orphaned mouse

Question
my cat brought home a very large field mouse yesterday. Today we found a tiny little mouse on the lawn. He seems to be ok, there's no signs of injury he was just having a bit of trouble getting through the grass.He's only about an inch long & his eyes look as though they're only just open. I think that maybe the cat had his mum yesterday & he's left the nest as he's hungry. I've tried giving him some grains but he doesn't seem to have any teeth & although he wants to eat it I don't think he can. I made some porridge using water which he seems to be licking but not eating. How do I look after him? What can I give him to eat that he will eat? Can I give him warm cows milk to drink? I would like to look after him until he's old enough to return to the wild. How long is this likely to be? I don't even know how old he is.Perhaps you have an idea? anyway I have him in a glass tank at the moment with sawdust, hay & straw & have given him some hamster bedding which he seems to like but I desperately need to know how to get him to eat & anything else to maximise his chance of survival. Thankyou  

Answer
Hi!

From the sound of it the mouse you found is under 12 days old. Mice nurse their young up to 3-3,5 weeks, and unfortunately the odds of a youngling to survive without their mother is extremely slim.

The baby needs to be fed every two hours, and this would mean having to wake up every couple of hours during the night as well. If you still want to go for it, you can try making a special formula:

1 tp of honey
0,5 dl of whole milk
1 tp cooking oil
1 egg yolk
(If you can get a hold of any special vitamin drops for rodents, you can add six drops of that. Make sure there is absolutely no C-vitamin added!)

This will stay good in the fridge for 24h. You can try feeding him with a pipette or a piece of paper dipped in the formula. Keep the little guy as warm as possible and avoid draft.

As mentioned, the chances of such a young mouse of surviving without his mother is very slim. Best of luck, regardless!