rescued baby wild mice

Question
hi Natasha,
my dog found a mouse nest and ate the mother, so I brung them in side my house,(my mom said it's OK) Anyway I'm still in school and I still have the whole litter . they've been in my house 4 a hour so far .I'm worried the little dears will die. I tried giving them warm milk but they wont accept. the babys look 2 have whiskers and some fur but thier eyes are closed w/ visible eye lids. I've read 1 of your responces about  taking them to school but we only have 4 min. in the hall and I barly get there in time without talking! PLEASE HELP ME ,I NEED TIPS!!!!

sincerily ,
           Andrea

Answer
Dear Andrea,

Thank you so much for saving the little mice's lives.  Remember that baby mice are made to be raised by momma mice.  Humans can't always substitute, and it's not your fault if the little things should not survive.

Your rescued mice are less than a week old! The best thing to feed them with is KMR (kitten milk replacement), but if you can't get that, an infant formula such as Pedialyte will be fine.   Mom mouse feeds them every half hour, but you only need to do so every 2-3 hours.  This means nighttime too.  You will find this easiest with an eye dropper.   If you don't have a dropper, you can try a very small paintbrush in the meantime.  Feed them drop by drop until they don't want to eat anymore.  Their tummies will be white.  It is also important to ever so gently massage their tummies with a Q-tip or your finger after feedings to get their digestive system working (Mom licks them thoroughly and constantly).  They should eliminate at this time and you can gently wash them off.

They do need to stay warm.  Mom mouse is supposed to be sitting on them to keep them warm.  A room heated to 75 degrees is sufficient-- don't leave them in a drafty, air conditioned room.  If it is not as warm as that, give them a hot water bottle, but make sure it is comfortably warm and not hot.  Don't put them directly on the bottle but put it in or under the cage.  A reptile heat rock is another idea.  They shouldn't be hot, just warm.   Even a bag of frozen vegetables (poke a few holes in it so it doesn't explode) heated up in the microwave (or boiled in the bag in a pot of hot water) and wrapped in a towel, would be a temporary substitute.

If you bring them to school see if you can work something out with your teachers to be able to feed them every three hours.  The nicer teachers should be understanding, especially if they see the babies!  Maybe you can fit it around your lunch break.  And perhaps they could stay in the nurse's office the rest of the time.  

At about 7 days they will have all their fur and at about 14 days they will open their eyes-  then you will know how old they are.  When mice open their eyes they can be very jumpy, because they have never had vision or before, and they are programmed to be terrified of anything from above (you can imagine; predators generally come from above--raptors, felines, canines).  With such strong little legs, they weigh almost nothing and can jump up to two feet high.  This can be called the flea stage, for obvious reasons; I call it the popcorn stage (Have you ever seen popcorn pop in a pan?).    They will get used to you visually and remain quite tame, considering that you have been their mommy for as long as they can remember.  Still, you should have them in a somewhat tall cage (aquarium with good lid), using perhaps kleenex for soft bedding but on a layer of wood chips (not cedar) or other litter.

Introduce  seeds and crackers into the cage after their eyes open, but continue offering them formula until 3 1/2 weeks.  Put a water bottle in the cage at 2 weeks but also leave them a small dish of water (small so they can't fall in!  Like a bottle cap) until you see them using the water bottle (which may be at about 3 1/2 weeks).  You should try to guide them to it before that time.

Please remember that it is not your fault if they do not survive.  It is hard to raise baby mice.  Just do your best.  Good luck and have fun.  If you read some of my older posts (click on 'see past answers' by my name) you will learn more about baby mice and about raising and housing mice in general.  The names of the topics are pretty clear.  Please feel free to write again.

squeaks,

Natasha