Homemade mouse diet?

Question

What is a diet you can make for a mouse that is nutritionally complete and doesnt inclue any store bought mouse food. Im thinking about for my science experiment to use my pet mice that I am gonna get and feed some a homemade diet and some a store bought diet. Can you please include the link of where you got this diet. Thank you

Answer 1

I can't provide a link since the following is my own personal blend that I use for my foster and pet rats and mice. I compiled it on my own using my nutritional knowledge and then a WHOLE lot of label reading to determine the best variety that offered my rodents the needed vitamins/minerals/protein/carbs/fiber/fat.

The staple of my rodents' diet is Great Choice Dog Biscuits (multi-flavor bag --- $2/bag @ Petsmart). I get the small variety and then break them up into smaller bite-sized chunks. I use this as the staple of my diet because it has less than 18% protein (too much protein is BAD), and contains ALL NATURAL ingredients (read the label---the ingredients are wholesome and there are no fillers). Most premade diets are composed mostly of corn, which is nutritionally useless and nothing more than a filler. Also, the biscuits contain meat meal as well as vegetables---so it's already well-rounded. You could also use a premium dog food kibble that has less than 18% protein (typically, senior or weight management dog foods have lower protein).

To the biscuit pieces I mix vegetable rotini pasta in---uncooked of course ($1/box @ Walmart). This is for carbs.

I then mix in plain Cheerios (about $3/box @ Walmart). This is for vitamins/minerals/variety/carbs/FIBER.

Finally, I add in puffed wheat ($1/bag @ Walmart). This is for fiber. You can find it in the cereal isle.

You could also include rolled oats, sunflower seeds, or peanuts in the mix---though, personally, I find them useless considering the biscuits or dog food will contain the necessary oils for a good healthy coat.

Don't forget to supplement the diet occasionally with fresh herbs, vegetables, fruit, lean meats, cooked egg, and low-sugar/low-fat yogurt or cheeses.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

A good mouse diet mimics what a mouse eats in the wild. Their diets are similar enough to rats that problems shouldn't arise if they ate the same diet. I would ask a vet if you're concerned about any of the below recipes. Often the stuff you make yourself is better than the stuff at pet stores and often its cheaper, too.

I'll post a few sites with a home made rat/mouse diet. In most cases it's a mix of all grain cereals like Total or Muslix, pasta, lab blocks from the pet store, Low fat dog food, rice, barley and dried fruits. Some mouse breeders will add crickets and meal worms to their diet. If that's not your thing, you can add smoked oysters or tuna. They will also enjoy some timothy hay. I find my guys just toss it around, but every so often it shows signs of being eaten. You could probably grow some cat grass/wheat grass and get the same results :-) . They're used mainly for the fiber and it helps motivate the bowels.

Answer 3

Make them into soup! The whimpy researcher spent one summer studying how wolves lived on mice and ate them himself. He got really buff! He solved the riddle of how wolves survived in a region where there were no caribou. I apologize. I couldn't resist. I love that movie. I also think mice are cute. My 3 daughters had white lab rats for pets. They were wonderful pets and I learned interesting things from having them around. I admit I have no idea how to cook for mice.

Answer 4

read the ingredients on a bag of mouse food....
in the end everything comes from the store if it doesnt come from your own garden