Weaning baby mice

Question
Hi, I work for a veterinary clinic and a client brought in 5 baby field mice.  I am currently feeding them on kitten milk, their eyes opened about two days ago and their ears are now perky.  When can i start weaning them and which solids can i out them onto. i do have pet rats and have tried them on some of the Prestige Rat food (rat crispy).  How much longer before they can be released?
Thanks.
Could you please email the answer to fbvc@polka.co.za?
Regards,

Ingrid

Answer
Hi

Thank you for your question. You are an amazing person weaning baby mice, I know it can be hard work!

The good news is their eyes have opened which means they are about 2 weeks old. This is when they can eat solids. Try to get hold of mouse or hamster food (the more nuts and seeds the better). You will need to feed them milk until they are 4 weeks old. You don't need to worry if they stop drinking the milk before that, nature will tell them when to stop.

The bad news is, this is when mice reach the 'flea stage'. You may have difficulty handling them, especially if they are wild. Put the milk in a mouse bottle and they will drink it when they need to. It also a good idea at this point to introduce water into their diet. Keep it in a bottle next to the milk.

The best time to release them is between 4 and 5 weeks. This is when they reach sexual maturity and will reproduce if the sexes aren't separated. Try to handle them as infrequently as possible as you don't want them to become tame.

If you can, put a few branches and leaves in their cage. This will help them adjust for when they are released into the wild. Make sure they haven't been sprayed with chemicals.

Please feel free to ask anything else, good luck!