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new mice, food question.

J

JamesGruber

New member
okay, i use to bread mice a long time ago when i had snakes and i would sometimes feed them cat food for a couple days when i ran out of mice food.

well im planning on getting a corn hatchling soon so today i got 2 mice to start breeding again.

the only problem is i have NO mice food and i most likely wont be able to get any for a couple weeks. is it okay for them to eat dog food until i get some? i also put some cheese in there for more variety. does anyone else know of anything else i can feed then that i would have on hand???

also, i haven't seen them drink any water or even attempt to, is this normal??
 
Yes it is very normal for you to not see a mouse drink water. Also they can eat anything. I have a breeding colony, who eat everything from dog food to expansive cat food and everything i eat. Your mice will be ok as long as your not feeding it to them all the time. One thing I found works the best is bread and cheerios.
 
okay i am going tomorrow to get some actual mice food but i was just wondering if that would be okay until then. i don't have any cheerios but i am gonna give them some bread. thanks for the help.
 
Dry dog food is okay, cat food tends to have a very high protein content, but in an emergency it should be okay.

When you get actual mouse food, check local feed stores andtry to find rodent lab block. Mouse food sold in poet stores is usually a seed mix and that's not really optimal, as well as being very expensive compared to lab block sold in bulk.

Mazuri 6F, Harlan, Purina LabDiet are goodoptions for lab block, AVOID Kaytee brand foods of any kind.
 
Flagg said:
AVOID Kaytee brand foods of any kind.
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Yes, avoid it like the plague, esp. the lab block. It's compressed cigarette butts.
That's tough sometimes, since EVERY pet store carries it.
Dog food is fine for mice in the short term (Even long term if you get the right kind.) but rodent food works better.
 
Ashley@PJCReptiles said:
Yes it is very normal for you to not see a mouse drink water. Also they can eat anything. I have a breeding colony, who eat everything from dog food to expansive cat food and everything i eat. Your mice will be ok as long as your not feeding it to them all the time. One thing I found works the best is bread and cheerios.
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Not to start a war, but I have to disagree on your post. Mice require a pretty steady diet in order to breed successfully. What nutrition will they get from a steady diet of bread and cheerios? Cheerios has zero protein and protein in bread is poor quality lacking essential amino acids.
Your best bet is mazzuri lab block, completely balanced for mice and rats.
 
Ashley@PJCReptiles said:
it was a temperarey food source until he could get food if you had finished reading the post.
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I did read the entire post. Ive bred mice and rats for along time, I would not advise anyone (especially a new member) that they can feed their colonies "anything", sure they CAN eat anything. My dogs can eat chocolate, doesnt mean I'll give it to them.....just stay away from cheerios and bread unless you want cannibalistic mice.
 
Well You aren't the only one out there that has bred rats and mice most of us on here have and all of us have our different oppions. So don't take it all so seriously.
 
I have heard any dog food with red dye in it is bad for reptiles. I also tried using a cheap, dye free dog kibble once "Ol Roy" and mixing it with seeds and grains, and I had several mice die off after a week or so of feeding that so now I just use the mazuri mouse blocks and give occasional seeds and grains for variety.
 
Ashley@PJCReptiles said:
Well You aren't the only one out there that has bred rats and mice most of us on here have and all of us have our different oppions. So don't take it all so seriously.
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Never said I was the only one. I respect everyones opinion, but When I see something questionable Ill question it, thats all I did. I do see mice as food. But while they are alive they deserve the right diet, and proper husbandry....remember that diet is passed on to your snakes/monitors....etc. Anyone who doesnt take it seriously, doesnt deserve to be responsible for animals lives.
 
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