help!!!!!!!!!!!!! become mum to newborn mouse!!!!

[Mytwopenceworth]

this pm my cat brought me a present. a new born mouse. it is tiny beyond belief, its eyes are still sealed shut! my dh thinks im mad! he thinks i should just let nature do its thing - ie cat eat mouse! my mum thinks kindest thing to do would be to put it out of its misery (but she said she couldnt do it herself either!). i cant leave it to the mercy (HA!) of my cat, cant throw it back into the field knowing its going to die either. i am stupidly upset over this little baby! i have it in a little box with some shredded tissue and i have an absorbant cloth which i am soaking with milk and offering it every half hour - will have to set my mobile to wake me up every half hour all night to continue this!! dont really have a clue what im doing! am i doing something wrong, is milk the best thing? does it need water? has anyone hand reared a mouse? what are its chances of survival? if (big if) it does survive - what do i do with it? after being hand reared would it survive if i put it back in the field?

maybe its cos im broody but i cant have any more babies, but i feel so protective of this little mite! i want it to live!!!!!!

please post on this, even if its to tell me im a big daft softie!!!!!!!!!

[Nbg]

No, thats sooo sweet.

I hope it survives.
I'll do a bit of internet research for you.

[hunkermunker]

Awww - you big daft softie! I'd be exactly the same!

[donnie]

well, normally I'd say you were mad but actually it sounds like the sweetest thing and that you were 'chosen' to help it live....keep up with the milk ( but no breastfeeding!)

[Mytwopenceworth]

thanks i am trying to keep her warm too. put box over my coffee which warmed her a bit, but dont know if i should keep her warm by putting the box on a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel! just broke off to feed her again, she seems to be lapping at the cloth, i was worried the milk was too hot! - you know, i am having the same sorts of worries here as i did when my kids were babies! i have to laugh! how daft am i? but i CARE, you know? she's a baby.

[Aimsmum]

Message withdrawn

[Nbg]

OK, just found some info.

It says you should have a fair chance of survival if you do the following things...

Feed it (cat) kitten formula from a dropper or syringe frequently (so the half hour should be good)
They can have solid food at 3/4 weeks which is when their eyes open but should still have the formula.
You should rub their stomach and genitals with a warm, damp cloth (to be like the mothers tongue) to help them empty their bowels otherwise they will die as they cannot do it themselves.

HTH.

[Nbg]

Just read further on this site. Theres one girl who has wrote what she had done and she said that she put them under a heat lamp and fed every 1 hour through the day and every 2 at night.

[Nbg]

Just read further on this site. Theres one girl who has wrote what she had done and she said that she put them under a heat lamp and fed every 1 hour through the day and every 2 at night.

[Willow2]

You are going to have to get up and feed it (he/she?) every half hour or so - then, by the time you have helped it to have a poo, it will need feeding again - in fact, you are going to spend the next few weeks or so wide awake while you help this little mite. Bless.

[Mytwopenceworth]

so she can have kitten milk? i am sending dh to the 24 hour tesco right now! (its 13 miles away so he is going to take some pursuading!!) meanwhile i am going to do the rubbing thing! i hope she does make it!!

now i just need a name for her???............................

[Nbg]

Is her belly transparent?

That site reckons she could only be a few days or a week old.

It's a really sweet thing your doing. I hope shes ok.

[Mytwopenceworth]

now im scared im going to rub too hard!!

will let folks know if she made it thru the night! fingers crossed!!

ive got my nieces birthday party on saturday - wonder what my sisters going to say when i turn up there with a little mouse!!!!!!

[Nbg]

Yes, get the kitten milk. Do you have a syringe or dropper?

[Nbg]

Do it really gently. It says it's to encourage bowel movement as waste products build up inside them.

[Mytwopenceworth]

shes pink and wrinkly in places with grey covering otherwise - but not what i would call fur it looks like its painted on iyswim, and yes, she seems to be, but well i cant see thru her or anything but her skin seems whats the word - translucent or is that totally the wrong word and ive just made a nit of myself?! shes moving a bit but mostly shes just asleep!

[Mytwopenceworth]

ive got an old eye dropper - is the cloth the wrong thing to do then? i will wash the dropper and use that now instead. - have packed dh off for the kitten milk - he thinks im bonkers and i have to sleep on the sofa cos he says hes buggered if hes going to be woken every hour for a mouse! meanie!

[Nbg]

I can just imagine it!

I reckon by the time he/shes 3/4 weeks they'll have fur.
Try the dropper and see what happens.It will probably be easier to feed that way.

[LilMissy]

How's the babby mouse??

[Nbg]

Just checked another site for you and it says...

Newborn/hairless mice - 2-3 drops every half hour.

2-4 Weeks old - 0.5 mls every hour.

4 weeks+ - 1 ml plus solids.

It also says you can give the following..
Goats milk (as it is) Canned evaporated milk diluted 50:50 with pre boiled water, dried skimmed milk powder mixed double strength with pre boiled water but whatever you choose you must stick to otherwise it will cause digestive upsets.

This is another good site
mice

[Janh]

Does this baby have some fur? Cos if so it's quite old for a baby mouse and stands a chance. (They are born naked and look like baked beans)

[Aimsmum]

Message withdrawn

[swiperfox]

Have been following this thread - you are so sweet for looking after it! I'd have to do it as well, i'm a sucker for things like that. We've got a little mouse in our garden who comes up the garden in the evenings for bread and strawberries lol

Hope he's ok this morning! If you contact your nearest wildlife place they will help you out - if you want, say what area you are and i'll find them for you

[Flamesparrow]

Awww - not seen this thread before!!! How's he doing?

[Mytwopenceworth]

Hi! she made it thru the night! I am knackered!! she peeps at me when i put her down now!!

janh - she doesnt have fur as such, shes pink and wrinkly in places and she looks like shes got grey paint in others! shes all smooth!! her eyes are still sealed shut - and her ears seem to be too - they just look like it i mean, they are flat back to her head!!

bad news - last night i discovered a puncture mark on her side - i think from a claw or tooth. i hadnt seen it at first, but when i was helping her 'go potty'!!! i noticed it.

swiperfox - im near Bakewell in Derbyshire.

when feeding her, she only takes about 2 drops then turns her face away and tries to wiggle off - she cant walk so she must be very young. i mean shes not even as big as half my thumb!!

she got cold in the night so i ended up holding her to warm her up as well as waking up every hour to feed her!!

dh slept on the sofa and says he will be until im not doing this any more! he doesnt want to get woken up every hour! he says he had enough of that with the kids!!