12 day old baby field mouse help

[stevet95]

Yesterday I found a baby field mouse in the middle of an alley. It was unharmed. (when I picked it up and turned around to go home a cat was about to walk down the alley!) It has all its fur and teeth but eyes are still shut. I've been feeding it kitten milk. I fed it through the night too and now im knackered.
Few questions: How much should it weigh? Its 4.5g (3oz)
Kitten milk ok?
Any ideas when its eyes will open?
It has teeth when can i start to wean it?

cheers

[valleyforge]

Hi stevet95 and welcome to the WAB forum.

I'm a little confused by your post's title to be honest ... how do you figure the mouse is 12 days old? The eyes of most mice tend to open about 9 days after birth, so maybe he/she isn't quite as old as you think.

In any case, the MOST important thing to remember is to keep the mouse warm ... it won't feed successfully if it's too chilled. You need to feed every hour during the day and every 2 hours overnight if it is to survive.

If by kitten milk you mean the small cartons you can buy in supermarkets, then no ... that's not really suitable as a milk replacer. You need to get hold of some kitten (or puppy) milk replacement powder from your vet or pet store. The milk replacer of choice for mice is Esbilac, but other brands will work well enough.

Mice should also ideally be given colostrum (e.g. Prolam) at a ratio of one part colustrum to 3 parts milk replacer, but I have successfully raised orphan mice on the milk replacer alone.

For further initial advice and options for weaning, please take a look at this earlier post and my responses to it:
Need help. Orphan baby mice!

Even after the mouse is eating solids, you need to continue with the milk feeds for a few days, but introduce a shallow container (e.g. jar lid) of water when you start to provide solids so it can get used to drinking unaided.

Don't forget about toileting ... baby mammals need to be stimulated to defaecate/urinate by lightly stroking their genital area (with a cotton bud or similar). However, by the time their teeth begin to emerge they often don't require this, but do check if anything has been passed since the last feed, and always try that if it seems reluctant to recommence feeding.

Best of luck!

[stevet95]

From looking around on other site 12 days seemed a rough estimate.
I have been stimulating its bowels but it hasn't been toilet for awhile. It did a few drops. Then it had a dry bit stuck on its bum that i had to remove early hours of this morning. When it was removed it peed alot.

I have read elsewhere that it should be fed every two hours in the day and less at night because the mother would be out foraging. Is this true? I get alot of contradicting results when googling.

Thanks for your help.

[stevet95]

P.S
Whats it doing when, during feeding, it strenches out its arms and has its mouch open and makes a clicking noise?

Cheers

[valleyforge]

Originally Posted by stevet95

I have read elsewhere that it should be fed every two hours in the day and less at night because the mother would be out foraging. Is this true?

There are too many variables to be considered to be able to give a definitive answer ... for instance, the age of the animal and its body condition upon arrival. That is, a mouse that is initially in a well-fed condition has more reserves to fall back upon than one which is initially undernourished or suffering from some other injury.

The best practise is to OFFER food at least at hourly intervals ... it may well be that it won't need or want a full feed every hour, in which case you can lengthen the period between feeds correspondingly. In some very young or weak mammals, it may be necessary to increase feeds to every 20 minutes.

Overnight, the mother will spend a little time away from the nest, feeding and grooming, but again feeding every 2 hours is a good guideline to start with.

Remember, as a surrogate parent you are a poor substitute for the real thing and the milk replacer is also a poor substitute for the mother's milk ... so to compensate, you really need to be prepared to put in the time and effort.

It is very rewarding though (and a huge relief to the system) when the orphan starts to feed for itself and you can get an uninterrupted night's sleep once again.

[valleyforge]

Originally Posted by stevet95

P.S
Whats it doing when, during feeding, it strenches out its arms and has its mouch open and makes a clicking noise?

Cheers

That generally means that it's drowning ... milk has been inhaled into the airway. Feeding needs to be slow and very careful ... never rush it.

[stevet95]

Okay cheers. It sucks milk from a paintbrush now.

Will it sleep unless feeding or will it sometimes have a wander around.
I'm not sure about its weight at the moment.
And I'm worried that it isn't pooping. I am massaging it after every feed but it hasn't pooped since last night.

[valleyforge]

Feeding from a paintbrush or small teat (available at most vets) at its own rate is much safer for it ... you do need to be patient and not overload it with too much all at once.

You should find that it will spend most of the time between feeds fast asleep, though it may spend some time self grooming. Until its eyes are fully open, it shouldn't otherwise be moving about much other than to change position/posture.

If it is, then it's probably uncomfortable ... too cold, or too warm ... too much light or too much noise. Try and keep it in a darkened, quiet place, and at a stable temperature around 27-30deg C. An electric heat pad is best, but it's possible to improvise with small soft drink bottles filled with hot water ... but make sure that the mouse has room to move away from the heat source a bit if it gets too hot (a heat pad for instance needs to be placed underneath where it sleeps so that only half the sleeping area is warmed ... otherwise you risk cooking the youngster).

Don't worry that it's not producing much solid waste ... it won't while it's consuming only liquids.

[stevet95]

I can't find powdered kitten milk anywhere...

Any suggestions? Obviously I need it pretty quick.

[stevet95]

It's squeaking now when feeding and when it was going back into its home. What does this mean? Is it hurt or is it something they do as they grow up?