How to bottle train your mouse

by Babyelijah3 on Tue 23 Oct 2018, 10:13 am

Hello

I have a 3/4 week old field vole. I hand raised him, but i have been feeding him formula too long i think. He doesnt wanna drink from a bottle or a little jam lid with liquid. He just suckles on my hand when i pick him up. He also refuses just water, he wants formula. But he is getting too old for this... how do i get him to drink from a bottle (he doesnt seem to get it) or even just a water bowl?

Greetings

C

by chiroptera on Tue 23 Oct 2018, 3:07 pm

He should instinctively drink out of a bowl/dish on the ground, as in the wild that's how they would be drinking. I would try giving him the formula in the dish to entice him to use it, and then gradually switch to water.

Not sure about bottle training though, hopefully someone will give you a hand.

by Babyelijah3 on Wed 24 Oct 2018, 5:25 pm

Hello

Drinking from a dish was even hard.. he didnt really get it. Only when he was on my hand he started to search for drink and suckle. Since yesterday he drinks water very well from a jam jar. So i’m satisfied with that for now. Not sure if its eventually better to get a water bottle... but as long as he gets his liquids i’m happy!

by chiroptera on Thu 25 Oct 2018, 12:03 pm

@Babyelijah3

I'm glad he's drinking from the jar now!! Smile

I would say that once he's a little bit older, it would be worthwhile to at least try to teach him to use a bottle. It's a lot easier to keep a water bottle clean than a bowl, as rodents tend to mess up water bowls very quickly. (If my girls see a water bowl, in goes their bedding.)

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