Question about taking care of a young mouse found in a live trap

Question

candaules   QUESTION: Hallo!  The live trap at work caught a little mouse today (dec 1st), so I brought it home.  I have no idea how to take care of mice, and I'm not sure how old it is.  Attached is a photo of the wee one.  His hair looks very slick, his eyes don't really seem to be open most of the time.  He doesn't really move around that much so I'm wondering if he's doing poorly or if he's just very young.  Any help you have will be very much appreciated.  Thank you!

ANSWER: By the looks of it, that seems like either a very young house mouse or a very unhealthy mouse. His coat looks awful. Is it raining in your area? Make sure he stays warm and has enough fresh water and food available. Do you know how long he was in the trap? If he was in there for awhile he could be dehydrated and weak from not having access to food and water. He difinitely is old enough to be on his own though. You can try putting a water bottle in the cage with him but he may not figure out how to use it, so it's best to use something else for water. A small 2 liter bottle cap will work OK for water, as it's small enough that he can't drown in it. You can try offering him some pedialyte in a syringe as well, which will help with the dehydration. Let me know how he does, and please keep me updated.

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QUESTION: Thank you for replying!

When I found him last night I bought a little plastic cage, bedding and some Oxbow food for him at my local pet store.  When I stuck him in there he was just barely walking around and shivering so I thought he was just really sick.  I didn't even think about keeping him warm until a couple of hours later, when I placed him near my heater (not too close of course).  (I was thinking of buying a heat lamp, but I'm not sure how well that would do with a plastic cage...)  He started warming up and running around, jumping and exploring his cage.  He's definitely doing much better, and was even grooming himself.  His coat does look awful.  It's not been raining recently, so I don't know what would cause it.

He was only in the cage for at most a day, as I check the traps daily.  Right now he's sleeping under the toilet paper roll I put in there for him.  I also put a small jar lid full of water in there for him and he was drinking a lot.  Hopefully he turns out alright!  Is there any way I can find out if he has any mites or diseases?

Answer
Heat lamps can be dangerous, as it is easy to catch things on fire with them, as they get very very hot. They could cook the wee one. Undertank heaters would great though, and can be placed under the enclosure. Just make sure that you only put it on one side so that if he gets too hot he can move to a cooler spot of the cage.

As far as mites, chances are if he had them you would know. Mites can severe irritation, and he would be very very itchy, and show signs of hair loss, sores etc. As far as diseases go, he may be carrying something that could be contagious to other mice, so make sure you keep him quarantined for at least 2 weeks (at the very minimum) before you add him to a room that contains other rodents. :) How is he doing thus far?