What to do with orphaned mice

Question
Hi

A couple of days ago I spotted 2 baby mice in a field. There was construction going on nearby (part of my work) and the bulldozer must have displaced their nest, or worse killed their mother.

As the mice were being attacked by big red ants (very vicious insects!) I could not stand to leave them there and brought them home to nurse. I plan to release them back into the field when they are ready.

Its been 2 days, and they have just begun to open their eyes.

I have some questions.

A) When and how do I wean them? I've been feeding them grocery store milk from an eyedropper.

B) What kind of food should I get them when they are ready to eat solids?

C) When will I be able to release them back into the wild? I do not plan to keep them as pets, I just couldn't stand to leave them to be eaten alive by ants.

thanks!

regards,

Jason

Answer
Hi Jason,

Thank you so much for being such a good Samaritan!  You must be doing a very good job if they survived the ants.  Raising orphans is pretty tough, since they are very dependent on mom for just about everything.

A) They can be weaned from milk once they start eating things on their own, which should be a few days after their eyes open up.  If they were with a mouse, it would be better to let them have longer to wean, but since they are both orphaned and wild, I would stop giving them milk or human contact once they start to eat solid foods and drink water reliably.

B)  Since weaning will be determined by when they start eating of their own volition, you should have food in their cage as soon as possible for them to start exploring it.  Meal worms, crickets (not very many, they can be viscous, too!), a seed mix, oats (like oatmeal with no brown sugar, or cheerios), and regular seeds like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds (non-salted).  As far as water, since you don't want them to be reliant on a bottle, you can either feed moist foods or provide something in the cage that can be misted and licked, assuming your setup has a way to disperse the subsequent humidity boost, which can be hard on their lungs.

C)  Once they are eating regularly on their own, wandering around the cage with no hesitance, and are "popcorning" away from your hand, they will be able to take care of themselves in the wild.  This isn't to say they'll survive, as there are always many predators of mice, but you have given them a MUCH higher chance.  The popcorn, or flea, stage of mouse adolescence is usually around 2 weeks old and lasts a while, and this hopping and darting around helps young ones to avoid predators.  They'll have a shot at that point.  :)

I would caution against cow's milk for mice, but if they've been doing well it is up to you.  Usually I feed young ones kitten or puppy milk replacement, as it's easier on their little tummies to digest.  Here is a truly excellent link to help you in your care of them:  http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm

Thank you again for being so kind!
-Tam