted kitten milk but it was terrified so I put it back. Can you please advise me on what's best to do? It's survived so far so do you think it'll be ok?
From a worried mummy!

ANSWER: Dear Jane,

Wow, if you waited this long to hold them, it is going to be work to tame them! You'll never get any formula into him. The way to handle babies is to take the adults out when they are already out of the nest. Put them somewhere safe. Then rub your hands in the litter before you handle them.

If they are 2-3 weeks old (they opened their eyes at 14 days), they can probably eat soft foods. Put some cheese, and some very thin cream of wheat made with soy milk, and some flavored soy yogurt, and some butter, near him in the cage. You may make some temporarily fat mice, but he will be able to get more inside himself. Although you are probably right that he is an unhealthy runt, especially due to his small size, there is the interesting possibility that he might be what is called a fuzzy," which is as close to hairless as mice get. They have somewhat baggy skin and little fur. It's a hope, especially since it's a rare type and fun to have, but the skinniness and baggy skin sound more like dehydration. I am afraid he might not survive, because if you can't get the formula inside him, he might not be able to hydrate himself. I hope he is OK.


On another note, if the daddy is still in there, you may have another litter of pups in a week or so. They can mate the same day the mother gives birth, and gestation is 21 days. Did you get the mice less than 21 days before the birth? If so, you may be (relatively) lucky and have two girls. Do their rear ends look exactly alike?  You can pull their tails up to see. Here is a link to help you to sex mice. You need this for the babies too, because if you don't separate the girls and boys two weeks after their eyes opened, you may have even MORE mice soon.

http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/sexing.cfm

This link to a recent post will explain how, if you don't separate your mice, you could potentially have 4,000 mice in 4 months:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2011/6/mouse-breeding-advice.htm

If you have a boy, you need to take him out asap. Then you need to get one or two more females as companions for the girl (boys live alone); and keep the cages next to each other so they can talk; and give the boy extra love so he doesn't get lonely. Each of the boy babies is also eventually going to need its own cage, so you need to figure out where to rehome them.

I hope I have helped. And I hope the little guy makes it. Let me know what happens.

Squeaks,

Natasha
<:3  )--~


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

QUESTION: Again thanks for your previous advice. I just wondered when I will know the babies are fully weaned? I would like to seperate them before she has another litter. They are still at the 'flea' stage. Is it when they become less jumpy that they are weaned?

Answer
Dear Jane,

When I was breeding, as a kid, I took out the babies at three weeks, because that's when the next litter can arrive. However, it's a little better to let them hang around for another week, if no new babies arrive. If the new ones arrive, the older ones may take up the milk supply. So I would just wait till she has the next litter and then remove the first one. Does she look pregnant? If not, take the boy (if you determined it was a boy) out now. If she is not pregnant she could get pregnant.

But make sure they are using the water bottle when you take them out. They should have learned that from their mom, but it's good to be careful. If you think they haven't figured it out, make sure to give them a TINY bowl of water (so they don't fall in and drown).

best of luck;

squeaks,

Natasha