Save the Field Mouse: The Most RIDICULOUS Question Ever Posted on the Forum?

Jonezie

Jonezie

Cathlete
Ok...I know this is CRAZY...but I just don't want it to die. I came home the night before last (I live at the foothills of a mountain range near Pasadena, CA), opened my garage, and saw a RODENT sitting there! Ahhhhhh! We have a rodent guy on retainer just to take care of the rats that migrate our way out of the foliage.

But then I got to looking closer...and it was a field mouse. A baby one. Who had somehow been left behind from his mom. And I gotta say...he is the cutest thing ever. Plus he was sending out squeaky distress calls, which you can't help but feel bad for the little guy when he's doing that.

I called every wildlife center in a 60 mile radius, and my local humane society...all said the same thing...we don't take rodents. I understand people...I don't take rodents, either. But he's gonna die right in front of me if I don't do something. So one lady told me to fill a sock with dry rice and heat it for 90 seconds in the microwave...then put it in a little box and it would keep him warm. I did that...it worked perfectly...so much so that he now thinks it's his permanent snuggly home. PS...he won't drink the puppy milk from a dropper that the humane society told me to try.

Everyone told me the mom would come back for him regardless of whether or not I'd touched or been around him. But she hasn't. And he's warm as can be but not eating and now I don't know what to do. I want to send him out to his REAL home outside my garage ASAP...but do I just toss him outside? His eyes just opened yesterday. It takes him an hour to go 6 inches.

Anyway...I know this sounds ridiculous...and I'm normally the first to turn into Rain Man when I see a rat outside. But he's helpless and I wondered if any of you have had hamsters or gerbils or abandoned squirrels and know what is best to do.

PS...I can see why Little Bunny Foo-Foo caught such hell for hitting them on the head...they're pretty cute.

Thanks! :)Jonezie
 
Jonzie I don't think you are crazy. I do think you are very caring and compassionate though. That is a lucky mouse. I would check with the vet if you plan to keep it, if you turn it lose it will probably become food for one of natures other creatures. That may be what happened to it's mom.
 
I would be caring for it also--cozy bed, food, etc. They are so cute. But it probably will not make it on it's own like that. Sad but nature.
 
PhyllisG said:
I would be caring for it also--cozy bed, food, etc. They are so cute. But it probably will not make it on it's own like that. Sad but nature.
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Ugh, Phyllis! I know...it reminds me of every little bird I brought home as a kid for my family to rescue. My grandmother would put him in a shoe box in her pie safe (you know...the piece of furniture with wire mesh on the front for ventilation?)...but they never made it.

It's ok if he goes to adorable rodent heaven...I just want to take care of him until he does. PS...about nature...you're so right. It's the reason I can't watch any NatGeo shows involving a hyena/lion/large cat and the baby gazelle. I know what's coming and that it has to be...but don't want to see it.

I'm glad you ladies would all do the same, though!

:)Jonezie

PS...DEEDEE...I signed your petition but couldn't watch the clips. That story has haunted me all week. :( But I'm glad to know there are people like you who care enough to want to change it.
 
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I'm assuming this is a baby field mouse? I would let it stay in the garage in it's little box. I'm sure when it gets older it'll just leave on it own, just by instinct. I'm just guessing though.
 
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Jonezie - Describe the little guy to me. Does he have hair? Is he able to get around at all on his own. Just trying to figure out if he is a pinky, fuzzy, or hopper. Do you have a dog or a cat? I only ask because you can actually put a piece of dog or cat food in with him and he may nibble on that depending on how old he is. If he has hair and has just opened his eyes and can hop and move around a little, he's probably past the fuzzy stage and might not really need "milk" right now. He will need water somehow, even if you paint it on his mouth with a q-tip. I highly doubt the mom would come back for him at this point. I'm a sucker (living out in the country) for this kind of stuff. Baby bunnies, mice, birds, you name it, have all made their way into my house as charity cases at some point! ;)
 
Liann said:
Jonezie - Describe the little guy to me. Does he have hair? Is he able to get around at all on his own. Just trying to figure out if he is a pinky, fuzzy, or hopper. Do you have a dog or a cat? I only ask because you can actually put a piece of dog or cat food in with him and he may nibble on that depending on how old he is. If he has hair and has just opened his eyes and can hop and move around a little, he's probably past the fuzzy stage and might not really need "milk" right now. He will need water somehow, even if you paint it on his mouth with a q-tip. I highly doubt the mom would come back for him at this point. I'm a sucker (living out in the country) for this kind of stuff. Baby bunnies, mice, birds, you name it, have all made their way into my house as charity cases at some point! ;)
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Liann...he is fuzzy, not pink. But his eyes were closed yesterday all morning and then open last night. I TRIED to to do the dog food thing (first a dropper of puppy milk and then a piece of hard food)...but guess what? I went to check on him and there were ants all over the food. So I had to put him in a clean box...no food.

