Mouse Abandons Babies

Question
Hello,my mouse snow had her babies yesterday. I did not remove their dad Shadow beforehand, so i removed him last night. When I did Snow lost her mind,and chewed a hole thru her cage. Needless to say I had to switch her cage and move her whole litter to another cage. She is a first time mother, and now she won't go near her babies to take care of them. I did not touch them I moved them with a spoon and I put her back with Shadow. But, she wont take care of them what can i do?

Thanks

Answer
Dear Kimberly,

First time mother mice get confused easily.  All you can do is set her in the nest every once in a while (once an hour) and hope she stays.  Sometimes this works.  Take everything out of the cage except food, water, and one nest, so she has nothing else to do.  I hope Shadow is at least helping to keep them warm.  If you tried to feed them yourself she would really reject them.  

Although you probably separated them so Snow wouldn't get pregnant again, it was too late anyway.  They often mate within hours after birth of the litter.  Thus there are no disadvantages to keeping Shadow in the cage at this point.  If you don't want a third litter, remove him when the babies are about 19 days old, in case the next litter is born on the 20th day.

I recommend letting nature take its course in this situation.  But if you were to decide to try to raise them yourself (if she has ignored them for 24 hours), they could drink kitten milk replacement from an eyedropper.  You then rub their tummies with a Q-tip to help them eliminate.  Shadow will still keep them warm.

Best of luck.  I hope Snow figures it out soon.

squeaks,

Natasha