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My neighbors found a tiny rodent in their garage and my kids are looking after it. They looked up on the internet that the best would be a surrogate mother (don't know of any); wildlife rehabilitators can be good but often feed rodents to owls and cats (I thought this would be a noble thing to do, but my kids were unpersuaded).

Anyway, I wondered if it were actually just a small adult rodent of some sort rather than a tiny baby (as it appears). In the case of the former, it would be better to release it immediately.

The location is Orange County, California. Attached is a photo:

3cm or 1.2in body length brown rodent

Zaralynda
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Dr Xorile
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1 Answers1

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This is indeed a baby mouse (perhaps wood mouse/deer mouse), if you do not want to bring it to a wildlife rehab you can try to care for it yourself. Wikihow has an excellent guide to feeding and caring. This mouse looks to be 1.5 weeks old.

Some important points:

Mice ages 0-1 week need feedings 6-8 times a day; mice 1-2 weeks need feedings 5-6 times a day; mice 2-3 weeks need feedings 4 times a day; and mice 4 weeks old only need feedings 3 times a day.[9] Space each feeding a couple of hours apart. You will also have to feed the mice during the night.

Kitten Milk Replacer or Esbilac, that can be used to feed baby mice. Human formulas Enfamil (the kind without iron) and Soyalac can also be used. Whole, raw goats milk will nourish the babies as well.

Use a small syringe, small nursing bottle, or absorbent string for feeding.

Stimulate the babies after feeding so they use the bathroom. Use a cotton ball or your finger, and gently brush over their private areas.

Keep the cage between 75°F (24°C) and 90°F (32°C).

It has juvenile features for a mouse such as delicate thin limbs, thin tail and small ears pressed against it's head.

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Rebecca RVT
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