A Baby Mouse

[TomahawkFlyers]

On the way into the basement this morning, I came upon the tiniest of baby mice. Furred out, eyes closed. Eating sawdust. Unsure on his hind legs. A few times falling on his side, rolling onto his back and struggling back onto his hind legs. He nibbled at a piece of block and ravaged a small piece of apple. He is now in a smallish plastic container with a heated rice sock under him and room to move off of it. He has fleece bedding, some apple and block, and a very shallow lid of water. I’m thinking about starting the baby flyer protocol. He might not make it through the night but he must be as comfortable as he can be whether or not he’s on the way out. Thoughts?

[CritterMom]

Do you have any formula? If his eyes are still closed it would do him some good for sure. But like the flyers, you need to warm them hydrate them and then feed them. That he went for solids is good, too. A lot of times if you can get them hydrated quickly enough, they will make it.

For whatever it's worth, if their eyes are closed when you first get them, if you want him to stick around and be a pet mouse, all you need to do is be hands on and give him attention. My first mousie, Nate, was just adorable and drove his little hamster ball around my house like a race car! Once their eyes open they will never tame down - I guess they know there is NO WAY you are their mom because they saw her!

[TomahawkFlyers]

Yes, I held him (he did not struggle) to warm him, and now that he has been on the rice sock for awhile I figure he is warm enough to offer water and formula. I hadn't thought of making him a pet - didn't make it that far. It just killed me to see this little dot of a creature swaying unevenly and eating sawdust. I'll not get attached until I can see that he has a chance of making it and we'll see from there.

Thanks for the fast response. Had it been a flyer, I'd have known just what to do. I appreciate the confidence booster.

[CritterMom]

Sigh. They are so tiny. I always feel like I am trying to nurse them while wearing Micky Mouse sized gloves...

If the tip of the 1ml is too big and you don't have any teeny little nipples for it, you can anchor either a CLEAN foam applicator from some eyeshadow or the brush end of a clean watercolor brush in their mouth and use the syringe to drip formula onto it while they suck it out of the applicator/brush.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Well, now. The little guy has gone from lethargic and teetering to somewhat more lively and teetering. He crawled from the towel in which I was holding him against my chest into my beard, and then hopped down onto the table. I put my hand in front of him, palm up and on the table, and he sat up, steadying himself with his front feet on the heel of my hand. Then with a little help he climbed aboard - awkwardly, but successfully. His eyes are now open - either the timing is magical or he had them closed to the misery of starvation and in preparation for passing. All this is after receiving (and hungrily downing while quietly squeaking a lot) about .3ml of Esbilac. He let me know when he was finished.

He is now in the same plastic container, a soft absorbent mat on the bottom, with a fresh warm bean (not rice - sorry about the misinformation) sock, under the container, burrowed into bedding. If mice snore, he is snoring. Who knows? Perhaps he'll make it. We'll offer formula every 2-3 hours. Hope we don't annoy him by waking him up.

[Mel1959]

He sure is cute.…..he landed in the best of hands.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Eyes wide open, .5ml Esbilac at 8:30 and .5ml at 11:30. Still chomping the heck out of that block. Apple is gone. He lets me hold him in a towel for Esbilac, lets me wipe his face when done, and leans into having his bottom jaw rubbed. Much more animated, not coordinated. At all.

So far, so good. If he passes (and that doesn't seem quite so likely at this moment) he will be warm, fed, hydrated, comfortable, and I hope feeling at least a little bit safe and at ease. If he does pull through, he'll join the menagerie and live a grand life. No names until he's out of the woods.

Next feeding is at 3 a.m. Time for bed.

Jamie

[island rehabber]

Awesome rescue, Jamie. I have raised a couple of litters of mice on Esbilac and they did fine. They also loved cinnamon raisin toast! One litter was so young I could hardly see their mouths so my Paul bought me these magnifying glasses where you slide different magnifying lenses into the frame as needed. What a lifesaver!

[Charley Chuckles]

I love mices to pieces 😁
Have you looked to see if anymore are down in basement 🙄
What a QT 😍

[TomahawkFlyers]

I think he is headed out of the woods. Holy Cow! Today at Noon was the last feeding of Esbilac where I could control the little wiggle worm. I can squirt it down in front of him and he will lap it up once he gets stable. What he really likes are blocks and apples. He'll munch on those vigorously until he wears himself out and falls asleep with his chin on what's left of the chow. It is interesting that at his age he is so vocal and his vocalizations have such volume. More interesting is the fact that he seams to be doing all this squeaking and chirping at the same time he is eating and drinking formula. How does he do that?!

