Rasing orphaned baby mice

Question
Do you have any tips on how to raise orphaned baby mice. I often purchase the little feeders from the pet stores and would like to be able to raise them successfully. I feed every couple of hours depending on their age, rub their tummy and private areas after each feeding....they are under a heat lamp so as not to get too cold......I have been able to keep them alive for up to 8 days, but I can't ever get them to survive. What am I doing wrong?

Answer
Dear Katherine,

I'm a little confused as to what you are trying to do.  Are you raising the mice to be feeders or are you trying to rescue them?  If you are raising the  mice to be feeders than you should purchase them the size you want them.  Feeder mice need to be raised by their mothers as well.  It's not a happy thing for a mouse to be a feeder, but dying by being eaten after being raised by a loving mother mouse is preferable to suffering by being taken away from their mother and hand raised.  It's terrifying to be taken away from mom, and their fear and discomfort should be as short as possible.  Humans and their resources just aren't equipped to take care of a baby mouse the way it needs it the most.   The only time it is recommended to try is if there is no way the mouse can find a foster mother.  The fact is the likelihood of survival of a hand raised mouse is low.  

if you want to rescue a feeder, consider rescuing an older one.  If you want the best pet, however, and your pet store keeps pet mice separate from feeders, getting a mouse bred to be a pet is safer than getting a feeder, because pure feeders are not bred for any positive characteristics besides survival until the age of being used. Please don't think I am hard-hearted about feeders.  It breaks my heart to think of any mouse being fed to any animal.  But a happy pet mouse is the healthiest mouse possible.  

To answer your exact question, you are doing the basic things fairly well.  All babies need to be fed a minimum of every 2 hours up until a week after their eyes open--- their mom nursed them every half hour.  They should be fed kitten  milk replacement.  They need to be in the dark, so make sure they have a blanket between them and the light.  Make sure it is not too hot.  

However, I really don't think you are doing a baby feeder a favor by taking it away from its mom and prolonging its life.  I am really thinking about this from the perspective of the least amount of suffering for the baby. I understand you are trying to save a mouse, and that is admirable. I just don't think it's the best way to do it. Also, the sad fact is that the more people save individual feeders, the more the pet store will buy, the more the supplier will breed.  The number of mice fed to snakes will not ever be less. There will just be that much more suffering.

I'm sorry.

squeaks,

Natasha