Food for Geriatric Mouse

by toothfairy Mon 26 Jun 2023, 8:07 am

What is an appealing food for an older mouse? Macho is drinking water, but until the last two days, is not as interested in food. Macho was eating Selective Science, but now is only interested in Oxbow Essentials in limited amount. Treats throughout the week: blueberry, carrot, english walnut, quaker oats, Vita Prima Parakeet food and a constant supply of oat hay. Macho is not as interested in his favorite treats anymore. So far, he still grooms himself and has a shiny coat. He sleeps a lot more. Macho is 1 yr + 9 months. The vet saw him this February and she thought he looked good. Its way too stressful for him to see the vet again. Any suggestions PLEASE!?

by eva.dominguez Wed 28 Jun 2023, 7:17 pm

Can he reach his food ok? Sometimes with elderly mice its best that they be moved to a smaller cage so they dont have to travel far for food and water. I think its good that you are introducing new foods and options. I think just try your best to make him comfortable, because as mice get elderly they can loose interest in food, especially if they are sick, you could also try soft foods like puree, or baby foods without any additives like salt

by MerciToujoursMaPetiteBoop Sun 09 Jul 2023, 2:55 pm

A few suggestions, from experience and research:

Baby cereal -- the powdered kind that you mix with liquid to make porridge -- seems to be a good starting point. Mice will gobble it up plain, but you can also vary it by using juice instead of water. If you mouse does not seem to be taking enough water, you can make the porridge thinner to supplement its fluid intake. And if your mouse becomes hypothermic, you can add honey or syrup or peanut butter to the porridge to increase the calories without increasing the volume of food. (P.S. I used to feed my little April the multi-grain flavor. I hoped it would present a better cross-section of grain nutrition for her than a mono-grain flavor would.)

Also, if there's something you used to feed Macho but no longer keep around, you can restore it to the meal plan to see if he might be interested in a little nostalgia dining. Or, refer to a list of foods that are safe for mice, and try out a few things that Macho hasn't had before, to see if he's just bored with the current menu.

And if he seems really interested in something YOU are eating, check it versus the mouse-safe list to see if you can make a little mouse-sized serving for Macho. I used to do that for April, and she'd get to share a little of my Subway tuna sub or have her own tiny mouse-safe pizza. I tried to avoid getting any of my hot sauce on April's "tuna sub", but one day I goofed up ... and it turned out that she seemed to REALLY LIKE a little hot sauce! (Oh, she was a funny little girl ...)

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Food for Geriatric Mouse

Food for Geriatric Mouse

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Re: Food for Geriatric Mouse