Wild Animals/baby field mouse

Advertisement

Expert: Jonathan Wright - 4/22/2007


Question
me and my cousin found a baby feild mouse that my cat was going to eat but we saved it and now we are trying to figure out wat we should feed it and how to care for it. we have been feeding it baby formula but it doesnt seem to be eating to well. what should we do?

Answer
Dear Chelsea

Thanks for your question and for caring for the baby field mouse. I had a similar question recently and it seems that you can feed baby field mice on the same diet as a baby house mouse or pet mouse. Your local pet store should be able to help.

I wish to thank the contributors to the websites I used.

Crestern (http://www.vegsource.com/animal/wildlife/messages/1544.html) said that baby field mice can survive a few nights on crushed up guinea pig pellets mixed with water. You must feed this through a medicine syringe without the needle on. The mouse is probably too young to feed itself if it will not lick the mix from your hand, so you must put a piece of cloth on the end of the syringe attatched with an elastic band. This simulates the mothers nipple. You should do this every hour or so for a while, but you can leave the mouse for about 6 hours at night. This is simulates the care of the mother. A baby field mouse would be unlikely to survive well in the wild. http://www.vegsource.com/animal/wildlife/messages/1277.html gives similar information and http://www.petshub.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1453.html may be useful.

SWC (http://www.paw-talk.net/forums/f76/baby-field-mouse-please-help-35262.html)says that you must not feed the mouse with cheese. You can use KMR (formula for kittens) or some crushed mouse, hamster, or guinea pig pellets mixed with water. You can crush up some kitty food with  water/soy. You must feed this through a medicine syringe without the needle on. An eye dropper is fine, but take care that it doesn't aspirate it into the lungs. Give a drop at a time. The mouse is probably too young to feed itself if it does not lick the mix from your hand, so you must put a piece of cloth on the end of the syringe attached with a rubber band or thick string as it simulates the mother's nipple. In less than 2 weeks it should be eating fine on it's own and you should release it, near where you found it, when it has all of its fur.

I hope this helps.

All the best

Jonathan  

Wild Animals

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Jonathan Wright

Expertise

I can answer questions about wild mammals and other animals, as well as extinct animals and zoos. I am not an expert about every animal species. I can look up information from books and the internet, but can't verify if all the information is true. Please don't ask questions about: 1. Pets. I am not a vet. Please contact a vet if your pet is ill. You may need to spend some money if you want your pet to live. Don't get a pet if you don't know how to look after it and if you can't provide it with the space, food and possible companions that will help it live a healthy life. Don't take animals from the wild, unless they are ill and/or injured and you can protect them until a wildlife charity can help. It is cruel to take animals from their parents, especially if the parents will look for the babies, while putting their other babies at risk. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals or you may need a licence to look after some species. Please check with a local wildlife group. 2. Eggs: Please don't remove eggs from nests. The mother birds provide the right temperature for the eggs and won't sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them to see if they are fertile. If theys aren't fertile, they won't hatch. 3. Fights: Please don't ask about fights between different animals. These questions assume that individuals of two species fight each time they meet and that one species will always be victorious over another. This is untrue. There are cases where a live mouse has been fed to a venomous snake, bitten the snake leading to the snake's demise. 4: Diseases: Please ask doctors or other medical experts about diseases that you may catch from animals. I can't advise on how to deal with viruses, bacteria etc.

Experience

I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.

Organizations
WWF. ZSL. Natural History Museum. RSPB. London Bat Group.

Publications
Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group

Education/Credentials
BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' level in Zoology. 'O' Level in Biology.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.