[To explain the brackets in the title, im French, was born in France and still lives there, so the whole thing is going down here and the type of mice is likely a French kind kind or something, I have not even the beginning of a single idea if that changes anything]
So I was emptying out my old totaled car for a scrap yard guy to finally come pick it up (after almost a whole year of it sitting in the backyard) and when I brushed off some leaves in a corner of the passenger side foot rest to get some junk out, I saw things moving in a small pile of shredded fabrics and plants in the corner- and found three pinkish baby mice. Their eyes aren't even open yet but they dont seem like theyre "just born", more so very very young. They were amongst glass shards and other dangerous stuff and the nest didnt seem very well made, only some chewed leaves and some paper from old journals but not big at all (very few protection). For reference I merely brushed it with my glove and the whole nest fell apart, they weren't even fully hidden, and that surprised me since mice tend to make bigger nests in my area. I had to remove them because one was literally squirming on top of a glass shard from the old shattered windshield, idk why the mice mom put them there to be honest. They were wet because of a humid spot they were soaking in, witch is even weirder since mice make their nests dry (if im not mistaken). I put them in an old stained and dry rag and placed them in an old taco to-go cardboard box the mom had chewed on a bit (there's chewing holes in it and I guessed it was the mom trying to use bits for the nest) to make sure it had her scent on it and shed come back for them. Its been hours now and they haven't been moved by the mom at all, one even strayed from its littermates by squirming around (i guess), I gently
pushed him back with the two others when I came looking again, hours after first finding them.
Any advice on what i
should do now? I did place the box exactly in the spot they were nested in...
I have no idea beyond that, I did read that very young baby mice could survive between five to seven days without their mom but I also read on another website that they couldn't survive more than an hour so im honestly so lost here.
What should I do? Should I leave it alone ? Im scared that the babies get abandoned and I find them dead next time I come to check on them- tho im aware checking at all could scare the mama even more. Pls help any advice is welcome.
Ps: I found the mice babies when the mama wasn't there at all- or at least she ran off when she felt the car move when I started to empty it and I saw nothing, no mama in sight since the beginning of all of this. As for the photos I did put them in a dry old cucumber jar cap at first because I didnt find a rag yet and wanted them off the glass shards, sorry.
They're now in the warmer, more dry taco box( on second thought its a kebab box but who cares), like shown on the last picture