Found 2 baby house mouses

Question
Natasha, I found 2 evidently orphaned baby mice in my bathroom yesterday and scooped them up and put them in a shoebox.  I'm not sure how old they are, but maybe you can tell me.  They are about the size of between a nickle and quarter when rolled up.  They have grey fur, and one is quite active and the other still has it's eyes mostly closed.  Should I treat them like in an incubator chick?  I took an old t-shirt and made some holes and drapped it over the top of the box but I'm not sure if they like it dark or light??  I shredded some TP and put in the box, and took a small lid from a prescription bottle and filled it with water, and another one and put a mixture of egg yolk and milk, slightly warmed (I read somewhere it's a good formula in an emergency).  I also filled another small lid with bits of lettuce and brie cheeze.  I'm not sure if they're eating, but the egg yolk mixture was almost gone this morning, so I assume the active one did.  Can they jump out of the shoe box?  Should I uncover the box?  Currently, I placed it on a folded towel for warmth and placed ontop of my washer in the bathroom and turned the heater on and closed the bathroom door.
Are they old enough to eat and drink on their own do you think?  I'm not sure what to do for them.  I keep checking on them, and they just huddle together amongst or under the shredded TP.  Any help is appreciated.  Thanks,
Jan

Answer
Dear Jan,

The mice are young enough that they still need to nurse.  They can't be more than 2 weeks old if one has its eyes closed still.  The best formula for mice is kitten milk, or KMR.  For such a short time it won't be worth buying a whole can of powder, so I suggest buying one can of the liquid and freezing most of it in an ice cube tray, then putting the cubes in a plastic bag to be used one per day.

You feed the pups with an eyedropper, drop by drop until they don't take it.  Then rub their abdomens gently with a Q-tip to help them to eliminate.  They ought to be fed every two hours around the clock (mom mouse nurses them every half hour).  

They will soon be mobile enough to get out of the box, so I suggest something with higher sides.  They will be ready to eat crackers within a week.  Keep offering them the formula for a few days after that, stopping about ten days from now.  In the last few days it doesn't have to be so often.  

Have fun with the little guys!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha