# Has anyone tried to raise a lone pinky mouse?



## Jeri (Feb 24, 2005)

I picked up a pinky mouse yesterday to feed to my largest G rosea. She has been violently attacking every cricket I put into her cage lately, so I figured that she might like a larger meal. Well, she stepped on it, walked over it, and shied away from it, but she would not eat it. I tied to give it to some of my other T's, but got the same result. The closest thing to a strike came from one of my other G roseas. She didn't really strike, but hit it hard with her front legs as if she was warning it not to annoy her. I figured that maybe my largest G rosea would eat it if she were given a little privacy, so I put it in her cage and left it for awhile. (it was three days old, had no teeth or hair, and didn't even have its eyes open yet, so I didn't think there was any danger of it hurting my T) A few hours later, Sonja heard it squeak and thought it had become a snack. She grabbed a flashlight and peeked, only to find it had moved away from the T. She woke me up to take the pinky out of the cage (she likes to watch them, but there is no way she's going to put her hand in with a T) and put it in a shoebox. She said she couldn't bear the thought of it just dying sitting on the peat moss with a big hairy spider nearby. After I went to back to sleep, she spent a large chunk of the night searching the internet for what she would need to do to raise a pinky without its mother. She bought it a new kritter keeper (she didn't want to put it in one that had once had a spider in it, after all, it had had enough trauma from being rejected as a meal) and has been feeding it with a syringe every two hours. She is hoping that she can keep it alive and has claimed it as her pet. Mainly, I thought it was a cute story to share with my AB friends, and also I'd like to ask if anyone has any idea of the chances of this former snack surviving into pethood. Any ideas, comments, suggestions, or statistics would be welcomed. Thank you.

Be careful not to fall in love with Tarantula food. I'm now really glad that crickets are so nasty.
Jeri


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## RazorRipley (Feb 24, 2005)

I had about the exact situation one time.... Got a pinky for a cobalt blue, it wasnt interested, I didnt have any others big enough to eat it. Well, before I go into a rant, Ill just tell you. Pinkies need mothers milk, like all mammals, therefore, theyre not going to survive. They starve to death, and become to weak to move. So... the story I told had a real tragic ending.   sorry!


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## Jeri (Feb 24, 2005)

That's pretty much what we expect, but she wants to try anyway. She's been feeding it Esbilac. It's a mothers milk replacement for puppies. One of the web sites she found said that it would be good for mice too, and so far, it's been eating pretty well. I guess we'll just have to hope for the best but expect the worst.

Jeri


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## RazorRipley (Feb 24, 2005)

Jeri said:
			
		

> That's pretty much what we expect, but she wants to try anyway. She's been feeding it Esbilac. It's a mothers milk replacement for puppies. One of the web sites she found said that it would be good for mice too. I guess we'll have to hope for the best but expect the worst.
> 
> Jeri


Maybe it'll work... Keep it warm!! they sit under the mother all day, and like I notice when I visit my rats nest in the basement, the pups are very warm to the touch like the mother.


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## 8 leg wonder (Feb 24, 2005)

why would you want to save it anyway? just kill it and put it in the freezer, that way your spider will have a meal for later


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## galeogirl (Feb 25, 2005)

And, like all mammals, baby rodents rely on frequent touch not only for warmth, but for a sense of security.  If it survives the next few days, plan to spend a lot of time snuggling with it.


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## druid8783 (Feb 25, 2005)

I tried raising some pinky mice from a mother mouse who died after giving birth.  It's very very hard.  Granted once of them survived out of 6.


This is what I did:

Supplies:
Small tupperware
Carefresh
cotton balls
feeding syringe
heating pad (I actually used an old undertank heater I had lying around)
Regular 2% milk
Kitten milk (KMR)

Ok, I lined the bottom of the tupperware with carefresh and made a little nest out of pulled apart cotton balls.  Put the mouse in there.  Place the heating pad on LOW under the tupperware...monitor the heat though..If you think it is getting too warm put a thin towel over it.  

You need to "bathe" the mouse every day.  Just take a cotton ball with lukewarm water and rub it over the mouse.  Also, be sure to rub the "private part" area of the mouse.  This stimulates urination and bowel movements.  

I fed my mice four times a day.  Once in the morning with KMR, in the afternoon it got 2% milk, once in the evening with KMR and around midnight with 2%. (I don't know if the different milk made a difference..I just did it in case they offered different nutrients)

You also need to, like galeogirl said, rub it and hold it to keep it feeling secure.

That is all I have to offer for the moment.  I hope everything works out.  Good luck!


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## Justin (Feb 25, 2005)

I had the same thing happen to me with a baby rat pup. Well, after a little more than a week of being his mom, giving him baby formula ect, he opened his eyes and no longer needed that stuff. He became a great pet and died of old age just a few months ago.


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## WhyTeDraGon (Feb 25, 2005)

8 leg wonder said:
			
		

> why would you want to save it anyway? just kill it and put it in the freezer, that way your spider will have a meal for later


because it's good to remind yourself once in awhile that your still human and have emotions  After witnessing so many mice die brutal deaths, I feel it's best to turn the tables once in awhile, lol. Ive saved my fair share of mice, but never got too far with them.


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## druid8783 (Feb 25, 2005)

I wonder how the little guy is doing?


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## Jeri (Feb 26, 2005)

*Update*

So far this former snack is doing very well. S/he still hasn't opened her eyes yet, but she is now all white and fuzzy. She's eating more at each feeding and seems to be pretty strong. She moves and squirms constantly when being held and tries to burrow between the fingers of whoever is holding her. I never thought I'd get attached to a feeder, but I'm glad Sonja decided to save her. She is very cute now.

Getting attached, but not too much,
Jeri


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## Jeri (Mar 3, 2005)

It took awhile for me to post this update, but my story has a tragic ending. Sonja had been feeding the mouse (she had named it Teddy) regularly for nearly a week. It was strong and ate really well. It had just started climbing out of the little nest she had made for it and seemed like it was going to make it. She fed it at about 1:30 in the morning on Wednesday, and it ate well and ran all over the place. When I woke up to go to work at 6:30, I found a stiff little mousie in the bottom of the cage. I don't know why, but it didn't make it. Of course, we went out Wednesday evening and bought a new cage, food, and a wheel, along with two other mice. These ones had already been weened and are mature enough to be on their own. But they are still small enough fo us to watch them grow. I'm really sad about Teddy's demise, but we now have Sophie and Zoe to love and keep us company.

New mouse mother,
Jeri


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## Heartfang (Mar 4, 2005)

*Oh no...*

   I'm sorry for your loss... poor little mousy


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## Socrates (Mar 4, 2005)

Oh Jeri, I'm so sorry.   
As hard as it probably was not to get attached, I'm pretty sure that after feeding and loving the little one for one week and him/her thriving, both your hopes had to have been high.  I'm really sorry.

Great to hear you've decided to get 2 pet mice.    They're soft and cuddly little critters, aren't they? 

---
Wendy
---


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## druid8783 (Mar 4, 2005)

At least you tried.  It died knowing it was loved and cared for.

Raising lone mice is very difficult.   I think you did really well.

Now you have two other little mousies to play with so not all is bad.

Good luck with the new additions!


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## Wolfchan (Mar 4, 2005)

Poor mousie.  You gave her a good chance though.

I had mice for a long time and I loved them!  They can be rather odiferous, but I found that putting a few drops of vanilla extract in their water helped cut that down a lot.  Enjoy your new furkids!


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