Do mice overeat?

by River on Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:35 pm

I'll be out of state for 3 days, and while my grandmother will be keeping an eye on the animals, she is terrified of rodents, so it'd be easier on her if I could just offer them a large bowl for while I'm gone. My worry is that they'll overeat! Does anyone know if they will or not?

by CinnamonPearl on Tue Jun 28, 2016 4:50 pm

Mice don't tend to overeat, no. In fact, I give my girls enough food for two days at each feeding and only change the bowl every other day. Sure, a couple of my girls are a little pudgy, but it's mainly cause of laziness.

by River on Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:21 pm

Ah, okay. So leaving them with a big bowl will be fine? I have a spare rabbit bowl I could clean up and use.

by CinnamonPearl on Tue Jun 28, 2016 6:37 pm

Yup! Also, if you get a measurement of how many grams of food your girls go through in a day, you can just give them three times as much for when you leave.

by CallaLily on Wed Jun 29, 2016 8:20 am

I fill the dish where it lasts 2-3 days, only refilling it when they've eaten most of it. It's always worked for me and as far as I can tell the mice that have gotten chubby are the ones who are genetically predisposed to it. The others have stayed a healthy weight.

by River on Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:11 pm

@CallaLily wrote:I fill the dish where it lasts 2-3 days, only refilling it when they've eaten most of it. It's always worked for me and as far as I can tell the mice that have gotten chubby are the ones who are genetically predisposed to it. The others have stayed a healthy weight.

Good to know! My grandmother has a very strange fear of rodents. Once when Echo - one of my degus - escaped the carrier on the way home from adoption, she literally left the car until she was caught - nearly hyperventilated.
Still not sure how Echo escaped. She was a Houdini, for sure - escaped two times in her lifetime! We had to start putting locks on the doors of her cage, or else she'd be running around the kitchen in search of snacks.
...I've gone off topic.
In other words...my grandmother will thank you.

Do mice overeat?

Do mice overeat?

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Re: Do mice overeat?

Re: Do mice overeat?

Re: Do mice overeat?

Re: Do mice overeat?