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Post by fuzzymom on Feb 13, 2009 8:56:06 GMT -5
This is a good rodent food mix that I have used. I leave out the dried fruit and feed fresh though.
Rolled Oats (one large container) Puffed Grains (I get the Kashi brand. Its either 7 or 9 grain) Corn Flakes (any brand will do. No sugar though!) Bran Flakes (you can use Raisin Bran) Tri-Colored Pasta (any shape) Dried Lentils (mine don't eat these as much so sometimes I leave them out) Dried Peas (same as lentils) Cherrios (I get the cheap brand) Dried Fruit (can be just about anything, but I choose to give them fresh)
Also from time to time, give them meaty bones to chew on. They also love dog biscuits. Every once in a blue moon I would cook them up some egg as well.
I feed this in addition to rodent lab block (Mazuri brand). I get a 50lb bag online for $55 and that includes shipping. Not a bad price, given I would spend $175 buying the same food from the petstore.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 17, 2009 11:07:18 GMT -5
Thanks,
I am on the last bit of food, so next week i will be looking for some rolled oats, dried peas, Corn Flakes, Some more pasta, and ofcourse they will be getting there fruit.
I've noticed that the mice are looking a little messy with there furr. It looks greasy, or just not slick back. That's bad right? It's making me worried, because of health wise.
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Post by fuzzymom on Feb 17, 2009 12:17:10 GMT -5
They might be getting too much fat in their diet. Oily, fatty foods can cause an over production in oil. They might not be tending to their own grooming needs as they should be. Is there anything around them that could be causing stress?
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 17, 2009 20:06:50 GMT -5
Well, I did just get them, and I try not to check on them, but i look forward to babys so i do check on them frequently.
I think one of the girls is going to have babys. She made like a nest, and now she's in the nest. YAY!
Also, Are a wire hamster type cage alright? I thinkg my tank got broken at the property, so i have to get one. :bleck: The food is in the top part where the hamster i supose to put a nest, but it got stinky fast, so i just use the area as a food pile area.
New idea for the ferts- I got a small baby bottle, and filled it with their oil. It works wonders! i advise it to all of you for a cute way to give them there oil.
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Post by fuzzymom on Feb 18, 2009 11:51:29 GMT -5
I am definitely going to try the baby bottle!
Yay for pregnant mommas! I love it when they begin their nesting behavior. A hamster cage is fine. As long as they have enough room and they are not only walking on wire, they are fine. I would be careful about the mice giving birth near the wire sides though. Babies could fall out. Hopefully the nest is on the bottom.
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Post by harrisi on Feb 18, 2009 14:22:11 GMT -5
If the cage bars are anymore then 1/8"x1/8" then dont bother. It is very rare for rats and mice to get greasy fur from oily foods. Its usually them producing oil to make the tank/cage smell like them, it can also be hormones. Mice tend not to care too much about cleaning, they mainly just groom themselves, but hormones are the main problem with oily coats or if you dont use absorbent bedding.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 22, 2009 21:27:09 GMT -5
Current Number of Breedable Females: 2 Current Number of Breedable Males: 1 Number Litters Produced: 0 Number of Offspring Produced: 0 Current List of Cages: Five gallon plastic tank, and Wire hamster cage Why don't we ever see any photos on this part of the forum??? Heres a photo of my storage unit. I had to take the top panel off on the right side because lellooo tried to go through it and got stuck. :slams head: and than while giving them a oat meal bath, jack got loose, and than i droped him on the stair case. Today was NOT my day. I didn't wantto waste a milk container so i ended up using it to store soup! Lookie lookie! I woke them up to see if they were okay, and they happily greated me with cute sleepy eskmo kisses. Okay so this is my small set up for the mice. I did switch the top to being a nest sice I couldn't see into the nest from before. Plus it's less stressfull to reach into there, than it is to acualy get into the cage. And this is the suposable pregnant mouse i have. She's a lot bigger today, so i think she got pregnant at the store.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 25, 2009 10:14:42 GMT -5
We have babies! I will post pictures of these weird looking wiggly pink things as soon as i get home.
I woke up this morning, checked on them, didn't see anything but than i didn't have any lights on, walked to the living area and got some breakfeast, came back to check on my Guineapigs, and than went and looked into the mice cage. I think there are about nine babys. She was HUGE last night. Like all bulg, and no body.
Cute n a weird way. I think the female made the babys from the store because i got her about three weeks ago? The mice at the shop are kept together, and they are rather mature mice.
Does anyone know the days that they start walking, getting furr, etc. like a calender of the sorts.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 25, 2009 11:12:23 GMT -5
Question-
My mice are albino, lab type so how would I mark them to tell which litter they came from?
Can i use a finger nail clipper to cut a chunk from there ear for the A. group, and do a different side for the B. group.
Does anyone do that to their mice?
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Post by tss on Feb 25, 2009 11:56:28 GMT -5
She probably did get pregnant at the store.
They start waking at about 1 week, they start to get a bit fuzzy at the same time. At 2 weeks they will be fully furred and have their eyes open and they will be much more stable on their feet. A couple days after their eyes are open they will hit the "Hopper" or "pop corn" stage, they hop and run around like crazy.
As for marking them, snipping their ear tips would be very painful.. There are a couple things that you can do though, either mix some very consentraded kool aid and put a few drips in their fur (this will dye their hair, and it's non-toxic) Or take some non-toxic permant marker and mark thier tails.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 25, 2009 13:06:59 GMT -5
When would i need to check the sex of the mice? like at how many days?
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Post by tss on Feb 25, 2009 18:06:14 GMT -5
The age does vary a bit but there are two different ages/ways to do it.. One is at about 5 or 7 days old, look at their bellies. Females will have small bald spots (nipples), males don't. Or just wait until the males are about 2.5 or 3 weeks old, at that point their male bits would have dropped... Another way is by comparing the space between the anus and "other" hole".. Males have a bigger space.,
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Post by harrisi on Feb 25, 2009 18:12:23 GMT -5
Sharpie pen in the ear is great for marking different families.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 26, 2009 22:39:09 GMT -5
Current Number of Breedable Females: 2 Current Number of Breedable Males: 1 Number Litters Produced: 1 Number of Offspring Produced: 8! Current List of Cages: Five gallon plastic tank, Wire hamster cage, and A 20 gallon tank in the garage.
I killed my first mouse. O.O it felt odd, but it was interesting. I grabed a baby when the nest was left un attended, and than showed it to the ferrets. lelloo bite it, shook it, and than let go, did it again, etc untill it was bleeding internaly. Jack did the same thing untill i put some oil on it. They didn't eat it, but it's like missing a tail, leg, and has a lot of holes in it's face, etc etc.
How would i get them to acualy eat it? I'm going to try again when they get furr,and when i get my "kill zone" container.
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Post by AnimalFarm2006 on Feb 28, 2009 11:03:10 GMT -5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current Number of Breedable Females: 2 Current Number of Breedable Males: 1 Number Litters Produced: 2 Number of Offspring Produced: 8+13= 21. XD lots of ferret food.
The second female gave birth to 13! She didn't look THAT pregnant, but i noticed she was smaller, so i checked on her in the cage and sure enough their were a crap load more of wiggly things Current List of Cages: Five gallon plastic tank, Wire hamster cage, and A 20 gallon tank in the garage.
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