Baby mice issues

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JMac1

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So about a week and a half ago we found some baby mice while cleaning out our shed and believe the mother is dead or gone.

As of yesterday 1 was dead in the morning when i woke up, then lost another 5 hours later. the 3rd died on me about half hour ago, they all have died seemingly with breathing issues, they breath in big amounts at a time, with their mouths open.

All 3 seemed to have waited for me to hold them before they died, im sitting here with the last 1 in my hand right now and hes doing some small twitches (some sites say this cna be them being cold, some say its a nerv issue. (i feed them every 2-3 hours as told to. Clean them up. make them goto bathroom, clean their cage 2 times a day, ut as i dont have a vet where i am is there something i can do? or is their something im doing wrong? i feed them baby puppy milk as told to by a few sites and by the pet store clerk

 
I'm sorry to say, they are not pet mice they are vermin.

I would have euthanised them at the earliest opportunity

BTW I am not a vet, just someone doesn't like wild mice and rats... Pet ones are a different matter though!

 
It is always more difficult with wild animals than domesticated, wild animals need more than feeding and warmth they learn from a very early age survival techniques from their parents,they will have bonded with their mother and will know she is not around now and this would have an effect on their growth. Excretions are taken away or eaten by the mother, and failure to do this in natures intention would lead to viral or bacterial infections.

The feed you have given may also be very high in protein and fats that they are ill equipped to digest. Our resident vet will be along, he may be able to provide information that can help, though I doubt that you could save this last mouse from a fate his brothers and sisters have met.

 
I'm sorry to say, they are not pet mice they are vermin.I would have euthanised them at the earliest opportunity

BTW I am not a vet, just someone doesn't like wild mice and rats... Pet ones are a different matter though!
Ill be honest ive had some normal mice (domesticated) and ill be honest with this also... these mice have been much much more loving then domesticated, a mouse is a mouse, whether it be in a house, or the outhouse, if taken care of correctly either can be just as great of a pet as the other. Gonna keep trying to keep this baby going

 
I think we need to consider the fact as to how do we have domestic pets?

surely they all started as wild animals at some point.

the issue that would immediately grab me is that perhaps these animals would have maybe some virus or something that a normal domestic pet would not have,

and perhaps different diet needs.

I dont know,

but, I agree, a mouse is a mouse, not like having a Dingo and pretending its a domestic dog, hardly, is it?

I hope it turns out OK for you.

BTW,

I like the name ERIC if you are having problems naming him/her.......

 
i had names for all 4 already actually,

Bugzy (long ears like bugz bunny)

joey (liked to hop around like a joey)

Howler (he used to feed like a wolf howls o_O head up in the air) sadly he died doing that position 1 last time and opened his eyes for a moment (first time)

Squeek (he likes to make alot of noises) but sadly im losing him now also, its so random, we were having fun and he was playing with my fingers, then minutes later hes having breathing issues and hes starting to freeze up

 
Hello

I have a book that gives regimens for hand rearing almost any animal you can think of. It advises against even attempting hand rearing mice and rats as it invariably leads to failure. I would imagine that puppy milk would be much lower in fat and sugars than mouse milk and starvation could be an issue here.

Sad I know but I think you are wasting your time.

 
Honestly, i wasnt having any issues with those, and as the last is now gone i believe the issues was as i figured, resperatory issues and breathing, maybe even water on the lungs, in the end they all were having issues breathing and their stomaches were caving in, but with the last 1 he died spitting up liquids

 
I did read somewhere that fast metabolism animals ingested more fats and sugars than was available other than their mothers milk. The respiratory problems could indeed be a side effect of the feeding regime given by hand rearing. I do like mice and other rodents though, I once had a semi tamed field mouse, he or she would feed from my hand, very unique given their natural timid disposition.

 
Honestly, i wasnt having any issues with those, and as the last is now gone i believe the issues was as i figured, resperatory issues and breathing, maybe even water on the lungs, in the end they all were having issues breathing and their stomaches were caving in, but with the last 1 he died spitting up liquids
:_|

 
Ive owned many types of pets, but mice always seem to be of the more loyal and loving types, the last 1 i played with for serveral hours without it getting tired or anything. just bugs me that i lost 2, 2 days in a row, their must of been something else wrong to cause it after that long.

 
is that why the mother left maybe?

animals have a survival instinct, no point wasting time caring for something that is going to die anyway.

 
i really cant say, i dont think she abandoned them really, even if it was... 1 was still in the nest when we found them , the others fell out shortly before hand, all 4 were in great shape and very active till yesterday morning, the mom was still around and we have found her, but as we had already had to take care of them, theirs would of been no point putting them back.

 
There within lies another problem, often people will assume that any animal is or has been abandoned only to find that later on they have indeed not been. Mothers in the animal kingdom seldom leave their young, and are excellent mothers.

 
There within lies another problem, often people will assume that any animal is or has been abandoned only to find that later on they have indeed not been. Mothers in the animal kingdom seldom leave their young, and are excellent mothers.
I think you hit the nail on the head there! In the vast majority of cases we are best letting nature take its course. By meddling you have needlessly caused these baby mice to die slowly. Either leave them in their mother's care or knock them over the head.

Maybe a juncture to close this thread? No further good can come from it.

 
Well as 3 were not close to the nest its all very hard to tell

 
no pleasing some people,

4 wild mice died in their care so I suppose they need to blame someone other than themselves, or simply accept that this is how nature works,

its something called 'survival of the fittest' I do believe.

 
no pleasing some people,4 wild mice died in their care so I suppose they need to blame someone other than themselves, or simply accept that this is how nature works,

its something called 'survival of the fittest' I do believe.
No, the mothers carry them quite some distances. She would have been quite capable of gathering them back up.

The OP seems to fail to realise it is his intervention that lead to their slow death whilst being handled by what basically constitutes a predator and being underfed puppy milk.

The options were:

1. leave them alone

2. humanely destroy them

Throwing them in the bin to starve is not an option, but marginally less cruel then what you attempted.

Make no mistake, JMac1, it was all your fault.

 
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