Foundling mouse died

Question
QUESTION: I found a newborn mouse (I think it might be a deer mouse?) 6 days ago in my shed. The mother took off into the woods. I left it outside for a few hours but didn't want it to get eaten by the neighborhood cat so took it inside. He's been living inside a cardboard box and eating puppy formula. He seems to be doing fine (crawls into my hand to eat and sleep) and pooping fine. Whe i found him it was all pink eyes & ears closed tight. Now I think it's about 7 or 8 days old based on photos I've seen (eyes still closed but skin darkening fur starting to come in & ears out). So my question is #1 how do i know what kind of mouse it is and #2 how do i know if it's safe to keep? I've heard deer mice can carry disease. My 6 year old daughter loves it and wants it to stay. Honestly I think he's pretty cute myself...

ANSWER: Dear Sarah,

Here are descriptions of the Deer Mouse, White-Footed Mouse, and House Mouse:
http://www.thefunmouse.com/info/species.cfm

Individual pages for mouse species:

Deer Mouse:
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/education/wildlife_notes/documents/NoteDerMouSm.

House Mouse:
http://www.arkive.org/house-mouse/mus-musculus/info.html

Yellow Necked mouse:
http://www.arkive.org/yellow-necked-mouse/apodemus-flavicollis/

Wood mouse:
http://www.arkive.org/wood-mouse/apodemus-sylvaticus/

Harvest Mouse:
http://www.arkive.org/harvest-mouse/micromys-minutus/

As for diseases, it is possible for mice to carry a zoonotic (transmissible to humans) virus called the hantavirus.  This is extremely rare.  I researched this a bit when I answered the following post:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/10/chance-disease-wild-city.htm

This link is included but I attach it here for easy reference:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Mice-3824/2008/8/hantavirus-wild-mice.htm

I wouldn't worry about it, myself.  Have fun with your new friend.  He'll probably be a great little pet!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your quick response!!! Sadly "Squeaky" died today and I'm so surprised. He was doing so well and ate this morning. I came home to find him gasping for air and then died. So I was just wondering, I was out and didn't feed him for almost 5 hours. Could this be why he died?

Answer
Dear Sarah,

If Squeaky had been in good health to start with, he would have been OK missing one feeding.  He had already been through the shock of losing his mom and not being fed for gosh knows how long.  Also, a foundling mouse is sometimes one that the mother abandoned because there was already something wrong with him.  You did your best, and certainly he was better off with you for that short time than if you hadn't found him and taken him in.

My condolences : ((

squeaks,

Natasha