Question
baby field mouse
My mom found the field mice and gave to me to care for.. but problem is i have had only rats as pets so i have rlly no experience with em i know there sorta related but different species... this one dose have fur but eyes r closed makes noises here and there.. has a cut on her nose.. i do not know what milk to give.. dont know how to keep it warm except keep breathing on it which is making me dizzy.. not sure if i can even put it with my rat i have now.. since its been touched by humans can the old mother even take it back?? should i keep it until it looks like an adult (cause i don't know the age) and let it go... or just fully keep it as a pet??
AnswerDear Alex,
Your little mouse might be about a week old. You'll know soon because when she opens her eyes she will be 14 days old. She still needs to nurse for another two weeks. There is no chance her mother would take her back now. Her only chance is for you to raise her. Even then, it's hard to be a replacement mouse mommy, and you don't know what trauma and shock she has survived. So don't blame yourself if she doesn't make it. Still, a lot of wild babies have been successfully raised by people, and they make great pets.
She needs to stay very warm. The easiest way to do that is to use a heating pad. A hot water bottle works but has to be changed often. If neither of those is available, you can put a desk lamp near the box. In any case you must be sure that there is a place for her to wiggle to if it gets too hot. You can use a shredded sock for bedding.
She actually need to be nursed at a minimum of once every two hours, around the clock! Her mom fed her every 30 minutes. The best formula to use is kitten milk replacement. Actually wombat milk is even better, but I don't know where you would get that! If you can't get any KMR use soy milk. You can use an eyedropper, syringe, small paintbrush, Q-tip, or even bit of paper towel to feed her, drop by drop until she refuses. After feeding her you need to very gently rub her abdomen and genital area to help her to pee.
You'll need to get her a cage with a lid within a few days. When they open their eyes they get jumpy pretty fast.
Definitely keep her as a pet, unless she spends all her time trying to get out of the cage, in which case you will know she has a wandering soul and wants to be set free. She should have a wheel by the time she is 3 weeks old. At about that time you can start to offer her bits of soft cheese, crackers, seeds, and raw vegetables. She should choose to stop nursing on her own (though the infant kitten I raised would still take a bottle now, at a year, if I'd give it to him!). Anyway she can go 4-6 hours between feedings after age 21 days, and definitely stop nursing by 28 days. Once you stop nursing her she will need use a water bottle. She should be introduced to it a couple of times a day after age 21 days. The best idea I've heard is to put a tiny bit of butter on the ball in the end of the spout. Make sure she always has raw vegetables such as carrots or celery until you are sure she is using the water bottle.
I wish you the very best of luck. If she survives she will be a great pet.
squeaks,
Natasha
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