diet for fat mice?

by Jadamouse Mon 02 Apr 2018, 4:59 pm

hi there!

anybody have any diet plans for a group of female mice who are a bit on the chubby side? i adopted them a few weeks ago and they came rather round and i think it would be best for them if they lose a bit of weight. the diet they were on with their previous owner was extremely fatty. they are on a better diet now but is there anything extra i can do?

the currently weigh each at about 45-50 grams.

thanks!

by CallaLily Tue 03 Apr 2018, 11:42 am

Mice have very high metabolisms so need to eat many small meals a day, so restricting a healthy staple food isn’t a good option. You can however reduce or cut out treats (especially fatty or sugary ones) and slowly up their fresh veggies (without overtaking their main food).

The only other thing I would suggest doing is give them more exercise. Switch toys up often, more climbing/balancing toys, more out-of-cage play time where they can run around. You could also place their food dish higher or feed in puzzles, or scatter feed to make them work for it a bit more.

Some mice are just genetically prone to obesity (most brindle mice for example), so the goal is more to not let it get crazy out of control, rather than weight loss. As long as they don’t look like a hockey puck I wouldn’t worry too much. I hope this helps.

diet for fat mice?

diet for fat mice?

Re: diet for fat mice?