# Feeding how many times a day



## mich (Sep 28, 2013)

I read somewhere that you only have to feed your mice once a day. Has anyone got any good advice or tips regarding this :fglob please?


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## Serena (Dec 29, 2011)

Why wouldn't it be enough to feed them once a day? 
Only food that spoils quickly, like KMR or porridge should be removed after a few hours.


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

Doesn't even need to be every day if they have sufficient food to keep them going.


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## olivyewfarm (Oct 8, 2013)

I put out enough dry food mix to last all day - they can eat as much as they want. Fresh or "human" food is removed before I go to bed.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

You lurn how much to put in by what's left over, if you put in some food then the next day there is loads left still you know to feed them less or even don't put in New food that time if there is loads left. If there is no food left give then a bit more than you did.

I feed once a day, I scatter the food about in the evening then they get 24hours to forage for it.
A hamster they use to have at work some times I wouldn't put in any food all week as the person who would feed on the Sunday would often give it way to much and it would end up with a huge pile of food in a corner so I wouldn't feed it untill it had eaten most of the pile. Other wise you get selective feeding.


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## ThatCertainGlow (Jun 23, 2012)

Non-breeding mice, and mice you know, easily done once in a day. Longer if feeding only dry foods. Especially if you are using some sort of suspended/hopper/enclosed feeding method (so it doesn't get soiled).

I've not ever had mice that pull all the food out/down from such an arrangement, and then soil it or hide it. Food scattered in the bins also tends to stay clean, except with mice under 3-4 weeks, because of toilet corner usage. I would guess the concern is from something where people fed the food in bowls, and the mice used them as toilets. Or that odd concept where it's thought you won't attend to the mice unless you are also feeding them often.

With new lines and nursing mice, to me, it seems best to monitor the available food more often when changing anything in the diet; but it's quickly apparent in a few days how much will be required by each situation. So then the above still applies.


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## Fantasia Mousery (Jul 16, 2011)

Huh, funny. I've never thought about feeding more than once a day. I check water supply a couple times of day, but not food. Obviously, as everyone else says, food that spoils quickly get taken away after a few hours, but I don't consider taking something away as feeding.


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## pro-petz (Nov 14, 2012)

As already stated once a day is adequate. I started initially using the top from an old aerosol can and used that as a guide to the amount of food given, over time now also use the food scoop.

Wet foods such as fresh fruit and veg is removed after a few hours depending on what is given as they spoil at different rates.

As stated also scattering food lets the mice forage and gives the mice additional enrichment compared to hopper feeding. Hiding food inside toilet rolls blocked at each end with bedding is also an additional enrichment for the mice, I use about a teaspoonful of sunflower seeds or other favourite food for this.


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