I'm so glad you told me to paint water on his mouth...I will try that as soon as I go home!

PS...did any of your wild rescues live? Please say yes. And if I found a baby bunny...it would be OVER. Willoughby would have a bunny brother!

Thanks!! So glad you are an "expert" in all things cute, fuzzy and needy!

:)EJ
 
Jonezie - I once raised a group of baby bunnies from infanthood to adulthood. I started with 12 though and only ended up with 6. They were tiny and didn't have their eyes open when I got them. I ended up keeping one as a pet and he lived a while and would have lived longer except for an unfortunately incident with the neighbor's German Shepherd. So, it is possible. I've had more losses than successes though especially with really little babies. My wiener dog Cheyenne had premature puppies and that is possibly the most heartbreaking experience I have ever had trying to raise babies. I practically say a prayer before I do yard work that I don't find anything because I can't take the disappointment when they don't make it. :(
 
Awe, you are such a kind soul.

I rescued a baby rabbit form a crow that massacred everyone in the nest. I gave it a flea bath and it had a puncture wound on it's head. But the wound was small and healed very quickly. The bunny would lay on my DH chest and snuggle there to sleep. It was so cute. We were out in the wild, miles and miles away from anything and all I had to feed it was powdered milk. The rabbit only lived for about a week and then passed.:( We named him Masa Verde, where we visited and rescued this baby rabbit. We were staying at a place called Valley Of The Gods. Rock formations that were so incredible only Gods could live there. We laid him to rest there.

But we tried, and I still think of that little bunny and always will. What a precious little guy just by being here for such a small moment. He touched out lives.

Keep trying with your little guy, he just may make it. I hope so anyway.

Janie
 
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When we had a mouse several years ago in our attic, we trapped it by using peanut butter. Nothing else worked. Maybe the little guy would nibble on a glob of peanut butter? I'd also definitely do water instead of milk. But you may not want to take my advice. Once we trapped our mouse, we forgot we were trying to trap him, and he died in the trap of starvation. :eek::confused::confused: Yes, I'm a horrible person.
 
You might check with a pet store to see if they would refer you to their mice or hamster breeder/supplier. A hamster breeder might have some advice on what to do for a little baby rodent.

Jean
 
You are the sweetest person!!! Actually reminds me of my daughter - which is a VERY good thing! She found a baby mouse in our back yard and made a house for it out of tupperware, cloth, and food and water. He ended up not surviving (sad story, I know) but for a few short days that was the most loved furry creature on the planet. :)

dreamyjeanie said:
You might check with a pet store to see if they would refer you to their mice or hamster breeder/supplier. A hamster breeder might have some advice on what to do for a little baby rodent.

Jean
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I was going to suggest this! It should be pretty easy to find a rodent rescue - you could also hop on Petfinder and type in your zip to find the number of one close to you. I would think if you called and asked for advice and help they'd be more than happy to help. Good luck :)

Melissa
 
I would put it outside...

Jonezie,
If you live in a temparate climate with a good yard, I would suggest putting the mouse ouside, where it can meet other mice, etc. Field mice are better adapted to living out of doors. This is just my opinion. A field mouse is like a wild bird, or other wild mammals, who live best outside.

Not to my related story. I have a large 35-foot deck -- which I use to feed squirrels and wild birds. I also have a small stainless steel table and chair on the deck.

Well, in early March, after laying out the nuts and bird food on the deck floor one morning, out of the blue, a rat showed up to partake in the food, so calmly, as if he had a right to it! So what I did was to buy a Havahart trap -- to trap the rat. I even bought peanut butter and molasses. I bought this trap, so as not to kill any squirrels.

But I lit on the idea to feed the squirrels and birds using old frying pans, and putting the pans on the small table and chair. So I have been doing this for the past two months, and the rat has gone. So I will give the Havahart trap, still unopened in its box, to a charity yard sale.

