Help! Orphaned hopper

[kc261]

OK, so maybe this little guy isn't exactly orphaned. More like some big meany (me) took it away from its family at the pet store to feed it to my snake. Unfortunately my snake had a different idea and didn't eat.

I'd like to keep this guy alive for a few days until I can offer it to the snake again. Partly just don't want the money wasted but also while I'm ok with feeding mice to the snake, I feel bad about a baby mouse slowly dying for no reason.

What can I do for it?

[Jay_Bunny]

Depending on how close to the weanling stage the hopper is, you can offer it KMR (kitten milk replacement) which is available at most pet stores every few hours. Keep it warm and with regular feedings should stay alive for a short period of time. I kept a hopper alive for three days on KMR, but I wasn't paying attention to temperatures and it got too cold. I believe 75-80 is a good temp for them. KMR can be expensive though and you have to feed it with a dropper. If you get any in their nose, it can get into their lungs and kill them so you have to be very careful.

[kc261]

Thank you for your reply.

I decided I didn't want to go out and spend more money on kitten formula just to keep a baby mouse alive for a couple of days, but I didn't want the poor thing to suffer either, so I ended up deciding to offer it to our snake again without waiting any longer. This time she came right out of her hide and got the little guy.

I just hope it didn't suffer too much during the 24 hours or so it was away from its mother. I did have food and water in the cage for it, but I'm not sure how much, if any, it was consuming on its own.

[Kagez28]

next time it would be a good idea to have a set up for rodents incase this happens again. get some cheerios, puffed wheat, try color pasta, or lab blocks and water bottle.