How to Keep Pinky Mice Alive

Pinky mice are small baby mice typically fed to snakes and other pets for food. They are called pinky mice because of their furless bodies. The mice often are chopped into pieces and frozen, but they also can be given to the animals live. If your pet is not interested in eating the pinky mouse, or you want to help the mouse grow larger or keep it as a pet, you can use a specific formula to help the pinky mouse grow to adulthood.

Things You'll Need

Heating pad
Old soft fabric
Cardboard box
Cotton balls
Infant rehydrating liquid
Gram scale
Syringe
Powdered dog milk replacement

Instructions

- 1
  Set the heating pad on low. Place the soft fabric over half of the heating pad. Place the pinky mouse on the bedding. Add another layer of bedding over the mouse. Place a cardboard box or other container over the bedding to help contain the heat.
- 2
  Rub a cotton ball on the baby's stomach to cause it to urinate. Pinky mice are unable to urinate on their own. Repeat this process twice a day and after every feeding.
- 3
  Weigh the mouse on the scale. Divide the weight in half to get the number of cc rehydrating liquid to feed the mouse. For a 6 gm mouse, feed it 0.3 cc of liquid every day. Feed the baby this liquid for the first 24 hours. Warm a syringe of the liquid in hot tap water for about five minutes before feeding it to the mouse.
- 4
  Switch to dog formula after the first 24 hours. Mix three parts water and one part formula. Feed this strength to the mouse for two days. After two days, mix two parts water and one part powder. Watch for signs of dehydration. If the mouse stools are not yellow and soft, then feed the mouse an additional feeding of the rehydrating liquid each day.
- 5
  Continue to use this feeding method until the mouse's eyes open and it can move around on its own. When this occurs, you can feed it regular mouse food. The mouse should continue to gain a little weight each day until it reaches adult weight.