Baby Field mouse

[mudmaiden]

Hey Guys...can anyone help me?
We have been finding field mice in our basement all winter and are unable to figure out where they are coming in. We have been catching then with a HAVEAHEART trap and putting them back out. this morning I found a tiny little one and because we are expecting severe weather here don't have the heart to put it outside. It is able to drink water on its own and we caught it after we put peanut butter down and it was eating that. But it is very tiny. Anybody have any suggestions what to feed the little guy until I can release him? I have a feelig there are more down there just a matter of catching them. Thanks for any help you can give:grin3

[Nancy in New York]

Hey Guys...can anyone help me?
We have been finding field mice in our basement all winter and are unable to figure out where they are coming in. We have been catching then with a HAVEAHEART trap and putting them back out. this morning I found a tiny little one and because we are expecting severe weather here don't have the heart to put it outside. It is able to drink water on its own and we caught it after we put peanut butter down and it was eating that. But it is very tiny. Anybody have any suggestions what to feed the little guy until I can release him? I have a feelig there are more down there just a matter of catching them. Thanks for any help you can give:grin3

Let me direct CritterMom to your post.
She is the field mouse expert! :grin2
Nice seeing you again honey! :Love_Icon:grouphug:Love_Icon

[mudmaiden]

Hiya Nancy!! TY..I will be back in a few and check. Any help is appreciated!!
:thankyou

[CritterMom]

If it is drinking on it's own and the eyes are open that is great. If you have any HHBs or squirrel blocks, chop into little pieces and offer those, a cheerio or two, a pinch of old fashioned rolled oats (not instant oatmeal), etc. They are generalists. I use the HHBs as a staple food for my pet deer mouse and he is 4 years old. You can offer a little dab of yogurt in a bottle cap - he may or may not take it.

[DarkLies212]

Pics! <3 Mousies are soo cute!

[mudmaiden]

TY Crittermom..I am hoping the weather here will break in a week or so and I will be able to put him outside (they just find their way back in anyway lol). i wasn't sure if I should offer any formula, but I just checked on him and while I was waiting for an answer I put a few different seeds in a bowl for him and I see he has already taken them into his fleece to stash them:grin2. I will post some pics tomorrow and in the meantime I will cut up some block for him. I just got some out of storage getting ready for the inevitable squirrel baby season coming up.:crazy. Anyway TY again for your help!!!!:grouphug

[Fireweed]

Awww. Yes, we need pics!
Thank you for caring for the mice! Makes me so happy! :Love_Icon :bowdown

He's already stashing and making himself at home? :grin

[mudmaiden]

Awww. Yes, we need pics!
Thank you for caring for the mice! Makes me so happy! :Love_Icon :bowdown

He's already stashing and making himself at home? :grin

Haven't posted a pic in awhile ...Is there a way to upload from your phone?

[mudmaiden]

Or if someone can send me their email I can email the pics to you from my phone...oh and I now have 2 little cuties!!

[Nancy in New York]

Or if someone can send me their email I can email the pics to you from my phone...oh and I now have 2 little cuties!!


Send them to me and I'll post for you honey!
TWO cuties!!!!!!!!! :jump
***

[mudmaiden]

TY Nancy. i sent them. i put a peanut in the one pic to show how small they are. i am trying not to frighten them too much. I am glad we found another so the little one wasn't alone. I have been watching for more down there. I am sure there are probably more. .Thanks so much for posting for me...hugs!!!!!:grouphug

[Nancy in New York]

Let me look again, so far nothing has come through.
BRB
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! I really hate my email. Can you try sending again, there is nothing new in the inbox. :(

[mudmaiden]

Ok...i sent them from a different email account...lets try that lol!!

[Nancy in New York]

Ok...i sent them from a different email account...lets try that lol!!


