Baby mice found at work.

Question
I found 6 baby mice stuck in a recycling bin when I arrived at work this morning.. One of them had already died, but the other 5 were all huddled together. I am assuming they are about 2 - 3 weeks old (they have fur, walk, and have their eyes open. I currently have them in a cardboard box with a water bottle cap full of water and paper towels for warmth.  What should I do with them at this point?  

Answer
Hi Jessica,

2-3 weeks sounds about right based on their description, so hopefully you won't have too terribly long until they are able to fully take care of themselves.  You should make food (mouse mix, mouse blocks, cheerios, or bits of stale bread) and drink (you can hang a water bottle through the cardboard - bowls tend to spill and make the bedding too cold) available, but you should also supplement as much as they will let you with kitten milk replacement.

To feed KMR, which is likely available at your local pet or farm supply store in powdered or liquid form, you can use a dropper and find what position each pup prefers to feed from.  When they are young they like to be held upright or on their backs, but when they're older they can get a little more opinionated.  I had pups that preferred I dropper the milk into my palm so they could lick it up - so you may have to dry several different methods before finding one they'll use.  The KMR helps keep them hydrated and fed, so until you know they can eat and drink enough on their own, feed them as long and as many times as they want.  You won't overfeed them, and to start you can try offering about 4-6 times a day (they probably won't want it that frequently, so it's a good place to start).  Space it out through the night as well, and it may help them to use a heating pad on its lowest setting beneath their enclosure after eating.

Watch to see if they are using the bathroom.  If they aren't, or if their tummies get bloated and they don't seem to want to eat, try rubbing a warm moist cutip gently over their lower bellies and genitals.  This mimics what mom does when she grooms them when feeding, and stimulates them to use the restroom, thereby starting their digestive tract moving.

Also watch that they don't start chewing their way out of the cardboard.  Weaning age pups can be very mischievous once they start wandering around!  Watch for changes in behavior, such as being more lethargic than the others, or a loss in weight, that might signify something wrong.  If you have a food scale, you can use that to track their weight and make sure no one needs extra attention.  Once the pups are active, eating and drinking on their own, you can re-release them somewhere better.  Avoid open, exposed places, so they aren't snapped up by predators.  Pet mice are usually weaned at around 3-4 weeks, but since they were orphaned and wild just use your judgement based on their behavior - they may need a little more time than usual to gain enough strength and energy.

Ideally, that's all there is to it.  Just listen to them - they'll let you know what they want.  If you have any problems or questions along the way, just let me know!

-Tam