field mouse setup

Question
My Burmese cat brought a tiny field mouse into our house and gave it to us gently,from her mouth.Unharmed %26 beautiful I bought it a little house %26 some food %26 a water feeder.Also shredded paper bedding %26 a holed log,(which it likes)
I can't let it loose yet because of the icy weather. It will not be able to find a safe home until it gets warmer for it to burrow. Meanwhile how can I keep it happy?Does it need apparatus to exercise? Will it be able to drink ok from the water bottle dropper?Will it be too lonely %26 die?Should I pick it up ..it bites.?Its home is in the conservatory with plant heater at night.

Answer
Hi Shel,

How amazing, that your cat brought you a live mouse!  That doesn't happen very often.  :)

Since it's a wild mouse, it won't be used to living like a domestic mouse.  Wild mice get most of their water from their foods, so here's a list of moisture-rich foods you can use to supplement whatever you are feeding it now:

watermelon
apples (no seeds)
stale bread soaked in skim or soy milk
mealworms, crickets, or grasshoppers (from a petstore)
carrots
zucchini
peas

Obviously these are just supplements, but all contain a good amount of water.  I personally wouldn't teach a wild mouse to drink from a bottle, as it might have a hard time looking for the right, moist foods when released again.  It depends on how long you need to keep it, though, as the above foods are only supplements.  For other foods, try using things you would find around the house, like stale bread or crackers, with a bit of a commercial seed diet to help round things out a bit.  Lastly, if you feel it needs more hydration you can mist the decorations in the cage with a water bottle, and the mouse will lick the water off (probably when you're not looking, heh).

To make it more comfortable, you could gather some twigs from outside, mist them down with water, then bake them in an oven (not too hot, don't set them on fire!) to kill any parasites.  If it's more of a house mouse, then you could also use an empty tissue box or toilet paper rolls to give it more interesting places to hide and scurry through.  Anything to run on, through, around, or in will provide it enough exercise.  It does not need a wheel, though, and you shouldn't handle it if you don't have to.

I don't know what temperature that means its home is, but don't let it overheat.  Giving it spaces to burrow will keep it from getting too cold.

Best of luck!
-Tam