Things You'll Need
- Mouse Cage
- Old T-shirt or clothes for bedding
- Gram scale to weigh baby mice
- Syringe
- Heating pad
- Human soy powdered infant formula
Instructions
Place the pinky mice with their mother in a mouse cage with a T-shirt or other clothing to use as soft bedding.
Supply plenty of food and water in the cage. Commercial mouse pellets can be fed to the mother to ensure that she produces plenty of milk. Place the water in a water bottle and hang it on the side of the cage. This prevents the water from getting turned over and spilled or soiled.
Place a heating pad under the cage if the mother is not available to nurse the pinky mice. Set the heat on low. This will help keep the babies warm.
Mix up formula for the baby mice by following the directions on the package. Human infant soy formula can be used to feed baby mice. Mix one part formula to four parts of water and place the formula in a syringe. Hand feed the babies the formula by putting 5 percent of the babie's weight into the syringe and feeding it to the baby. For instance, if the baby is 18 grams it should get six grams of the powdered formula mixed with 12 grams of water, according to the Rat Report website. The babies should get fed between every three to four hours.
Massage the belly of the pinky mouse after it is fed in order to get it to let all the waste out of the body. A baby mouse cannot urinate or have a bowl movement without the mother stimulating it's body first. You will have to do the same for the mouse if the mother has abandoned it.