our mouse is acting wierd O_O

Question
QUESTION: hi - we found a baby mouse(we think it was the runt, because the mum and 4 other babys went off somewhere and left it behind) in the stables, and its only about 1-2 weeks old. we looked after her fine, and she has been healthy - we fed her warm watered down cows milk on a clean paintbrush, and now she has started chewing everything, so we started to feed her things like brown bread soaked in millk. she was doing fine with that and was perfectly healthy, but today we got her out of the box and she wasnt right. she didint really move, and was curled up - now she isnt moving at all, except for random jumps where she will twitch all over as if its a hicup. i just wanted to know if there is anything you could suggest, and could you get back to use as soon as possible please :)

thanks for your help, kind regards ~emily and stacey

ANSWER: Hi!

Unfortunately the chances of survival for an oprhaned mouse are extremely slim if he's still being nursed. No cow's milk or human breast milk formulas can compensate the nutrients the mother gives.

Once a baby mouse opens his eyes he usually goes through a period of 'flea-age', during which he may occasionally jump around for no apparent reason like a flea! The mouse's immobility however is not normal during this period. I suggest checking her habitat first, it must be clean, draftless and warm, with alot of hiding places. From mere bread alone she won't be getting all the nutrients she needs - you can try giving her a boiled egg (some of the shell as well, for calcium, but never the yolk), vegetables (no cabbage), fruits (nothing with C-vitamin), babyfood, or simply low-salt muesli.

If the mouse has more symptoms such as ruffled fur, swollen tummy or other strange behaviour patterns it may suggest a more severe disease, such as inner/outer parasites. But it may just very well be that she merely can't go on any longer without the nutrients of her mother's milk.

Hope this helps, good luck to the little one!

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

QUESTION: ok thanks so much for your help ^_^ although im sorry to say i think it seems we got to you too late >< it seems even worse now, and we cant tell if its dead or not....it looks dead, but when we moved it, it squeaked...its tongue was kind of yellow and swollen...
sorry that we couldnt get to you in time, but i think its gone now :( thank you so much for replying with so much information and so quickly though :)

Answer
Hi!

Sorry to hear that. At that point the most humane thing you can do is provide the mouse with a swift, painless death instead of hours or even days of agonising pain and torture. Hopefully his siblings have better luck in life!

Best wishes,
-Mari