baby mouse development

Question
I am caring for an orphaned baby mouse.  He opened his eyes 3 days ago, so I estimate he's in his 3rd week.  He seems to be eating very well (esbilac), and every few hours, and will now gnaw on grapes and strawberries a little.  But, I've had him almost 2 weeks now, and it seems like he's barely grown, and is still so fragile and unsteady on his feet.  I don't know if I'm being paranoid, he is still a baby after all, or is this a failure to develop properly?  Any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Leah,

The faster he grows the better, but it's not necessarily bad that he still seems a bit unsteady.  Make sure he isn't losing weight, and he'll be alright.  If you weigh him on a gram scale it'll make it a whole lot easier to quantify whether or not he is actually growing.  I'd start bulking up his diet a bit now that he's exploring different foods, but definitely keep the esbilac coming!  Some great foods to add in are dry kitten or puppy food (excellent for boosting protein, and they love to gnaw on it as babies), scrambled eggs made with the esbilac instead of cow's milk, an occasional Cheerio, apple or banana baby food, and maybe some treats like millet or sunflower seeds.  At this age you can introduce a water bottle, too, and let him figure it out at his own pace.  Hydration can play a really big role in development and energy.

Definitely beef up his diet a bit, keep him hydrated, and start weighing him if you can.  As long as he's gaining *something* and exploring, he'll get there eventually, even if it's a little slower than normal.  :)

-Tam