baby mouse behavior.... scary

Question
Hi,

Last night I found a baby mouse, which I think is a field mouse.  He was all
alone and I am an animal lover so I took him in....  

We fed him cows milk through a dropper and put him in a little cage with a
heating pad on LOW.  He was doing really well, squeaking and running around  
when hungry, and sleeping.  But today I was just watching him sleep in his
little cage and he did this weird thing....

He laid on his side and kicked his feet in the air.  Then he started to scoot
around but he was still on his side and wiggling his feet.  But  his eyes weren't
fully open...

It scared me so I gave him some water through the dropper (which he drank).
I held him and he was still kinda laying akwardly.  So I put him back in his
cage and put a blanket over him so he is in the dark but I don't know what to
do now.

Can you help?  What should I do?

Thanks, Sawyer

Answer
Hi,

There is something wrong with the mouse. He may have a pituitary or other brain tumor, or have something like epilepsy. Or he may even have had a stroke. My protocol is usually to say take a sick mouse to the vet, which may be a good idea, but this doesn't sound like a solvable problem, so it could cost you a lot of money and do no good. It's your call.

Otherwise you just need to keep him comfortable with plenty of easily reachable food, etc. Usually a mouse needs a wheel right away but in this case he might have a seizure on the wheel and hurt himself, so I recommend against that.

I'm not sure if he is still nursing, but if he has accepted the milk then he might be. In that case what you need to give him is not cow's milk but kitten milk replacement (KMR). Soy milk is OK if you can't get the KMR.

I wish him the best of luck.

squeaks,

Natasha