WILD MICE #2

Question
QUESTION: how can i give a wild mouse.a way to drink with no bottle?
how long will it stay alive after being caught?

ANSWER: Dear Don,

You can give the mouse a little dish of water but you will have to replace it regularly as she or he will kick bedding into it.

It might stay its entire lifetime, if you treat it very well, which could be up to two years.  Perhaps you will be able to tame it.

However, it won't be very happy living alone unless it becomes tame and you give it a lot of love and attention.  It's best to leave wild mice outdoors and get yourself a pair of sweet, tame girl mice at the pet store.  Remember, there is a lot of work involved in having any kind of pet including pet mice.

If the wild mouse was in your house and you don't want it there, if you are in a city bring it to a park a ways away and if you are in the country bring it over a mile away, to someplace where it can hide and hopefully find food.  The mouse will be much happier.

If you caught the mouse in a live trap instead of killing it, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

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

QUESTION: since the last email a 2nd mouse.some how got into the trash bin.so now there's 2.i will pick a cage for them.with one of the those wheels.what do they like to eat?

Answer
Dear Don,

If you have a male and a female, I just want you to know that (tame) mice can give birth to anywhere between 1 and 18 babies every three weeks; and the young ones are sexually mature at 4 1/2 weeks.  Wild mice are probably a little less prolific, but the numbers will still be staggering.  That makes hundreds of mice in 6 months and thousands in a year.  In the wild, most would get eaten, which is why mice don't rule the world!

Two males may fight. Two females will probably get along.

When you pick up the wheel you can also pick up some rat and mouse food, a collection of seeds and pellets a lot like hamster food.  There are also just big pellets which are nutritionally complete, like what they feed mice in labs.  Until then, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, oatmeal, and other seed-type things are a good start.  Bits of bread or crackers will be a favorite too.  But the mouse's main diet should be consistent and nutritional and not too high in fats.

For bedding you can use shredded paper (if possible without writing/ink), cloth cut into small strips, cut up yarn, Kleenex, cotton balls (but not from a medicine bottle because the medicine could make them sick), tissue paper, etc.  This is a good use for those single socks left by the dryer.

The litter in the cage could be wood chips, dried leaves, newspaper (the less color the better), mulch, or even clean dirt if you live in the country (not city dirt-- I don't think that could ever be considered 'clean' dirt!).  However, it is easiest to buy something from the pet store.  Mice especially love the soft paper bedding that comes in colors-- again, the less ink the better, so buy the gray-- because they can dig all kinds of tunnels in it and hide. You may think you have lost your mice when they hide in it!  You can also buy wood chips, corncob chunks, or any of numerous litters at the pet store.  

How can you tell a boy from a girl?  Boys look like they have big butts-- it's really their testicles.  In adult mice, the difference is very noticeable.

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha