A few Questions Regarding Feeding a Mouse.

by Riikchu Wed 06 Jun 2018, 10:58 pm

I have decided to get a male mouse, and I have some questions regarding food.
I've done research and would like to double check on here.

1. How often should I feed my mouse?
I usually do once a day for most of my pets but do mice need any more or less?

2. How much mix should I give him?

3. How often should I give treats?

4. How can I check if my mouse is able to drink from his water bottle?

by CucumberMouse Thu 07 Jun 2018, 1:54 am

I feed my guy around one TSP a day, and change it out daily. It's usually all gone except a few pieces. I don't really know if that's because he hoards it or eats it... but I assume it's gone because he eats most of it. But mainly, fill your mouse's food whenever it seems to be getting close empty. My mouse specifically tends to eat(atleast I assume he eats it?) about 1 TSB a day, but it can vary from mouse to mouse. Give them a decent amount of food and wait until most of the food is gone. It depends on the mouse and their size on how long it will take them to eat a certain amount of food. The issue with giving a mouse a specific amount of food, and changing it every day or couple of days, regardless of how much they eat, is that your mouse might be able to skip out on eating the parts they don't like. If you always give them a fresh mix, full of all the good parts they like, the mouse is going to eat the parts they like and skip all the parts they don't like, and wait until their bowl is filled again with the good stuff, which can lead to a nutritional imbalance. So, fill your mouse's food when it's mostly empty (not 100% empty, but like 95% or so...), and they've eaten all the parts of it, to get the full benefits of the food. Personally, I wouldn't give your mouse any more food then it will take them to eat in 2-3 days, but that's just me. Once you get your mouse, you'll be able to get a feel of how quickly they eat food. It's important not to restrict your mouse's food. There might be some rare cases where you would, like if a vet required it, but in day to day care, even if a mouse is overweight, from what I've seen, you shouldn't restrict their food. Give them as much as they'll eat, no more no less.

As for treats, I would limit the really fatty ones to absolutely no more than one every two weeks or so. I give the sugar filled treats- like most from the petstores- as very special treats, for times like birthdays and half birthdays. As for healthier treats, you can feed those a little more often. For example, with pumpkin seeds I give my mouse 5-6 a week. I also give him a few bits of grape nuts (a cereal) to him every other night. It really depends on how healthy or unhealthy a treat is.

To make sure a water bottle is working you can tap on the ball of the spout and see if water comes out. Try to see if the water level goes down, but animals as small as mice don't drink that much, so it can be hard to see if the water level goes down, but you could try. If you're worried, you could try giving your mouse some pieces of a cucumber and seeing if he eats those. Cucumbers have a high water content so if he's eating them, he's atleast getting some water. Hopefully this helped Smile

by CallaLily Thu 07 Jun 2018, 9:22 am

Yep, mice should have a good staple mix available at all times. They have high metabolisms and need to eat very frequent small meals throughout the day/night. Only refill the bowl when they’ve eaten most of it to prevent selective feeding. You will get a feel for how much to put in the dish each time so that there isn’t a ton of food going to waste. I also like to pay close attention to any that’s left during weekly cleans. If there’s a lot of hidden food, you’re feeding too much. If there’s none, too little.

I also agree that how much and how often treats are given depends on the treat. Healthier treats (pumpkin seeds, walnuts, mealworms, etc) can be given in small amounts daily. Junky treats should be given much less often or not at all.

Fresh veg/fruit should be offered at least twice a week, but can be offered daily in small amounts.

