Wildbaby Mice. Helpppp!!! - Paw Talk

DRose · #1 06-28-2009, 05:22 PM

So t day I arrived at work and started bringign out show tems outside. I found a two BAby mice. One was completley smoshed, like it was run over with a semi truck.

and the other was peeping for its mom or something there was no other mice or mouse like things to be found because it was in the middle of a parking lot. I bro8ght it inside. i put it in a styrofoam cup wrrapped in some tissue and in a box. that was at like 10 oclock. at around 1 i was finally able o get it some milk. I bought a can or KMR and warmed a syringe in water with th KMR in it. it only took about 1 CC or so. no it wont eat or drink. I wiped its belly and bum with a warm wet cottn ball. it seems to be passing awaste and fluids fine. I think it's about 6 days old but i''m not sure. it was very fine fur and it's eyes are not open yet. its in a box on a bed of tisses on top of a heating pad on the LOW setting. I have some questions though.
-is it warm enough?
- how much should i feed it?
-should it get solids yet?
-Why will it not stop twitching and flipping onto its back or head?
-is sleeping for a long time and then freaking out when woken up normal?

plese help.this is only the second time ive raised a baby animal and the firt time the animal was so badly injured tha tit coulden't live. but THIS IS MY FIRST MOUSE. EVERR. i've had hamsters b for but i'm nervious about this little guy. (I think it's a guy. but i dont really want to kno yet)

It's name is LittleFoot. :]
thanks alot -DAKOTA

rodentopia · #2 06-28-2009, 07:05 PM

if it's eyes arent open it wont be on solid food yet, thats all i ca nreally help you with, i can guess at the others though.

i'd say low is probably enough because they need to be kept at body temperature, not like warm or hot like lizards.
i think just feeding it till it doesnt want to erat anything is probably your best bet cos it should just stop feeding when it's full up. i think it will need feeding every couple of hours.
it's probably had injuries or been hit and not obviously injured, it could be a baby mouse thing though, they do that apparently

those are all educated guesses, someone will probably come along and correct me. i've only raised puppies and birds from babies, so i can't really say much for mice.

ShannonMarie · #3 06-28-2009, 08:07 PM

Heating pad on low setting with a towel between baby and the heat should be fine, depending on the temp in your house. She shouldn't feel cold to the touch, nor hot when you touch her. If she is being kept too warm she will get dehydrated. You can check if she is dehydrated by "tenting" the skin on her shoulders. Just lightly pinch it up and if it stays, she is dehydrated, if it falls back into place she's doing good.

You should be able to tell if she is full by looking at its milk belly. If you see air bubbles in the stomach (im guessing shes a bit transparent still?) Then you should try laying her on her stomach and "burping" her by massaging her softly. But, generally she should be fed every 4 hours. Even during the night.

The last 2 questions seem like normal baby behavior, but the baby may have some kind of trauma that we don't know about, you won't be able to tell until she gets a bit older.

Maybe put a small stuffed animal next to her so she feels like she has some company and something to nestle up against.

Sadly, Chances are, she will die eventually, if she is actually 6 days old.

Another alternative is going into local pet stores and see if you can order a lactating mother mouse. And then just hope she will take care of it, if you really want to keep it alive.

Good luck! Post pics if you can.

DRose · #4 07-02-2009, 10:10 AM

THANKS to all of you.
this means alot to me.
and sadly i don't have any pics yet. but He, i thikn it's a he, is doing well so far.

CrWoodyspets · #5 07-02-2009, 12:36 PM

Great, keep it up =)

ShannonMarie · #6 07-02-2009, 07:31 PM

Good luck DRose, let us know how it goes and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

DRose · #7 07-07-2009, 03:21 PM

well sadly he passed away last night i think i over fed him :[ now i feel like an @$$

CrWoodyspets · #8 07-07-2009, 10:52 PM

I don't think that you could have overfed him, he was probably just too young, don't blame yourself...you tried

Dustette · #9 07-23-2009, 10:29 AM

DRose!

you had really good reflexes and should be proud of yourself!
I'm a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and I have taken care of wild baby mice a few times. The fact that it was alone is a sign that something was possibly wrong with it. Mothers of any species (or almost) will abandon babies that are sick, have a malformation or even if they are just weak so they don't spend their energy raising a baby that will eventually die. Mother birds kick out sick babies from the nest even.
But, there was a second one squished, so it could be that mommy mouse was not too bright and made her nest in a car that was parked a long time, possibly above or on the wheel. I've seen that happen with kittens, thankfully the truck owner heard them before starting the truck.

It's very hard to save baby mice, we feed them KMR also, but it must not be completely adequate because when they survive and grow their hair, they are very scruffy and patches of hair are missing. Once they go on solid food, the hair slowly gets better. Must be a protein thing...
You can't really over feed it and kill it that way, it was probably sick to begin with, and without any sibling in the box, they die easily.

you did everything right, and ShannonMarie gave you great advice.

If you ever find another baby, the most important thing is heat. Do not feed an animal before it is warm because the intestines and stomach won't work if it's cold and it will cause blockage. Warm, and then feed. And hope for the best!