The vole's numerous reproduction is one of the reasons why it is so feared as a pest: voles can have offspring up to eight times per year - each time with up to four vole babies. Below you will find out everything you need to know about offspring and how to raise a baby vole if you find one.
What does a baby vole look like and how do you raise one?
Vole babies are a few centimeters tall, are born naked and develop fur within a few days. If you find an orphaned baby, you should only raise it if the mother doesn't return. This requires rearing milk, regular feeding and abdominal massage, as well as warmth.
Appearance of Baby Vole
Baby voles are only a few centimeters tall and are born naked. The fur grows just a few days after birth; However, it can take up to two weeks for the mice to open their eyes. Depending on the vole species, the fur is colored brownish-gray to reddish-brown; the abdomen is lighter in color.
Vole young found
If you have found a baby vole, you should only touch it and raise it yourself if you are sure that the mother vole will not come back. If you touch the young vole and put it back in the nest, the mother may no longer accept it because it now smells like a human. Once a vole has been found, parasites should be removed: To do this, wipe the young vole thoroughly or brush the fur carefully.
Raising a baby vole
Feeding baby voles by hand is no child's play, because they need food frequently: They should be fed every 2 to 3 hours during the day and every 3 to 4 at night. You feed baby mice using a laboratory pipette (39.00 € at Amazon) with rearing milk for cats or goats. You can get these at a pet store. As an emergency solution, you can mix fennel tea with glucose and a pinch of s alt. But you should then get the milk mentioned as quickly as possible.
After feeding, you should massage the little mouse's stomach with a cotton swab for a few minutes to stimulate digestion.
Tip
Provide the necessary warmth for your little vole with a hot water bottle.
Background
The reproduction of voles
Voles feel like mating in March/April and September/October. Only three weeks pass from fertilization to the birth of the vole babies. Female voles give birth to two to four young, which are sexually mature after just two months. Although voles are solitary creatures, overpopulation can quickly occur.
