Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

by metalmouse Thu 04 May 2017, 7:08 pm

What's with all the corn and soy as the first ingredients listed in a lot of rodent blocks? If I'm not mistaken, corn aggravates the chances of cancer in rats; not sure about mice.

Anyway, Bean--my now two-month-old wild cactus mouse--is running low on her organic mouse food, and because the seller doesn't seem to have it consistently in stock I think it's time to find a new brand. Can anyone recommend one that's preferably corn and soy-free?

Cactus mice eat a variety of native seeds, including mesquite beans, but I'm afraid if I start introducing wild seeds I find in the desert into her diet it could make her sick since she's never been exposed to her natural environment. I wonder if buying them online in the type of seed packets you'd plant a garden with would be a good idea?

For readers new to Bean's story--don't worry. I'm not keeping a wild mouse as pet; I couldn't release her into the wild due to her physical disabilities.

by CallaLily Thu 04 May 2017, 7:59 pm

It's almost impossible to find a rodent food without corn or soy (was your organic brand without either? I really wish I could find more info on it!). My guess is its cheap and easier than healthier alternatives. The 2 block foods I eventually settled on I have shipped in from viovet in the UK. Both do contain soy though. Mr Johnson's Advance Mouse & Rat and Supreme Science Selective Mouse. Sometimes you can find Supreme Science Selective Rat on Amazon. These aren't perfect, but the best I've found imo.

Now there is no real proof that corn increases tumors in mice. There were some studies that appeared to show it might increase the chances. But these studies have since been found inconclusive due to their methods. I personally still choose to try to keep it low in the mix.

As for a seed mix, I've been making mine homemade for a while now, and recently started using a parakeet mix as roughly 30% of the mix (the only source of corn, besides some occasional treats). I'm just not happy with any commercial mix on its own. I was originally making my mix from "straights", but found the addition of the parakeet seed saved some money.

by Rodents rock! Thu 04 May 2017, 8:06 pm

Hi, I feed my mouse, Mickey, Vitakraft Vitasmart complete nutrition parakeet food. I get it at PetSmart. I also give Mickey spray millet, also for birds. I give the spray millet to my gerbil and my hamster too, they all love it. Hopefully this helps.

I also give them all organic cereal as a treat, and they all also get the occasional dog biscuit for a treat too.

How is Bean doing? She is so adorable!

by AnonymousMouseOwner Thu 04 May 2017, 8:15 pm

Don't wild mice need more protein though? I'm not sure Vitakraft Vitasmart alone would do it for a wild mouse.

by Rodents rock! Thu 04 May 2017, 8:23 pm

AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:Don't wild mice need more protein though? I'm not sure Vitakraft Vitasmart alone would do it for a wild mouse.

I'm not sure. I wonder if a grain free dry dog food would be a good idea for Bean?

by metalmouse Fri 05 May 2017, 11:06 am

Rodents rock! wrote:Hi, I feed my mouse, Mickey, Vitakraft Vitasmart complete nutrition parakeet food. I get it at PetSmart. I also give Mickey spray millet, also for birds. I give the spray millet to my gerbil and my hamster too, they all love it. Hopefully this helps.

I also give them all organic cereal as a treat, and they all also get the occasional dog biscuit for a treat too.

How is Bean doing? She is so adorable!

She's doing great. Extremely lovable. I had to leave her with my mom for five days for a work thing and when I came back she crawled into my hand and peed on me lol. I missed her.

Rodents rock! wrote:
AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:Don't wild mice need more protein though? I'm not sure Vitakraft Vitasmart alone would do it for a wild mouse.

I'm not sure. I wonder if a grain free dry dog food would be a good idea for Bean?

I checked out Vitakraft Vitasmart and I wasn't super impressed with the ingredients for Bean's nutritional requirements. Yes, I believe wild mice need more protein. I have a grain free dog food she enjoyed when she was weaning; I could try it again.

I like that Supreme Science brand a lot. She doesn't need the soy at all, but it's better than a lot of the rodent blocks advertised as "organic" and "all-natural" (yeah, organic and all-natural corn, blech).

by CallaLily Fri 05 May 2017, 11:20 am

metalmouse wrote:[
I like that Supreme Science brand a lot. She doesn't need the soy at all, but it's better than a lot of the rodent blocks advertised as "organic" and "all-natural" (yeah, organic and all-natural corn, blech).

That's how I feel. It's not perfect, but it's a long ways from the crappy block sold in the U.S.

metalmouse wrote:
Cactus mice eat a variety of native seeds, including mesquite beans, but I'm afraid if I start introducing wild seeds I find in the desert into her diet it could make her sick since she's never been exposed to her natural environment. I wonder if buying them online in the type of seed packets you'd plant a garden with would be a good idea?

Making your own mix might be the way to go. I would worry about gathering wild seeds too. I think the packets would be ok if they're not treated with anything? Definitely put in some research into making your own mix first. I read everything I could get my hands on about mouse diets (specifically mus musculus, I don't know anything about cactus mice) for over a year before I ventured into making my own seed mix and I still bumbled around for a bit. And definitely continue adding in a block food to round it out.

by Sponsored content

Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?

Re: Any corn-free mouse foods out there?