OMG they are so tiny and CUTE!!!!!!!!! :Love_Icon:Love_Icon



http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/photos/i-Xgn49ZK/0/L/i-Xgn49ZK-L.jpg (http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Other/TSB-resizing/28182094_d4nbWs#!i=3104599894&k=Xgn49ZK&lb=1&s=A)http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/photos/i-FdhV57r/0/L/i-FdhV57r-L.jpg (http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Other/TSB-resizing/28182094_d4nbWs#!i=3104599782&k=FdhV57r&lb=1&s=A)

http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/photos/i-vvT75fM/0/L/i-vvT75fM-L.jpg (http://nmognoni.smugmug.com/Other/TSB-resizing/28182094_d4nbWs#!i=3104599760&k=vvT75fM&lb=1&s=A)

[Duckman]

OMG! Serious Klunkage!!! :Love_Icon:Love_Icon

[mudmaiden]

They are adorable. I guess i will keep them awhile, we got some snow , maybe 4" or 5" so when that melts I will put them out. They seem to be pretty self sufficient. We set the trap again to see if there are more..I just hope we get them all. Thanks Nancy for posting the pics for me:grouphug

[Nancy in New York]

They are adorable. I guess i will keep them awhile, we got some snow , maybe 4" or 5" so when that melts I will put them out. They seem to be pretty self sufficient. We set the trap again to see if there are more..I just hope we get them all. Thanks Nancy for posting the pics for me:grouphug

Anytime you want anything posted, just email it to me. :thumbsup
My friend is so smitten with these little mice she holds onto them until spring, and then
releases about 10 feet from her house HOPING they come back inside, I kid you not! :grin2

[mudmaiden]

I was absolutely scared to death of them until I saw the babies..lol..I kid you not. The first one I ever saw in the house was a couple years ago. 5 oclock in the morning I heard my cat playing with one of his bell balls in the hallway.I knew i had put the ball on a cabinet at the end of my hallway so the cat wouldn't wake us up with the ball again..lol. When I got up sure enough the cat had his ball and as I turned to see how he got it there sitting on the top of the cabinet was a tiny little mouse looking at me. The mouse had knocked the ball down to the cat!! I flipped out lol. Later that day we saw the mouse up on top of curtains in my spare room. I didn't sleep well that nite..lol..I was sure he was gonna jump on me in my sleep. We eventually caught him and that was 2 years ago. Now we found babies in the basement. My whole perspective has changed seeing the babies. iIguess all things happen for a reason:grin3

[pappy1264]

They are adorable! Old fashioned oats, a little birdseed (parakeet is good), some hhb's chopped into tiny pieces, cheerios, blueberries cut into little pieces, and as stated, a bottle cap of yogurt. King Louis is almost 4 yo and I can't imagine him not being here! They make great little pets! Love mice!:Love_Icon Oh, and get them a little solid wheel, too!

[DarkLies212]

Ahhh, they're sooo precious!! :Love_Icon Hope you can rescue more :Love_Icon

[Rhapsody]

I feed this to my little Scooter and he just loves IT!! --I give him HT blocks as well.
http://www.petco.com/product/2276/Kaytee-Fiesta-Food-for-Mice-and-Rats.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGoogleAdExtProd-_-Small%20Animal-_-Small%20Animal%20Food%20-%20Low%20Price-_-627593&gclid=CNqz1OOQ-LwCFSXl7AodHiEAWA

[Kathleen]

You might want to look at the shape of its snout. If it looks rounded, like a little bear head, it is probably still nursing and you need to decide whether to put it back in the basement. If it has a pointy nose, it is probably eating solids. I have had very good luck with baked beans and other soft foods. Milk soaked bread, cereal, and cat food are big hits too. If its tail is as long as its body and if male, it has all its parts, you can easily feed it anything you eat. If you release any more, you need to move them over a mile away from the house or they will return. Good luck.

[Kathleen]

I just saw the picture. Very cute. They are weaned but still fledglings. Three are probably from eight to fifteen of them. Good luck.

[mudmaiden]

OMG!! 8-15?:eek We didn't get anymore last nite. My husband thinks he may have put mommy outside the other day. He said the one he released was bigger then most of the others. Now I feel terrible:shakehead I will just have to listen and watch...they must be finding stuff to eat down there altho we can't figure out what lol. Thanks for the info..I will try some different things today for them.

