mouse nutrition

Question
I am doing a project on mouse health and weight gain, and need to know what types of foods are good for them and where they store body fat, if at all. Also any information about their instincts when it comes to food would be extra helpful. If you are unable to respond to my question I understand, and thank you for your time.

Curious Mouse Researcher

Answer
Hi Kyra,

This is actually a very complicated question, and I don't really qualify as a source or anything.  I can give you a bunch of links with a lot of really useful information, though, pertaining to nutrition and foods.  As far as instincts, this is a topic that is still in research.  If I were you I would try searching at your library or on google docs for instincts and something called epigenetics.  About the fat storage - I'm not sure where anatomically your typical mouse stores its fat, but I do know that some mice are prone to storing too much of it and becoming obese, and that it is linked to a few specific genes.  I don't know if that helps or not, but it seems to relate.



https://www.mazuri.com/indexMazuri.asp - Mazuri makes lab blocks in different formulas, and may have information on their site or in specific feed descriptions explaining why some nutritional details vary between what sort of mice it is going to - like breeders, regular colonies, etc.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/34/3/273.pdf - one of many findable journal articles discussing the finer points of mouse nutrition.  Nutrition varies between different kinds of mice, where they live, and what they do, so things like this can be useful when you need specifics or simply an example of why different mice need different things.

http://petdoc.com/story/mouse-nutrition  A good introduction on the different portions of a mouse's diet.

http://www.fancymicebreeders.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5  An EXCELLENT all-inclusive list of what foods mice can and cannot eat and why.  If you back up to that section of the forum, the entire feeding section could be incredibly useful to you.

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/homemadediet.htm  This is a terrific guide to what nutrients/ratios rats and mice need by way of formulating one's own rodent diet.  I think of all the links, this one may be the most useful to you.

Best of luck!
-Tam