The only problem is is that the squirrels and birds have fully taken over my deck. I no longer have use of my table and chair. And as they gobble the food each day, they do not at all seem guilty about hogging the deck.
-- Davidj
 
pink_fortitude said:
You are the sweetest person!!! Actually reminds me of my daughter - which is a VERY good thing! She found a baby mouse in our back yard and made a house for it out of tupperware, cloth, and food and water. He ended up not surviving (sad story, I know) but for a few short days that was the most loved furry creature on the planet. :)
Melissa
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Hey, Melissa! This was me growing up, too. I was always coming home with a baby something. One time, I saved a baby sparrow that was being tormented by some boys in the school yard. I ran him across the street and hid him under some bushes and told him I'd come back for him at 3:00. I went back and there was his little lifeless body under that bush. OMG! It still makes me tear up now!

Does anyone remember that story about the chimpanzee that severely mauled that woman...it's happened the last year or two? I never thought much about the chimp but saw the story revisited on 48 Hours or 20/20 last week. It turns out the women who "owned" him (who really owns a wild animal anyway) and raised him all his life had to stab him several times to get him off her friend. She said he looked at her with such a betrayed look on his face. Then, when the policeman fired the fatal shot, he ran into the house and (GULP) died in his bed. OMG...he died in his bed! I turned off that show just hating that woman (his owner) for not only ruining her friend's life and family, but also because she could have prevented such a terrible end for that animal, an animal that should have been in a zoo or in the wild...never in a home. All I could think was that he went looking for a place that was the ultimate comfort and protection...his bed. I cried for days.

Davidj said:
The only problem is is that the squirrels and birds have fully taken over my deck. I no longer have use of my table and chair. And as they gobble the food each day, they do not at all seem guilty about hogging the deck.
-- Davidj
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David...great story. My stepdad used to live on a lake and sit outside drinking his coffee in ultimate peace every morning. Until he married my mom...the duck woman...who took to feeding and rescuing every duck or migrating goose on the lake. It got to the point when he would open the screen door (trying as quietly as he could) and the sound of 100 quacks swelled up from the lake immediately...as every fowl flew in to see what my mom had for their breakfast. LOL! To hear him standing on the back porch cussing at those ducks...and my mom. So funny. PS...There was a group of three that really loved my mom...they would run to the end of the porch to see if it was my mom or dad standing there. You could hear their little feet waddling as fast as they could. Then one, two, three...their heads would pop around the corner. If it was my dad, they'd be like "Never mind, fellas...it's the guy that shouts obscenities at us." But if it was my mom, they would run to her like they'd just been reunited on The Locator.

Thanks for all your support, everyone! I'll keep you posted!

:)Jonezie
 
Matilda the rat deported from Alberta to British Columbia

By coincidence, here is a story -- in today's news -- about Matilda, a pet rat, who was deported from Alberta to British Columbia. It seems a family -- moving to Alberta -- brought along their pet rat. But Alberta is the only province in Canada who bans rats as pets:
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/lo..._Rat_Matilda_100413/20100413/?hub=CalgaryHome

The CTV report on TV called Matilda's host organization a "rat rescue society" -- but actually it is called "Little Mischief Rescue":
http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/index.html

It also lists a "Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy" group:
http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/sheltersandotherrescues.html

So there you go. There are organizations looking after the little critters.
-- Davidj
 
My daughter has a pet gerbil (a/k/a desert mouse), but she's not a baby. She'll eat small bits of apple and grape. She loves sunflower seeds (she can shell her own, but your baby may not be able to).

You may want to buy a bag of gerbil/hamster food. It has very small bits of seeds and other unidentifiable things that Marshmallow (our pet) likes.

I don't think I'd put your mouse outside -- she'd be eaten by a predator in a minute if she's a baby.

I really hope she lives, but I'm not very optimistic. We found a baby rabbit when I was a kid and tried to save it, but it lived only a day. Very sad. :( Keep us posted.
 
The baby has gone on to Mousie Heaven...but did so curled up in warm towels and a comfy bed. And is now buried in the ivy from whence his family came. Rest in peace, mousie.

Thanks for all your support...in even the smallest things. You all restore my love for humanity.

:)Jonezie
 
Hi Jonezie,

You're not goofy at all. This story made me laugh because it's soo sweet and cute!! I would do the same thing!! I had a humming bird crash right into my office window at home and the little thing was so dazed he let me hold it. My son and I put it into one of the birdhouses on our property and when we checked the next day, it was gone.

Animal lovers unite!!

Pam:D
 
Jonezie said:
The baby has gone on to Mousie Heaven...but did so curled up in warm towels and a comfy bed. And is now buried in the ivy from whence his family came. Rest in peace, mousie.

Thanks for all your support...in even the smallest things. You all restore my love for humanity.

:)Jonezie
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Oh I'm so sorry. Jonezie, . you have a good heart. You did what you could do. You can take comfort in knowing that.
 
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