questions about orphan wild mouse

Question

Baby Mouse   QUESTION: I found 2 baby mice outside of my house yasterday afternoon. We have horses so I think they were living in our hay. But when I found them they we in our horse padock and were almost stepped on. One of them died yesterday and I think it was cause my horse kind of kicked it a little but the other is perfectly fine. I have it in a glass cage so she can't ascape and i have been trying to feed her plain soy milk. Although nI think because she has teeth that she will be able to eat harder food! I cann't get her to eatanything though! I am pretty smart about caring for baby rodents because I have rats and I have bred one before but i don't know if there is anything i con do to convince her to eat? Any Suggestions? i really want to be able to save her life! I am sending a picture of her hoping that maybe you could tell me her age.

ANSWER: Hi Samantha,

What a cute mouse.  I'm not sure if you were trying to nurse it with the soy milk or if you just gave the milk to the mouse. It is probably still nursing, so if you can use an eyedropper or small pipette or small paintbrush to give it a drop at a time, it might help.  If this is what the mouse needs it will eventually figure it out if you try every 1-2  hours.  At the same time, leave some crackers in the cage and some soy milk soaked on a piece of bread to see how well the mouse does on its own.

Please browse my archives or send more questions when they come up.  Best of luck!

squeaks,

Natasha

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QUESTION: i am trying to feed her with an extremely small syringe and she will drink a little and then loose interest... How much to you think baby mice drink???

ANSWER: Dear Samantha,

As long as she is drinking some-- that is, she has figured it out-- take her "word" for it that she is full.  Mouse pups drink just a little bit but every half hour when they are with their mom.  Experience has shown that they are fine when fed every two hours, but no less often.  This should continue until a week after she opens her eyes, if they are closed now; if they are already open, then a week after you found her, or until she refuses. By that time she should be eating solid food.  You should get a mouse and rat seed mix for her at a pet store.

If she is not defecating, you need to rub her tummy with a Q-tip after feeding, to help her do so.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

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QUESTION: I am just wondering and i am not going to do this but would it be safe to find a surregate mom that is tame and nursing for a orphaned wild baby mouse??? Something that i might potentially think of is getting her a friend if she survives that is. Is it safe to get a mouse from a pet store or something to be friend with her. Is there any kind of disease that she might have with her being wild and all. And do you know if mice and rats get along? Because i have 9 rats that i am not putting her with them but they are living in the same room?

Answer
Dear Samantha,

It is possible that a tame mouse would nurse the baby if it were introduced to her just right- rubbed in her dirty litter and with the other babies first. If you want to get her a tame friend, do it when she's really young, because a wild mouse is likely to be more aggressive than a tame one. Do make sure you have a girl and get a girl because wild and tame mice do mate-- and the first generation of babies tends to be very difficult to tame.  I had heard this and now I've experienced it by mistake (wild mouse got into cage). It's certainly possible for the wild mouse to have illnesses or mites that could hurt the tame one. It's a risk you would have to take. No, mice and rats don't get along at all, but it's fine if the cages are in the same room; just don't give the rats access to the mouse.  

Have fun!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha