Urgent advice pleeease!!

Hi guys! I'm in need of some quick advice!! A friend of mine recently bought a mouse...... she just emailed me telling me that one of the cats has killed it, but when she went back to the cage, the mouse had give birth to 25 mice before it was killed!! (Is this a likely number of babies or is she exagerating?) anyway, she doesn't know how to feed them.... so I was wondering, as you can get substitute "mummy milk" for cats, can you get it for mice?? I have a teeny tiny syringe she can use, but other than water she doesn't have anything else to give them..... any suggestions anyone??

I guess this really ought to be in the SOS or health forum, but its not really cat related and the lounge gets alot more traffic.....

Hmmmmmmm. Wow. That IS a problem!!! I have had many pet mice in the past, although I don't have any right now. I have never had a mouse give birth to 25 babies!!! That seems a little much, but I'm not saying it isn't possible, I'm by no means an expert. Usually mine only gave birth to 5 or 6 at a time.

If the babies are only a few days old, it is going to be pretty much impossible to keep them alive. There mouths would be so small that even a tiny syringe would be hard to get in them, and even a drop of liquid could drown them if it didn't go down right.

if they are a bit older, then she might have more luck...but they would need to be fed often during the day, and kept very warm, I guess my best advice would be to try the kitten replacement milk.

She might want to call her local pet store or vet and see if they have any other advice, since I'm no expert.

I don't envy her. I have a feeling the babies won't make it since they are so young, and there are so many of them.

Keep me posted, I will be wondering!!!!!

I found two wild baby mice about a year ago and I nursed them with the kitty supplement milk. I had one die on me but the other made it just fine. I had to feed them every two hours. Eventuallly he started eating solid food.

Thanks Debby!! I thought 25 seemed like a hec of a lot too!! I've been talking to her and she just said they look about 2 weeks old!?!? (How they can be 2 weeks old and she's only just found them I don't know?!?) but I will tell her about the substitute kitty milk..... do you think perhaps sitting thier cage on a heat pad would help too??

Nicki, thanks so much for your reply!! I really hope she will take my advice!! (Somehow though, I cannot see her feeding them every two hours... but I can try to help as much as poss )

Thanks again

Hi Bod-

Sorry to hear about your friend's momma mouse. 25 is a bit extreme, but since mice can have 17 it could be she was just extra fertile when she was taken. It would be best if your friend could find someone who has a mom who has recently had a litter, but with 25 more mouths to feed, some of the babies will surely starve. If she is fortunate enough to find such a surrogate mom, she needs to take her babies and some of the other mouse's soiled bedding and rub the little mice all over with the soiled bedding before putting them in with the new mother.

If she can't find such a mom, then baby mice can be fed a mixutre of kitten replacement formula and water. If the babies are completly furred over and their eyes are open then there is hope. If they are still so small that their eyes are not open and they are pink, there isn't much hope to hand rearing them. If there were one or two maybe, but not 25. If their eyes are closed, they will be needing formula about every hour- and that would probably wear your friend out unless she has a lot of help. If their eyes are open, they should be able to nibble on solid food. Baby mice need supplemental formula for 2-3 weeks and will almost constantly be suckling mom all the time during that time frame. I have never known anyone to be able to hand raise orphaned baby mice whose eyes are still shut. Rats yes, mice no. Also besides feeding, the bums and tummies have to be stimulated with a warm rag (just like you do with baby kittens) I wish I had better news for your friend.

Thanks for the advice Hissy, I haven't seen the babies yet and she hasn't said whether their eyes are open or not..... I hope so....I will check back with her.
Thanks also for reminding me about stimulating the little guy's bottoms!!!! I had totally forgotton!!
I'll let you know if she gives me any more info, but I seriously doubt she'll try to find a surrogate Mummy for them (this is the same girl who complained about having to pay £5.00 to put her cat in the rescue centre ) but maybe if I could find one....?? Hmmm I'll have to see what I can do!! thanks!