As I type this, Ollie and Jet are each in their respective wheel. If we could figure out how to hook those wheels up to a generator, we could sell electricity to the city of Tomahawk. Geez! The wheels are, indeed, silent. The feet hitting the plastic is quite a symphony of rhythm. Mahler would have been fascinated, and no doubt these guys would have shown up as an idea in his music.

Bedtime,

Jamie

[Charley Chuckles]

Little mousey eating like a champ 🏆
So adorable 🥰

Need video of the kids on wheels 😁

[Icemouse]

Hiya Jamie oh what a cute wee mouse!!!! I used to bring rescue mice home as I was a child. My granddad always helped me getting them through.
We used to feed kitten milk. There is good quality kitten formula available from Royal Canine... Fox Valley has the same. Don't change the kitten milk you are feeding!!! Stay with what you started.
It's really important that you check your new wee friend for ectoparasites. We used to use a nit comb or a soft toothbrush to brush the nits off. Those parasites really stress that wee body. Especially when he was without food and water. I learned that it's really important that they don't dehydrate but keep warm.
To be honest I used to carry my wee findlings in a small pouch on me. This way they stayed warm and cosy. I just wrapped them in a soft cotton cloth. I even had them in the top pocket of my my dungarees... I was always more a tomboy I'm afraid...
If yours can eat solid food already try to give him dried mealworms with the milk and rodent blocks... but only the soft middle bit of the mealworms for starters. You can also feed him dead insects like flies or crickets as well once he can eat a whole dried mealworm as is... we always started with mealworms. They're softer to chew....
The main thing is to keep him warm and hydrated. If our new rescues were covered with parasites we used to brush diatomaceous earth with a wee toothbrush on their fur. It will solve the problem.
I know I'm new here and I probably should not give advise but I thought I can give a little back of the help I got from you all. I'm not an expert but I used to bring plenty of baby mice home. Eventhough they're tiny they sure have a strong will to pull through.
Oh the mice I brought home were regular house mice as well as field mice... Bestestest of luck Jamie!

[TomahawkFlyers]

Hey Icemouse!

Thanks for all the information. The little guy is on reconstituted Esbilac puppy powder, a 1ml syringe, and Henry's smallest nipple. In addition, he is really going for block - Pam's version and 10xMamma's version. In addition, he has had a smidge of avocado and gets apple with each meal. He is doing much better. He must be not more than two weeks or so - he has a hard time sitting upright and he is quite uncoordinated. We're hoping he grows out of that as he gains weight, stays hydrated, and gets some time on this Earth under his little belt.

He has grown somewhat unsure of me, and now that he has gained some life, he runs away from my hand when I (gently and slowly) go to feed him. He'll climb halfway aboard after my hand is next to him palm up, and it takes several tries to get him all the way. I think I may have been correct in thinking he had his eyes closed because of his condition and not because of his age. He may have seen his mom, which would explain his wariness of me. If this is true, he'll not be a pet - he'll want his wild life. As short as it will be, we will give him that when the weather turns. This is one of the hard parts of caring for critters. It IS about them, and not about us. We have a pretty good idea of what's in store for them - especially those at the bottom of the food chain. He will, however, have his wild and free life. It is his due.

Against all common sense and our better judgment, we have named him. Mys.

So glad that your journey with Hamy has smoothed out some.

Jamie

[Icemouse]

Hey Icemouse!

Thanks for all the information. The little guy is on reconstituted Esbilac puppy powder, a 1ml syringe, and Henry's smallest nipple. In addition, he is really going for block - Pam's version and 10xMamma's version. In addition, he has had a smidge of avocado and gets apple with each meal. He is doing much better. He must be not more than two weeks or so - he has a hard time sitting upright and he is quite uncoordinated. We're hoping he grows out of that as he gains weight, stays hydrated, and gets some time on this Earth under his little belt.

He has grown somewhat unsure of me, and now that he has gained some life, he runs away from my hand when I (gently and slowly) go to feed him. He'll climb halfway aboard after my hand is next to him palm up, and it takes several tries to get him all the way. I think I may have been correct in thinking he had his eyes closed because of his condition and not because of his age. He may have seen his mom, which would explain his wariness of me. If this is true, he'll not be a pet - he'll want his wild life. As short as it will be, we will give him that when the weather turns. This is one of the hard parts of caring for critters. It IS about them, and not about us. We have a pretty good idea of what's in store for them - especially those at the bottom of the food chain. He will, however, have his wild and free life. It is his due.

Against all common sense and our better judgment, we have named him. Mys.

So glad that your journey with Hamy has smoothed out some.

