How Long Can Baby Mice Live Without Their Mother? 7 Clear Facts

If you keep or breed pet mice, you may at one point find yourself having to care for baby mice without their mother. In that situation, you will want to know how long the baby mice can actually live without their mothers. This article explores that subject.

How long can baby mice live without their mother? It depends on their age. If they are newborn baby mice, they may not be able to survive beyond 2-4 days without their mother. But baby mice that are above 3 weeks old may fully survive without their mother, and go on to have full lifespans.

It is important to understand that there are several baby mice stages of growth. And how long baby mice survive without their mother depends on which stage they are left at.

Suppose the baby mice are left right after they are born, when their eyes are still closed. In this case, they may not survive beyond 2-4 days.

But if the baby mice are left after their eyes have opened, and after their muscles have developed a bit, the outcome may be better.

In the latter case they may somehow survive – especially if they are getting supplementary support from a human caregiver.

Still, even the older (past 3 weeks) baby mice would have difficulty surviving, if left entirely to their own devices.

It is only after 5 weeks of age that we can say that mice left by themselves can survive well, even without supplementary support from a human caregiver/foster mother.

Then again, considering how dependent these baby mice are usually on their mothers, some people have huge doubts. They doubt whether the baby mice can survive at all, without their mothers.

Let’s therefore start with that preliminary question.

Can Baby Mice Survive Without Their Mom?

Baby mice are sometimes able to survive without their mom.

There have been cases in which mother mice get killed by predators, and their baby mice still survive somehow. So it is possible for baby mice to survive without their mom based on those accounts.

People who keep pet mice do sometimes have mother mice abandon their babies. The pet mice owners then take care of the abandoned baby mice. And the baby mice somehow survive.

That is further evidence that baby mice can sometimes survive without their mothers.

To be sure, survival for baby mice without their mother is not always easy. But it is possible.

How Old Does A Baby Mouse Have To Be To Survive On Its Own?

To be able to fully fend for itself, a mouse needs to be at least 5 weeks old. A 5 week old mouse can fully fend for itself. It can therefore survive without its mother, and without supplementary support from a human caregiver.

A younger (than 5 weeks) baby mouse may still be able to survive, without its mother. But it needs to have supplementary support – in things like food, water, warmth and excretion – from a human caregiver. Or from a foster mother.

The absolute minimum seems to be at 3 weeks. A baby mouse that is below 3 weeks may not be able to survive without its mother, even with supplementary support from a human caregiver.

A baby mouse below 3 weeks doesn’t even have proper muscles, and requires constant warmth from a mother. So it can be extremely hard for that sort of mouse to survive, even with supplementary human support.

If you research on when do baby mice leave the nest, you will see it is at around 3 weeks. That is for the first time.

This is roughly also the minimum age point at which the baby mice would somehow survive without their mother.

How Long Can Baby Mice Live Without Their Mother?

Much here depends on whether the baby mice in question are left to their own devices. Or if they are getting supplementary support from a human caregiver.

So there are actually two questions here. One is, how long will a baby mouse live without its mother, and also without getting supplementary support from a human caregiver?

The other one is, how long do baby mice live without their mother, but with supplementary support from human caregivers?

In answering these questions, we first need to find out, how long can baby mice go without eating? That turns out to be a maximum of 2-4 days.

Consequently, 2-4 days is also how long baby mice can live without their mother, and without supplementary human support.

However, if the baby mice are getting supplementary human support, they may survive fully. They may then go on to have normal lifespans.

Much however also depends on the age at which the baby mice have been left by their mother. If they are too young (below 3 weeks) they may not survive: even with supplementary human support.

Thus such baby mice may still die in 2-4 days, even with supplementary human support.

This is because it is pretty much impossible to provide everything a mouse below 3 weeks gets from its mother.

How Long Can Baby Mice Live Without Their Mother In The Wild?

In the wild, baby mice can usually only survive for a maximum of 2-4 days without their mother. And this is assuming that no predators come their way.

So 2-4 days is usually the most wild baby mice are able to survive without their mother. That is unless they were left past the 3 week age mark. Past 3 weeks age, they may be able to somehow fend for themselves.

So if baby mice are left without their mother in the wild, and they are below 3 weeks, they are usually only able to survive 2-4 days at most.

But if they are past 3 weeks old, they may survive and go on to have normal lifespans.

Here, one may ask, what do abandoned baby mice do in the wild? And the answer is that they try to fend for themselves. If they are above 3 weeks age, they are sometimes able to do so successfully.

But if they are below 3 weeks age, fending for themselves usually proves to be too tall an order. They often lose the battle in 2 to 4 days at most.

