newborn baby mouse........should I keep it? * Update 1st post *

[npmommie]

hubby is outside tearing down a wooden shed that had some damage, he found a newborn baby mouse. still pink, no fur, eyes not even open.
its breathing and lifts its head up.......I put it in a box with stuff to keep it warm, I gave it some milk.
should I keep it? I don't want a mouse pet.........LOL
we couldn't find the mom or any other newborns, don't know where the litter is.

I don't know what to do with it, I couldn't just leave it there to die, but I don't want a mouse either.........
do newborn mice carry any diseases?

sometimes my animal lover genes go a little far.
what would you do?

I should add, where we live is rural, so its probably a little field mouse.

UPDATE
ok, so after I posted, I fed the mouse again, we went off to the movies, saw shrek and loved it btw..........anyway, when we got home baby mouse was still doing ok, I fed him again, then decided to call my vet just to see if there was somewhere close by to bring the mouse.
so it turns out one of the vet techs rehabs wildlife and has taken in abandoned baby mice like this one..........so she came on the phone and gave me tons of advice on how to care for it, then she said she would gladly take it if I wanted her to..........
so I thought about it,then called her back, and we took baby mouse up to my vets office and she took him.
She said she will let me know how he does........LOL

The last thing I needed was a pet in this house that would be too enticing for my cats...........LOL

 

[AlleyKat]

hubby is outside tearing down a wooden shed that had some damage, he found a newborn baby mouse. still pink, no fur, eyes not even open.
its breathing and lifts its head up.......I put it in a box with stuff to keep it warm, I gave it some milk.
should I keep it? I don't want a mouse pet.........LOL
we couldn't find the mom or any other newborns, don't know where the litter is.

I don't know what to do with it, I couldn't just leave it there to die, but I don't want a mouse either.........
do newborn mice carry any diseases?

sometimes my animal lover genes go a little far.
what would you do?

I should add, where we live is rural, so its probably a little field mouse.

I'd probably do the same thing you've done, then google all sorts of information on how to care for the poor little thing.

 

[dawson5]

are you feeding it with an eyedropper? I think my mom would also soak bread in milk. I can't remember if she did that for birds or mice. If he's as young as he sounds, it might take more than what you can do.

My mother used to rescue all kinds of animals when I was a kid. It's kind of rubbed off on me too. We rescued a black bird on Saturday, he had been hit by a car. I know enough to keep them calm. I called the Humane Society and dropped him off a little while later.

I would call them and see what they can do. Ask questions before or if you decide to take him in. I found out after taking the bird in (he was dazed for a bit and his leg appeared to be hurt, there was some blood) that they would more than likely euthanize him. If I would have known this, I think I would have called out at one of the state parks or DNR to see if there was someone willing to nurse him back to health. I understand not using vital resources for trying to determine what is wrong with an animal, but she sounded so sure that that was going to happen when I took him in.

 

[Green Tea]

I'm a softie and have taken lost birds to shelters before, but......

I'm one that would set a mousetrap in my house if I had a mouse. Sometimes it is a humane one, sometimes not. I *think* I would put baby mouse right where I found him and not look. Then when he is gone the next day or so, I would *KNOW* his mom came back to claim him.

 

[MerMom60_94]

NPMommie, as I recall you are in eastern Massachusetts, are you not? How about if you bring this baby mouse to the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth? http://www.newildlife.com/ The other place I thought of, though it isn't a sure bet, is the Norfolk County Agricultural High School http://www.norfolkaggie.org/. They do have small animals at the school, but school is also letting out for the summer in two weeks. Not sure if they could use another mouse to study or not. The upper classmen choose specialized areas, though, and one specialty is small animal sciences. God bless you for caring enough to care for this little critter.

 

[dawson5]

I don't think mom would come back for him if they have touched him. Most wild animals won't touch a young one if it's been handled by humans. At least that is what I've been told.

 

[anniemae]

I think i would call animal control. Maybe they can tell you where a refuge center is, or maybe they will transport it to a wildlife center?

 

[griffinstorme]

Poor dear. At least take care of it until you can find it a good home. I myself just got a cat so I'm sure he'd like to chase him. LOL

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would have tossed into the field/woods without a second thought. Mice are pests and a pain to deal with.

