Diet for mice

by Meep3626 Wed 14 Nov 2018, 8:36 pm

I'm confused about what to feed mice

I've always fed lab blocks and my mice have always lived pretty long, at least 2 years. I saw the sticky on this forum about diet and how lab blocks are too high in protein which can cause problems. My current new mouse is eating a mix of Oxbow Adult Rat (what the shelter had available) and CareFresh Complete Menu Mouse (which apparently CareFresh will no longer make). Is this suitable for now until I can get better food? I've only had the mouse for 4 days. And it's a 7 month old male singly housed.

I've read other mouse web sites and the recommended diet varies so much, from specific commercial brands to homemade. What is the ideal diet? I prefer blocks because there isn't any selective picking of the yummy stuff and leaving the rest. What brand of blocks is best and easily available in pet stores or online?

by CallaLily Sat 17 Nov 2018, 3:35 pm

Really there is no one perfect diet. Your best bet is to continue reading everything you can find on mouse diets and pull all that you learn together with your best judgement and that of your local quality breeder and exotic vet to figure out what works best for your mice.

In general, most mice from untracked lines do best with 12-14% crude protein but some well-bred lines and/or breeding mice may have different needs.

Some do prefer block based foods. Some prefer the variety a good quality seed mix gives. Many choose to provide a balance of both. It just comes down to what works best for your mice. Smile

by Meep3626 Sat 17 Nov 2018, 7:56 pm

Thanks! My mouse seems to like the Oxbow adult rat food over the Carefresh mouse. I read the sticky here on PetMouseFancier that said that Oxbow isn't a good brand to feed. Is Supreme Science Selective a better brand? I'm looking at the rat one since the shape is similar to the Oxbow (I think my mouse has a shape preference) and a pet mouse web site recommended the rat food over the mouse food. Any thoughts on Supreme Science Selective?

by chiroptera Mon 19 Nov 2018, 11:53 am

I'm currently using Science Selective Rat along with a homemade seed mix, and I think the mice like it a bit more than Oxbow! Smile

They still like to pick around the blocks, but when they do, they just get blocks until they eat those too. Razz

by Meep3626 Mon 19 Nov 2018, 7:08 pm

Thanks! I'll give the Supreme Science Selective rat food a try. Is the rat food enough or should I also include some sort of homemade mix as well as part of the diet?

by CallaLily Sat 24 Nov 2018, 9:58 am

I used Supreme Science Selective Mouse alongside a homemade seed mix. My mice loved it and usually ate it first, and I loved the ingredients compared to the other block foods I could find. Their rat formula is very similar and I know there’s a few on here that have used it.

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