What food to feed and how much.

by RandomMouseLover05 Mon 19 Jun 2017, 3:38 pm

Im currently thinking about adopting one Male mouse, but I was wondering what food and how much. I was thinking about doing Oxbox Essentials - Mouse and Young Rat food. But how much do I feed per day? And considering either if the rat is young or an older rat (Not sure yet). I've been researching and I found out that you should feel your mouse 50 precent food store brands, and 50 precent fruits and vegetables. I was wondering if this was true. Im not sure the food amount per day as I stated, but also how much Veggies and fruit a mouse should have. If I get one, it would be my first mouse, and I want to make sure I do it right. Thank you!

by AnonymousMouseOwner Mon 19 Jun 2017, 3:46 pm

I'm confused here. Mice and rats are not the same thing. Are you going to adopt a pet mouse or a pet rat? Because they have totally different needs. Oxbow alone is not a good diet for mice, I suggest checking out the Mouse Diet sticky for more information on recommended foods. Their food should be freely available at all times, meaning their bowl should always have food in it. They eat several times a day, so they will always need access to food, just like they always need access to water. They should only get a fresh fruit or veggie once or twice a week. I'm glad you are taking the time to research before getting a mouse! Smile

by RandomMouseLover05 Mon 19 Jun 2017, 3:50 pm

Oops haha sorry I'm super tired! (My brain right now XD) I am (hopefully) will be able to adopt a mouse! Okay whew, thank you so much you told me about that because I would of probably went with just the Oxbow! And yeah i'll defiantly check that out! And okay thanks! I wasn't exactly sure about the food information since it's been kind of hard for me to find how much to feed them. And okay, the vegetable thing works perfect! Thanks so much for helping me out with my research, and thanks I appreciate it! Im really trying to do this right! Very Happy

by CallaLily Mon 19 Jun 2017, 6:05 pm

Fresh fruits/veggies are recommended at least twice a week but you can offer them small amounts once a day if you wanted, just remember it should not make up the bulk of their diet. Their main diet should be a healthy grain/seed mix. Naturally mice mainly eat grains, seeds, and insects. There's more information here.

by RandomMouseLover05 Mon 19 Jun 2017, 6:57 pm

Okay thanks so much! I'm not sure if you actually have a mouse or not, but if so what food brand do you feed them? And when you do it, do you just feed them at a certain time, or is your mouse constantly having food (Like supply of water) because i've heard mixed things about that. And okay thanks so much! One thing about the fruits and vegetables. Would it be like a little teaspoon or such of the fruit/vegetable if I did it once every day? And how often should I give treats? (Sorry so many questions, just want to make sure I get this right!)

by CallaLily Mon 19 Jun 2017, 8:42 pm

I feed a homemade grain/seed mix that I round out with a mix of Supreme Science Selective Mouse food and Mr Johnson's Advance Mouse and Rat food. I refill the dish when they've eaten all or most of it, to try to prevent selective feeding. However, most on this forum will recommend one of the foods listed on the diet page. You won't go wrong with one or more of those.

I personally mainly stick to offering fresh veg a couple times a week, just a few very small pieces of 2-3 different things. You could offer the same daily. I've never measured but I would think a teaspoon would be fine. The main thing to remember is to introduce fresh foods slowly, to keep from upsetting tummies and watch for allergies. Remove all leftover fresh foods after an hour or so.

With treats I try to stick with healthier things like walnuts, mealworms, pumpkin seeds, etc. These you could probably get away with rotating through them daily - pumpkin seeds one day, walnuts the next - being careful not to over do it. More sugary treats I would leave to once or twice a week or less.

by RandomMouseLover05 Tue 20 Jun 2017, 4:49 am

Okay for the food thanks so much! I was looking at those food brands on that page and was wondering if others also recommended it. For starters i'll probably stick with that!

For veggies, and for the treats, that sounds perfect! Thanks so much for helping me! Very Happy

by CallaLily Tue 20 Jun 2017, 7:46 am

Yep, the food listed on the Diet page are all recommended here. The Vita Prima Parakeet food seems to be a favorite among many. You can't go wrong with any of those. Smile

by RandomMouseLover05 Tue 20 Jun 2017, 12:33 pm

Okay that's what I was looking at! I've heard two different things about feeding so it's really confusing me. Some places it says they should only be fed like one bowl a day, others say it should be replenished just like water. Just wanted to double check, which one do you do?

by CallaLily Tue 20 Jun 2017, 12:41 pm

I refill the dish only once they've eaten almost all of it, to make sure they're not just picking out their favorites. So their seed mix is available at all times but in a way that cuts back on selective feeding.

by RandomMouseLover05 Tue 20 Jun 2017, 12:56 pm

Okay that's absolutely perfect! Sorry about so many questions! Thanks so much for all your help! Very Happy

by CallaLily Tue 20 Jun 2017, 1:05 pm

It's no trouble. Please share a picture of your mouse when you get him. Very Happy

by RandomMouseLover05 Tue 20 Jun 2017, 1:09 pm

Yeah totally, that is if I get one. (I'm trying to convince people so they let me buy one XD so I need to know everything about them! XD)

by Bandit Cat Sat 24 Jun 2017, 6:30 am

I feed Vita Prima Parakeet food to my mouse, and he absolutely loves it! I replenish the food whenever it runs empty, as he never started to only pick his favorite things out of the bowl. If you see that your new mouse is only picking certain items out of the bowl, then you'd want to offer a specific amount each day and only refill the bowl when empty.

by CallaLily Sat 24 Jun 2017, 2:50 pm

Bandit Cat wrote: If you see that your new mouse is only picking certain items out of the bowl, then you'd want to offer a specific amount each day and only refill the bowl when empty.

Their main food should be available at all times to them. Mice have very high metabolisms so need to eat frequently thoughout the day/night. A healthy grain/seed mix should never be limited. I don't think that's what you were suggesting here since you also said to refill the dish once empty, but I wanted to reply to make sure that was clear to anyone new to mice. Smile

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