 

[startrekkie]

Aww that's cruel if it's a baby mouse don't toss it

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I would personally call your local wildlife animal place. Should be places listed in your yellow pages close to home. If you take care of it on your own, then what. How is it going to know how to survive on its own. I would definitely try to find someone with expertise on such things.

 

[PatsMom]

Aww that's cruel if it's a baby mouse don't toss it

The problem with baby mice is that they grow up to be adult mice. We routinely poison/trap them as varmints. If we had found a baby, I'm with the PP who said toss it. We would have thrown it further into the woods. Something bigger than a baby mouse would have dinner tonight.

 

[MIGrandma]

The problem with baby mice is that they grow up to be adult mice. We routinely poison/trap them as varmints. If we had found a baby, I'm with the PP who said toss it. We would have thrown it further into the woods. Something bigger than a baby mouse would have dinner tonight.

Exactly what we would do as well.

 

[walden]

I'd definitely call your local wildlife center and/or your local vet's office for advice. They will probably tell you that you should have left it alone, but that is hard for soft-hearted animal lovers to do!

If you do decide to keep it, prepare for round the clock hourly feedings and know that babies that small are not likely to survive. Sorry.
This article may be helpful: http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm

 

[palmtreelover08]

I truely don't understand how some people can feel the way they do about animals..but that is not the topic and I just do not care to debate that particular topic.

like some PP's said, contact a local wildlife shelter. If they cannot help you (ask about their "putting them to sleep policy first!"), then I would start reading up on the internet how to care for baby hamsters.. same thing (sort-of). This site looks promising: http://www.ehow.com/how_2302038_care-newborn-hamsters.html. Also, wild animals revert back to wild behavior quickly. This mouse will be able to forage and fend for itself as long as you give it time to adjust to the climate before leaving it outdoors (i.e.. don't decide to let it go in the Middle of January if you live in Maine.)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I truely don't understand how some people can feel the way they do about animals..but that is not the topic and I just do not care to debate that particular topic.

like some PP's said, contact a local wildlife shelter. If they cannot help you (ask about their "putting them to sleep policy first!"), then I would start reading up on the internet how to care for baby hamsters.. same thing (sort-of). This site looks promising: http://www.ehow.com/how_2302038_care-newborn-hamsters.html. Also, wild animals revert back to wild behavior quickly. This mouse will be able to forage and fend for itself as long as you give it time to adjust to the climate before leaving it outdoors (i.e.. don't decide to let it go in the Middle of January if you live in Maine.)

I guess you don't have to deal with mice. They are pests that damage your home and car to the nth degree.

We kill them all the time at my parents cabin and in our garage.

I have no feelings for the creatures. They are disgusting. We just had to throw out a kitchen drawer at the cabin because they totally devastated it with excrement. I am talking eating thru the wood excrement, not just mouse turds.

Do I think they are cute? Sure...as long as they stay outside.

 

[shirleyb]

I would have tossed into the field/woods without a second thought. Mice are pests and a pain to deal with.

I agree. I went to a seminar on pest control once for my job. Wow. Very eye opening.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I gotta say - toss it! They are gross and dirty. Maybe cute right now but problematic later!!!

 

[tasha99]

If it were me, I would either give it to a friend who has a snake or take it to the raptor rehab center I used to volunteer at as food for an owl. If you don't want a pet mouse (and even if you did, I'm not sure a wild one that may have diseases is a good idea), there is no future for this mouse. Sad, but at least if you feed it to another animal, you aren't wasting a life.

 

[EllenFrasier]

http://mouseranch.com/main.html

Here is a website that might be helpful, I'm sure you can find others on Google too. We found one a couple years ago with fur, eyes shut, and he ended up not living after a couple weeks. I had a heating pad under the box he was in and everything and he still died. But I did not have the money to buy the special formula he needed. They cannot drink cows milk, has to be a special formula meant for puppies.

We had one that we found that was a little older. We put him in a hamster cage and fed him and stuff until he was bigger and then we let him go in our woods - should have tagged him somehow, I bet he'll move back in in the winter, lol!