AWESOME THANKS EVERYONE! Glad to hear he would have been ok in the water, but that I did not screw up too bad or harm his eating or stress him out! next time I will move the water bowl away.
I did try putting the mouse in at first to just roam and he seemed completely uninterested - tried that for 15 minutes, then when I picked it up to take it out he perked right up and thats when I assumed I must need to hold it up like a would a F/T.