Before I get into the story of the new orphaned white footed mouse I'm taking care of I wanted to write about releasing my first two orphaned deer mice.

 

When they were definitely older than four weeks and were eating solid foods, hiding from me all of the time, and had started to lose fur because they were over-grooming from either boredom or stress from being in captivity I knew it was time to release them.  It was tugging at me to do it because I know they're pretty low on the food chain and it's getting colder outside but I knew it was best for them. 

 

A rehabber suggested releasing them in a bird house and then going back for it later when it was empty and they had moved on so I could reuse it for the next release.  I didn't want to buy one since money is tight so at first I thought I had a brilliant idea to buy a craft birdhouse for a dollar.  The mice had other ideas about that one.  They wanted nothing to do with that little house.

 

I ended up nailing three scrap 2' x 4's together to make a triangular-shaped tunnel and then blocked most of each end with a smalls scrap of wood so the mice could get in and out but it wasn't wide open for larger animals.  Sealed the seams to help keep them dry.

 

I filled it up with warm bedding that would dry fast and some cheerios, oats, a mouse block, and a few nuts to get them started.  They willingly climbed right into that house!  

 

I read that when you release them they have to get to know their environment to be able to survive so they will have to acclimate, map it out, and get used to it.  I wanted to give them a head start but figured they would be making their own nest somewhere else. At least this would give them a chance.

 

                           

 

I put their house in the woods of a local park that was away from neighborhoods and businesses but there was an abandoned structure very near that looked like a good spot for them to possibly hide out for the winter.  Set the house up near fallen trees and cinder blocks on the forest floor, set a block on top of the house so it wouldn't roll down the hill, and sprinkled some food around near by for them to find. 

 

That bird house they wanted nothing to do with got filled with a cache of nuts and set nearby so they could have a head start for a winter food stash.  Probably needlessly I set a little lid of water out in case they got thirsty, though I imagine a dew drop would have lasted them all day.  Made me feel better.  What can I say. *Shrug.*

 

 

 

And then I walked away.

Looking at these pictures I realize I should have laid some brush over the house for cover.  I'll go back and do that if they are still there and remember to do that next time. 

Update:  I went back to check the house thinking if they were still there I would put some more food out and some cover.  The bedding had been pulled out of the house by an animal.  Maybe a raccoon, maybe a squirrel...I don't know.  I thought the length of the house would be good but I didn't think about how the bedding could be grabbed.  If I ever do that again now I know.  Smaller exit holes, bedding that can't be grabbed.  The separate house with the food in it was empty and the bird house hole had dirt all around it where some dirty paws had reached in and grabbed all of the nuts and cheerios out. 

Just in case the mice were around I put some more food out before I left. 

This spring I went to a class to become a bottle-baby wildlife rehabber.  We learned some basics about baby raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, foxes and more.  Aside from being a lot of fun, I was anxious to get that first call!

Fast forward several months.  I got my certification from the DNR to be an official bottle baby rehabber over the summer but didn't receive any calls until almost October.  When the phone finally rang I was asked if I would take two baby field mice that a family had been trying to take care of once they had live-trapped their mom and then the next day saw the four babies aimlessly wandering around the basement looking for their mother that was now somewhere outside.

Two of the four babies had died by the time they called for help though they did their best.  Of course I said I would take them!  That is where my adventure began...

Well, before my adventure began, my husband reacted differently to the news. 

"MICE!?  They're calling you about baby mice?!  This must be some kind of a test!!!"

:-)

Let me tell you, I have been having SO Much fun with these mice.  I wish I could make money doing this.  I would happily work my heart out doing this.  On top of that, my husband is having fun watching it all, too.  I know he would admit that to me.  I'm not sure if he would admit that to the guys at work, though!

Moving along, I met the family in a public place and they handed me what looked to be two baby deer mice.  (Deer mice and white footed mice are hard to discern.  I'm just making my best guess here based on the research I've done.)  They were in a box lined with leaves and such.  They gave them a nice habitat.  They had been feeding them from the end of a paint brush.

By then I had been set up by an experienced rehabber with squirrel formula, puppy "Esbilac" formula, assorted syringes, nipples, antibiotics, nutrical, mouse food, a recipe for home-made re-hydrating solution, and more.  She set me up not only for these mice but for the squirrels she hoped to pass along to me in the future.

Those first feedings were a little awkward but we got used to each other soon enough and the mice quickly gained weight, energy, and grew like little weeds.  Before I knew it they were weaned and eating formula with broken cheerios or oatmeal or crushed mice food all by themselves. 



One of the orphaned deer mice learning to eat soft solids.  They didn't take too well to being fed with a syringe and quickly preferred eating on their own.  I gave them a smorgasbord to chose from.  I put the dishes in and when I checked back later they would have eaten when I wasn't looking!  They seemed to prefer warm formula over crushed cheerios or oats at first.  First they lapped the formula out of the lids I used for dishes.  (Shown is a lid from a gallon of milk.)  Soon they started to nibble up most of the solids, too.  They grow and change so fast.

I was proud of myself for backing away and letting them be.  I only bothered them to clean their cage or put down fresh food and water.  Other than that, they were on their own.  They learned to hide from me and act like wild mice.  Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to hold them more and watch them up close, act out those maternal instincts and dote on the cuties.  But I knew that they'd be better off if I didn't.  (That's why I was proud of myself!  That was easier said than done!  Sometimes I felt like I was ignoring them then I would remind myself that I was doing them a favor.  They get used to trusting then they'd be swooped up by a predator as soon as their feet hit the ground outside without even a chance.)

During this time I did a lot of Googling about mice.  I learned a lot.  As soon as they were becoming independent I got another call.

"Would you add another baby mouse to your other two?  I just got a call about a baby mouse found in a parking lot next to its sibling that had been stepped on.  Someone picked it up and called us."

Well, of course.  And then there were three.  I'll save that for another post.