[Rhapsody]

My little Scooter was eating every thing and any thing (I gave him - that was healthy) by a month old..... he no longer wanted the Fox Valley formula and went straight over to rodent block and the mouse food I gave you the link too. Rats and field mice can take care of their selves by 8 weeks old. Dont forget the water --they need that every day or can die.

[Fireweed]

EEE! They are adorable! :Love_Icon
I'm thinking if there are more they are probably eating outside and getting out through the tiniest of holes they used to get *in*. :grin2 Well, at least I'm hoping that's the case. Please have patience - it may take weeks to catch them all. :grouphug

If you do put them outside eventually (I know, you're already wondering how much it's going to cost to order mini fleece cubes and sleepy sacks for 15 :poke :grin), please consider releasing them in an overturned box of some sort. Leave some polyfill in the box. Put some food in there and some water nearby in a small, very shallow dish. This will give them a place to hide out until they adapt to their new surroundings and feel comfortable and confident enough to make their own home. It's especially important if these itty bitties are still young and have never lived outside.

Good luck!

[mudmaiden]

Will do!! Thanks so much for everyones help. Love this board for all the great info!!:grouphug

[Kathleen]

If you plan on keeping these lucky mice for more than a day, they will need a water source. If you keep them longer, I suggest an aquarium with a sturdy lid to house them. They will find a way out of a wire cage. They will need a gnawing post, a hidey hole with available stuffing, and will most likely appreciate a wheel. Do not use a wire one, their legs break when they get crazy. Mice are smelly, and need very frequent litter changes. You will not be able to tame them; not enough brain cells in their little heads, but many people enjoy them the way you would a bowl of goldfish. If you look hard enough you can even find vets willing to take your money to neuter them. If you end up with a larger sample, I can let you know how to 'sex' them at this age. Remember to release them more than a mile away or they will very likely find their way home.

[mudmaiden]

I have a very low small dish with about an inch or less of water in it for them. they are in a 20 gal aquarium with a lid. The first one I caught snuck right back out thru the bars of a very small cage I have lol. I will find something for them to go into..they seem happy burrowing in the pieces of fleece i put in there for them. I have no heat source on them as I assume they are old enough to not need it. Any other suggestions would be a help ...I have cedar chips on the bottom of the aquarium also.

[Nancy in New York]

I have a very low small dish with about an inch or less of water in it for them. they are in a 20 gal aquarium with a lid. The first one I caught snuck right back out thru the bars of a very small cage I have lol. I will find something for them to go into..they seem happy burrowing in the pieces of fleece i put in there for them. I have no heat source on them as I assume they are old enough to not need it. Any other suggestions would be a help ...I have cedar chips on the bottom of the aquarium also.

As you know, I KNOW nothing about mice, other than they are CUTE, but with squirrels, I do know that the cedar chips are not recommended. :dono

[mudmaiden]

They may not be cedar..let me check..now that you said that I am not sure...they have been down in my basement wrapped in plastic for quite some time now.

[mudmaiden]

They are unscented aspen chips..so if anyone reading this feels I shouldn't be using them just please let me know:grin2

[CritterMom]

Aspen is okay. I like the carefresh bedding better - it is wonderful for odor and wetness control - softer, too.

And if you get one of these little guys with eyes closed they most certainly will tame down - my little Nate (the TermiNATEr) has been with me for four years and loves his mama! And cage. And flying saucer. And best, his hamster ball that allows him to be King of the House. He is a delight!

[mudmaiden]

How cute!! These 2 guys don't even want me to touch them. I have tried gently petting but they just run and hide. I will be releasing them so I guess its for the best. I also have a cat(declawed) who is wonderful with the baby squirrels, he could really care less about them...but a cute little dartin mouse might be a different story:rotfl. I am just happy to have had this experience. Has given me a completely different perspective on the little cuties:grin2

[Rhapsody]

They are unscented aspen chips..so if anyone reading this feels I shouldn't be using them just please let me know:grin2
Aspen will work just fine...... is you have it left over --USE IT!!