Gently tapping on the ball should release some water. I check at least twice a day to make sure my bottles are still releasing water. I’ve had one quit before so it’s a worry of mine. As long as your bottle is working, you shouldn’t have to worry about them not being able to use the bottle. They’ll find it and catch on quick. No worries. But you can observe quietly for a while to be sure they’re getting it. I know my water bottles are kind of noisy when they’re drinking so if you don’t actually see them at the bottle you’ll likely hear it.

by Nijimi にじみ Thu 07 Jun 2018, 2:42 pm

Since all the questions are answered, I hope you can get a tank Gift Mouse

I have two water bottles + holders from the Alfie brand and they are great! The only thing is that they are fragile.
Here's the link
Good Luck! Razz

by Riikchu Fri 08 Jun 2018, 12:19 am

Thank you so much for your help! I greatly appreciate it Smile

CucumberMouse wrote:I feed my guy around one TSP a day, and change it out daily. It's usually all gone except a few pieces. I don't really know if that's because he hoards it or eats it... but I assume it's gone because he eats most of it. But mainly, fill your mouse's food whenever it seems to be getting close empty. My mouse specifically tends to eat(atleast I assume he eats it?) about 1 TSB a day, but it can vary from mouse to mouse. Give them a decent amount of food and wait until most of the food is gone. It depends on the mouse and their size on how long it will take them to eat a certain amount of food. The issue with giving a mouse a specific amount of food, and changing it every day or couple of days, regardless of how much they eat, is that your mouse might be able to skip out on eating the parts they don't like. If you always give them a fresh mix, full of all the good parts they like, the mouse is going to eat the parts they like and skip all the parts they don't like, and wait until their bowl is filled again with the good stuff, which can lead to a nutritional imbalance. So, fill your mouse's food when it's mostly empty (not 100% empty, but like 95% or so...), and they've eaten all the parts of it, to get the full benefits of the food. Personally, I wouldn't give your mouse any more food then it will take them to eat in 2-3 days, but that's just me. Once you get your mouse, you'll be able to get a feel of how quickly they eat food. It's important not to restrict your mouse's food. There might be some rare cases where you would, like if a vet required it, but in day to day care, even if a mouse is overweight, from what I've seen, you shouldn't restrict their food. Give them as much as they'll eat, no more no less.

As for treats, I would limit the really fatty ones to absolutely no more than one every two weeks or so. I give the sugar filled treats- like most from the petstores- as very special treats, for times like birthdays and half birthdays. As for healthier treats, you can feed those a little more often. For example, with pumpkin seeds I give my mouse 5-6 a week. I also give him a few bits of grape nuts (a cereal) to him every other night. It really depends on how healthy or unhealthy a treat is.

To make sure a water bottle is working you can tap on the ball of the spout and see if water comes out. Try to see if the water level goes down, but animals as small as mice don't drink that much, so it can be hard to see if the water level goes down, but you could try. If you're worried, you could try giving your mouse some pieces of a cucumber and seeing if he eats those. Cucumbers have a high water content so if he's eating them, he's atleast getting some water. Hopefully this helped

CallaLily wrote:Yep, mice should have a good staple mix available at all times. They have high metabolisms and need to eat very frequent small meals throughout the day/night. Only refill the bowl when they’ve eaten most of it to prevent selective feeding. You will get a feel for how much to put in the dish each time so that there isn’t a ton of food going to waste. I also like to pay close attention to any that’s left during weekly cleans. If there’s a lot of hidden food, you’re feeding too much. If there’s none, too little.

I also agree that how much and how often treats are given depends on the treat. Healthier treats (pumpkin seeds, walnuts, mealworms, etc) can be given in small amounts daily. Junky treats should be given much less often or not at all.

Fresh veg/fruit should be offered at least twice a week, but can be offered daily in small amounts.

Gently tapping on the ball should release some water. I check at least twice a day to make sure my bottles are still releasing water. I’ve had one quit before so it’s a worry of mine. As long as your bottle is working, you shouldn’t have to worry about them not being able to use the bottle. They’ll find it and catch on quick. No worries. But you can observe quietly for a while to be sure they’re getting it. I know my water bottles are kind of noisy when they’re drinking so if you don’t actually see them at the bottle you’ll likely hear it.

by Riikchu Fri 08 Jun 2018, 12:22 am

Thank you! I'm actually going to be using a bin cage for my mouse since it's the most affordable. I appreciate the link for the bottle holder Smile

Nijimi にじみ wrote:Since all the questions are answered, I hope you can get a tank
I have two water bottles + holders from the Alfie brand and they are great! The only thing is that they are fragile.
Here's the link
Good Luck!

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