Question
The little Pipsqueak
Hi Tamarah,
About 5 ago I've taken in an orphan wild mouse pup and have been trying my best to keep it fed and healthy. I plan on keeping it as a pet. When I received it, it had fur but its eyes were still closed and it could not hear yet. It seemed a bit on the thin side and small in comparison of the day by day pictures on funmouse. But I guessed it about 10 days at the time. It came from a friend of mine who found it in her barn.
Since this is my first time caring for a mouse pup I did some research on how to take of it. Keeping it warm, stimulating the belly for excretion and such. I used kitten replacement milk from a previous case of an underaged kitten that needed feeding. I used a ratio of 1 milk:2water And so far the mouse seemed to be doing fine. I fed it every 2 hours around the clock because I wasn't sure if it really was 10 days old or younger. Later on I switched to a ratio of 1:3 since the poo was getting thin and mustard colored. Afterward, that seemed to be stopping again.
Two days (august 13) ago the eyes opened and the day after it started hearing. But a little before its eyes opened the mouse started to get diarrhea again and up until now it hasn't stopped. The mouse should now be about 16 days old if it really was the 14th day that its eyes opened.
My guess is that in my concern I've been overfeeding it and that that is causing the diarrhea. It wasn't like that until I started feeding it.
Right now I've put the mouse in a box with soft bedding and provided it formula with cooked rice grains, some water and cracker crumbles since apparently this is about the time pups get interested in solid foods? And should I at 16 days stop feeding it at night?
Is it possible to keep the mouse without a friend?
The reason I'm sending this mail is because I'm getting a little too uncertain about whether I'm raising the youngling correctly or not. The information from search engines is kind of confusing me or isn't clear enough to me at least. So I was hoping to get a word from someone who knows their way around mice, so I know the rights and wrongs of what I am doing.
My apologies if any crucial information is missing, and for anything vague that I wrote. But an answer is greatly appreciated.
I also attached a photo of the little one. I'm calling it pipsqueak due to its size.
Kind regards
Jotja
AnswerHi Jotja,
It sounds like you're doing a pretty good job! Fortunately, pups do most of their weaning themselves. You can leave whatever dry mouse food you intend to feed when it's older in the cage (seed mixes, lab blocks, anything that is formulated for mice) and it will indeed start to explore it and chew at it. They usually take a bit longer to figure out water bottles, so don't stop giving KMR completely until you've witnessed Pipsqueak drink from the sipper (usually around 3-4 weeks, just depending on the mouse).
In the meantime, feed it as much as it wants. Pups are very expressive of what and when they want to eat - if you can't get it to drink at night it might not need it anymore. If Pipsqueak can't get enough KMR no matter when, just go ahead and keep feeding. It's very unlikely that you'll overfeed it. An appetite is a wonderful sign! :) As far as the diarrhea, it may be the KMR and I definitely hope it improves quickly, however, since loose stools result in dehydration it is imperative that you don't provide less water or anything. Introducing harder and healthily formulated foods may help even it out as well. If it continues more than a few days and does not appear to be getting better, a phone call to a vet knowledgeable in mice might help figure out how to return those stools to something a bit more comfortable.
If Pipsqueak is a boy, he will be happiest with just you to love and no cage mates. If Pipsqueak turns out to be a girl, you might consider a friend to keep her company. Not all females need friends, but most prefer it.
Really, you're doing just about everything right. Pipsqueak is adorable, and will let you know what he/she wants. :)
Luck!
-Tam
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