Jamie

Hiya Jamie
I hope Mys is able to walk properly and sit up by now. But if not have you checked the ears of Mys? Ear infections can cause the loss of balance... it can be from a kidney infection as well. Parasites are really bad for mice. They can have mites which can really mess up their health.... like E. Cuniculi.... that can be treated with Panacur. Can you get a blood test done? Stress is really bad for mice as well.
I only had once a mouse which was tilting the head. Within in 2 days of tilting the head it seemed like he had lost his balance. He had a really bad ear infection. We got antibiotics for him. Unfortunately I can't remember what it was called. Yeah and then there is the most dreaded neurology problem.
Hopefully it's something it goes away on it's own or can be cured with medication.
Too bad we are so far away from each other. It would be so much easier if we could just sit in the car and visit.
Hamy is still lovely. Every day he comes up with new stunts. He's even nicer to my hubby. Yesterday hubby could walk everywhere without Hamy going for his feet. Hamy even jumped on him to get stroked. Hamy even licked the skin between the glove and the beginning of the hoody sleeve. My hubby was well chuffed... so was Hamy...
I can really feel for you Jamie. I don't know what to wish for Hamy either. Here with us he will never be able to hang out with his own kind. Just 2 humans... he'll never feel the wind... but outdoors he'll not be safe like here.... we can only let our critters decide and then help our wee pals to get the life they want and deserve. We will always wonder how they're doing. We are people who get emotionally involved. We have to otherwise we can't help our wee pals. For us it's an all in. We know that we will shed a few tears once we have to let them go.... but we help anyway.... like you said before it's not about us... but it still hurts. Thinking of you and wee Mys. I keep my fingers crossed that everything works out well for the 2 of you!
Icemouse

[TomahawkFlyers]

Mys improves daily. His fur has lost some of its brittleness and he has filled out some. This morning he was actually scurrying with purpose, first time for this. This morning, I tried a different approach for formula feeding. Hand down in his house, palm up. Fingers tight together. Squirt drops of formula between one finger and the next, making a little river between the fingers and then a tiny lake where the two fingers meet the palm. Mys walked onto my hand, started at the end of the river closest to the fingertips, and drank up the river to the lake. When he got to the lake, I think he was nursing. We did this 4 times, and went through 2@ 1ml syringes full of formula. Then Mys turned in a circle a few times and went to sleep where he had dried the lake. It was a different experience yet again!

Regarding infections - I do not know what to look for. He is so small, and I wouldn't know what an infection in a mouse's ear would look like, even if I could see it. Any thoughts on administering medication without being certain the infection is there? Regarding ectoparasites, I did brush him and found nothing that looked like mites or lice. Nothing moving at all. No salt or pepper colored specks ... Same question for parasite meds - Would it be appropriate to medicate for parasites without knowing whether or not they're there?

[TomahawkFlyers]

Some pictures and a short video. On the video, thoughts on the skin showing through the fur? Just not completely furred out? Other?

https://youtu.be/oEu3RG9vboU

[CritterMom]

Are you wiping him down well each time he eats? He gets the formula all over him and that will cause "formula scald) if left to dry - bacteria sets up and the fur falls out.

I would say that he is ready for transition to solid food. Since he likes the taste of the formula, mix a little of that with a little bit of yogurt, preferably full fat and a yummy flavor. Yobaby by Stoneyfield makes good ones. Soon you can phase the formula out and just offer him a little blob of yogurt in a bottle cap or something along with his blocks.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Yes indeed. He is much more docile for about 5 minutes after completing his meal. Sometimes he falls asleep right there. I can get him in my palm between my thumb and forefinger and give him a good wipe down. After that, he gets a chin rub as a much liked reward for putting up with getting washed, and then it is off to the races as if he's wild and has never seen or smelled me before.

We had a whopper here last night - we're the last to get plowed out. I'll head to town for some YoBaby tomorrow.

Jamie

[TubeDriver]

His skin looks a bit reddish, irritated. Might just be the photos but his hair looks spiky in those photos. In general, I think it's fine to treat for parasites on a newly admitted critter BUT he is so small (~15g-20g'ish?) I would be VERY, VERY careful with dosing. Maybe try a dilution with Revolution, shot me a PM if you need help with dosing. Consider a little additional hydration between the next couple feedings to see if that helps? Also, be prepared for him to run off at rocket speed in a few weeks ounce he gets stronger and bigger. Close the door to the room you are handling him in, towel to block space under door, make sure there is not easy access to vents, etc.

Some pictures and a short video. On the video, thoughts on the skin showing through the fur? Just not completely furred out? Other?

https://youtu.be/oEu3RG9vboU

[TomahawkFlyers]

Thanks! I'll get you a weight in the morning.

Jamie