How Long Can Baby Mice Live Without Their Mother In Captivity?

Just as in the wild, baby mice in captivity without their mother typically only manage to live for 2-4 days.

But the baby mice in captivity may get supplementary support from human caregivers. This can make all the difference. It can enable some to survive past the 4th day, and possibly go on to have normal lifespans.

How Can Baby Mice Live Without Their Mother?

From their mothers, baby mice get 4 key things. Those are food, water, warmth and excretion help. The last (excretion help) entails their mother helping them pee and poop, as they don’t have instinctual knowledge in such.

For baby mice to live without their mother, they need to fend for themselves in all those 4 ways. Otherwise they need to have a human caregiver (or foster mother) to give them supplementary support in those areas.

How do baby mice eat without their mother, one may ask.

If baby mice are given formula milk (especially puppy milk replacement formula), the food bit is sorted. They then need water, which can be provided in bowls or bottles.

One actually has to get their mouths into the water though…

Beyond food and water, they also need warmth. This can be provided through blankets, but with care taken not to suffocate them.

Finally, they need excretion help. This can be provided by dabbing their tails’ undersides with wet cotton swabs – which helps them pee and poop.

Doing all these things is hard enough if you know for sure that the mother won’t be coming back.

But if you are unsure on whether the mother will be coming back, there can be even more questions. You will keep on wondering, will a mother mouse come back for babies?

You may also worry on how the mother mouse will react, upon finding you having been caring for the babies. So the question there is, will a mother mouse come back for babies if you touch them? Or will she reject them henceforth?

These are rather challenging issues to grapple with.

How Long Can Newborn Mice Live Without Mother?

Newborn mice can’t live for long without their mother. At most, they will go for between 2 and 4 days, before losing the battle for survival. This is especially so if they are truly newborn: as in, yet to open their eyes.

Just ask yourself, what do baby mice eat when their eyes are closed? That turns out to be exclusively their mother’s milk. But without the mother, they can’t get this.

Even if you supplement that with puppy milk replacement formula, there are other challenges. Those include the challenges of keeping the baby mice warm, helping them pee, poop and so on.

All those are things that only a mother mouse is able to do properly for the baby mice. So them surviving beyond 2 to 4 days without the mother may be too tall an order.

But once the mice are beyond 3 weeks age, odds for long term survival are better.

How Long Can Baby Field Mice Live Without Their Mother?

2 to 4 days at most is how long baby mice are usually able to live without their mother.

Remember what we said while answering the question on how long baby wild mice can live without their mother? That is more or less what applies here. So that is a maximum of 2 or 4 days.

If predators chance upon them, the survival period can be even briefer.

How Long Can Baby Pet Mice Live Without Their Mother?

If the baby pet mice are left/abandoned before 3 weeks age, they may at most live for 2-4 days.

But if they are above 3 weeks age, and they get good supplementary support from a human caregiver, they can survive longer. In fact, they can have long-term survival, and go on to have normal lifespans.

How To Care For Baby Mice Without Mother?

There are four key things to focus on, while caring for baby mice without a mother.

Firstly, focus on giving them substitute food. Puppy milk replacement formula tends to be good in this regard.

Secondly, focus on giving them water. This is not just about making the water available. It may also be about actually dipping their mouths in the water, and getting them to drink! All this without drowning them.

Thirdly, ensure you give them warmth. This you can do through blankets – while seeing that you don’t suffocate them.

Fourthly, you have to give them excretion support. So they may not be able to pee or poop on their own. You therefore need to dab the undersides of their tails with wet cotton swabs. This will get them to poop and pee…

In spite of your best efforts though, you may still lose some. So you need to know how to tell if a baby mouse is dying, and know how to handle that too.

Final Verdict – How Long Can Baby Mice Live Without Their Mother

How long baby mice manage to live without their mother depends on the age at which they are left.

If they are left below 3 weeks of age, the most they may manage is usually 2 to 4 days.

But if they are left above 3 weeks of age, there is a possibility of long term survival. So they may survive on a long term basis, and go on to have normal or near-normal lifespans.

How long the baby mice survive may also depend on how much supplementary support they receive from human caregivers.

You can feed baby mice that are without their mother on puppy milk replacement formula. Then provide them with warmth, using blankets, but without suffocating them.

Also important for them may be excretion support, as they usually can’t pee or poo on their own. So you may need to be dabbing their undersides of their tails with cotton swabs. That would help them pee and poop.

If you do all these, the baby mice left without a mother may somehow survive into adulthood. Once they are past 5 weeks of age, you will know that they are largely out of the woods.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet mouse a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️