displaced wild mouse with babies

Question
QUESTION: I accidently lifted something up in our shed where a mama mouse had made a little nest.  when she saw me, she took off with her 3 babies hanging on her!  I felt so bad and she's never come back to that nest.  would she have made a new nest in time to care for her young. it had to take her awhile to tear into our cushions and make this little soft nest!  I'm worried about her now.  any thought?  thank you, sue

ANSWER: Hi Sue,

I'm not sure if you mean she took some of the pups or not, but it will depend on that specific mouse.  All momma mice are different, and some will bounce right back and rebuild (it doesn't take very long to make a new nest, so don't worry about that bit), whereas others may be too skittish to come back at all.  If you'd like, you can scatter some nesting material (bits of tissue or paper towel, etc.) around for her to collect and keep them warm, but there isn't a whole lot else you can do at this point.  If the pups are still there and alive she has to be coming back to care for them, so the best thing to do would be to leave the nest alone for now.

Hope they're doing alright!  Let me know if you need any more help, or if I misunderstood the situation.
-Tam

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

QUESTION: thanks tam, i appreciate your answer.  she did take the pups.  so are you saying all species will rebuild with their pups with them, some just may return to original nest and some may just build new elsewhere? it's been 4 days now so scattering would be for nought at this point I would think.  thanks again and if you could just clarify, I'd feel much better.  sue

Answer
What I meant was that it just depends on the mouse.  It isn't a species thing, actually, it's just different from mom to mom.  Some get so spooked that they never come back and leave their babies behind, but if she took them with her, you can definitely bet she's got them tucked away somewhere else in a new nest safely.  :)

-Tam