what to do with baby wild mouse?

Question
QUESTION: I have a baby mouse that has his eyes open and weighs 6 grams.  He seems to be doing well but whenever we feed him he pushed on my finger and opens his mouth real wide as if he is gagging. No one has been able to help me. Can you?

ANSWER: Dear HannaLou,

I am unclear about your situation with the little mouse.  If you have had him a while and he is eating some and seems healthy, his actions may not indicate anything serious.  If you can't get him to accept the eyedropper, try putting the formula on a small paintbrush.  You can also see if he will eat something like a very thin cream of wheat off of your finger.  

Without more details it's hard to guess.  I don't know how you got him, but if he is a baby wild mouse that you found somewhere, be aware that a mother mouse may push a baby out of the nest if he is handicapped or defective, and this might have been the case with this little guy.  Also, it isn't easy to raise a baby mouse by hand and although there are plenty of success stories,  sometimes you can do everything right and the baby just can't live without its mother.  

His behavior reminds me of only one baby I had once, who I tried feeding extra because he was too skinny.  He would have seizures when he ate, and he did die of a seizure.  I hope this isn't the case with yours.

Pleas elet me know if you have more questions.

squeaks,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: Thanks for the help, i hope that he isnt having seizures, but he is eating normally and we had found 3 others with him, we were afraid that mother had died or abandoned them. We are feeding him An Esbilac powder mixed with pedialite and a pinch of lactobasilla.  He seems to be doing better and now has gain a gram and a half. how do i know when to release him. It is kind of cold outside to release him, should i keep him? Help!

Answer
Dear HannaLou,

Wild mice caught as adults are happier let go, but wild mice raised from babyhood in someone's hands and without their moms, haven't got a lot of chance to survive for long in the wild.  This doesn't mean it is wrong to let him go-- after all, he had no chance at all without your help.  However, if you grow fond of him, keeping him as a pet is a good option. A hand-raised wild mouse makes a decent pet.

You  mention, though, that you have three more, and I'm not sure what their status is.  If they are all girls, you can keep them all in one cage.  However, boys fight in the same cage and you really don't want to start raising litters of wild mice by letting the boys and girls cohabit. Pet mice can mate at 4 1/2 weeks and each litter only takes 3 weeks to arrive and another three to wean, making a litter of perhaps 4-12 mice every three weeks, which creates a tremendous population explosion when the young ones also start to breed.  Wild mice are only slightly less prolific.

If you are going to release them, you can do it after they are 5 weeks old (three weeks after their eyes opened), hopefully before it gets really cold.  You can also keep them till spring when it gets warm again, though you may find yourself too fond of them to let them go at that time!

I assume the mixture you are feeding him was suggested by a vet.  Many people either use plain pedialyte or KMR (kittens milk replacement).  

much fun-

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha