Raising a Baby Mouse 6/10 Dehydration, Bloat

Warning: for inexperienced animal people the failure rate for trying to handraise a baby mouse is around 75%. It is very painful loosing a baby mouse because you get to love them so much. Think carefully about it before you try.

Problem Solving I

Handraising a baby mouse is very difficuilt, especially if you are starting with a young pinky. Lots of things can go wrong. In this video two common problems are discussed: bloat and dehydration.

Dehydration
symptoms: dry flacky skin, shrunken look, segmented looking tail, thin bony paws
causes: not frequent enough feedings, too little water in formula, dry air, weak baby
treatment: feed 50% electrolytes, 50% formula until baby fills out, then increase % formula, 100% formula after a few feedings, feed every two hours until weaning, make sure there is enough water in formula
outcome: will most likely live if follow directions

Bloat
symptoms: belly is large, round and rock hard, baby stops pooping, is lethargic and has a reduced appetite
causes: wrong formula or milk, too little water in formula, not being fed often enough, not being given tummy and rear end massages after each feeding session, rear end not being kept clean and free of poop, not cleaning paint brush and dishes well enough with hot water after each feeding session, keeping the baby too hot or too cold, weak baby
treatment: feed 90% electrolytes, 10% formula until tummy starts to soften, then slowly increase % of formula, give many gentle, long tummy massages to loosen things up and get things moving, feed baby every two hours, keep warm and quiet
outcome: if bloat mild baby mouse will live, if very severe baby will probably die, but small chance of survival if follow instructions

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• mouse
• mice
• baby
• pinky
• fuzzy
• mouseling
• pup
• cute
• care
• caring
• handraising
• raising
• bottle
• feeding
• rodent
• animal
• wildlife
• rehabilitation
• pet
• veterinary
• ill
• sick
• bloat
• dehydration
• matilda
• stuart