wild mice

[adviceneeded]

how do i hand rear wild mice my kids found 5 there mum is dead i think there about 7 days old

[camilly]

are they still blind and pink, if so then all you can do is put them in a tank with straw and a water bottle and try to give them a mixture of evaporated milk and boiled water with a sprinke of glucose powder(chemist sell it) via a tiny seringe regularly, if they have eyes open and are moving freely and furry then just give them mouse/hamester food and water, and hope for the best, def good luck on that one.

[adviceneeded]

there eyes are shut but there not pink still there furry and very lively but sleeping at the moment i can see i'm gonna be up all nite though

[wolf63]

and remember that 5 could soon turn into 15. Mice breed like ---- well, mice.

[luckyeight]

You can feed and water them but they will never be tame... You might prove me wrong but best you can do is just keep em in a secure tank/cage and make sure they're warm and fed. But then you'll have to let them go to make a go of it themselves as if they are wild no amount of handling will tame them.Good luck and bless u for looking after them!

[adviceneeded]

yeah i know but i had to give m a chance

[camilly]

right, just looked in my mouse book, and fur grows at five days, ears open at 2 days, eyes at 14 days, babies eat solid food at 10 days and will actively seek it out, bad news is that they suckle for 28 days so need milk for sure now, you could for now heat a little milk and put bread into in, until fully absorbed in a jam jar lid and just encourage them to sip it for themselves, they should be able to do so, i would just wake them now and offer it to them but make sure they dont drown in it and then again as early as you can do, important at 28 days you need to seperate them unless you want loads more, you can tame them for sure if you hand rear them ,, the only thing you can not ever truly tame is a polar bear, and a tiger, so its up to you what you do with them after weaning, its best to let them go in the woods near you and they will find there way and you will be a martar, remember if they do die its not your fault but it is important they are warm, dry and feel secure ie a nest of straw if you can,

[adviceneeded]

thanks for your help they've got through the nite so i guess thats a good sign

[wolf63]

come to think of it - they must be really tiny. I have never had a pet mouse but I have seen them and the adults are very small.

Good luck in your role as adoptive mummy.

[janeo]

My cats could "look after" them for you.

[wolf63]

my old cat would have stared at them until he fell asleep with total exhaustion.

[adviceneeded]

they are really tiny i can fit all 5 of them in the palm of my hand but there mum was only small aswell its just a shame she died

[feebee102]

Hand rearing any wild animal at such a young age take a lots of commitment and heart ache.
About 4 months ago my daughter brought home a small nest (possibly Wren) with 5 tiny babies in( the local thug had pulled it out of a hedge,and had killed 3 already.My daughter put the nest back and watched for over an hour incase mum came back, but she didn't )They where still very tiny, eyes closed and covered in a very fine down.
Out came my chick incubator and in popped the nest.I fed them every 2 hours during the day, but nothing through the night, as a web site stated that the mother doesn't feed them in the night hours.
Unfortunatley one by one they died.The last one died 8 days after they where brought to me.I fed them on what was advised but to no avail.Any way I tried, thats all you can do. Good luck I hope you succeed!

[adviceneeded]

thank you. Well theres still 5 and there eating really well so far, they've just gone to sleep now after a feed but they've been a lot more lively today than they were last nite an this morning so, so far so good but they've a long way to go still i'm not kidding myself i know they might not make it but i'm just hoping for the best an doing wat i can an i'm very grateful for all the advice and any more anyone can offer

[feebee102]

How are the mice doing ?
Allthere still I hope!