mouse pups

Question
Hi, I accidentally disturbed a mouse nest in my basement. The mom was nursing and ran off with I think one pup but has left 3 pups behind. After reading some of the posts, I have placed the 3 in a plastic glad container with their nest material downstairs on it's side where their nest was in hopes that their mother will come back and raise them (of course then I'll have mice in my basement but we'll deal with that later!). IF she does not come back, is there any hope of hand raising the little guys, I feel bad for wrecking their nest!

Thanks, Elizabeth

Answer
Hi Elizabeth,

Mouse pups need to feed anywhere from every hour or two to a couple of times a day, depending on their age.  If they are still alive a day later, it's likely the mom is coming back to take care of them, even if she hasn't moved them.

If you notice them become extremely lethargic or thin, you can go ahead and try to feed them yourself using kitten milk replacement.  Here is a great website on how to care for orphaned pups and how much to feed - http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm  The article is for rats, however, so you can expect your mice to be largely self competent at around 3-4 weeks old (at which point you can rehome them somewhere besides your basement).  The best bet is to pay attention to the pups; they'll let you know when they're hungry and they'll stop when they've had enough.  Monitoring their weight is the most important thing.  Here's an age chart so you can guess at how old they are:  http://jaxmice.jax.org/images/literature/pupsposter-large.jpg

Of course, hopefully, you won't have to mess with anything and the mom will come back to take care of them.  Try to disturb them as little as possible, and don't remove them unless you are sure they are not gong to survive otherwise.

If you do have to hand-feed them and have more specific questions, feel free to write back!  It can be difficult, but it's certainly not impossible!

Best of luck!
-Tam