# Feeding woes. Does this look like mold to you?



## mouseypeach (Jan 13, 2013)

The first bag of food I bought was on a whim. It was Kay-tee mouse food. I did some research on it and found out there are actually ingredients in it that cause cancer in mice! Then without researching again I picked up a bag of bonanza HARTZ. It was the only choice at the grocery store. Researched afterwards again... Read that it's like feeding them Mcdonalds.

So then I researched BEFORE I bought the food and came up with Browns tropical carnival for Hamster and gerbils....Great! Went and got it.

Not great.
I open the bag and it looks moldy. :evil: Luckily My boy is still weaning so mostly right now he is eating Gerber Oatmeal baby cereal mixed with his formula, along with fresh foods and what I pick out from the hartz.

Does this look like mold to you? Or is it just the dust from the food coloring.. I don't know... :?: 
I wanted a second opinion










If this really does look like mold to you guys I am going to make my own mix as I am quite fed up with these food companies now. I'm not sure where to start though.
So far I have these things to put in a mix
-Oats
-Flaxseed
-Walnuts

Also does anyone know about feeding dog kibble as a protein source? It would be Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken, that's what I feed my Border collie.
I know he'll need much more than that but it's just my start. I'm actually considering keeping crickets for him as a protein source.


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## onionpencil (Jan 6, 2013)

i think it's just dust. good luck!


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I think it looks substandard.I don't buy commercial parrot food any more for the same reason.Sits around for to long in shops and gets contaminated with mould and grain mites.Need a product that has a reasonably fast turn over.I've completely given up on parrot food,I buy seeds and nuts for human consumption and mix my own.I'd do the same for the mice if it was practical.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

if you fancy it you could taste a peanut,you'll know then :shock:


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## mouseypeach (Jan 13, 2013)

SarahC said:


> if you fancy it you could taste a peanut,you'll know then :shock:


 :lol:

theres an idea.... It actually smells pretty good!


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## onionpencil (Jan 6, 2013)

good idea. a peanut shouldn't hurt you... though there is that old song XD


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## HemlockStud (Apr 26, 2009)

To me that looks moldy, wouldn't chance it giving it to your mouse. If you still have the receipt you could return the bag of food in exchange for another or a refund.



> Also does anyone know about feeding dog kibble as a protein source? It would be Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken, that's what I feed my Border collie.
> I know he'll need much more than that but it's just my start. I'm actually considering keeping crickets for him as a protein source.


Dog kibble works wonderful for protein source and vitamins/minerals. Some people use the 'crappier' brands because they have a grain as the first and/or second ingredients and feed those soley to their mice. Where as a higher protein brand like what you mentioned is a good addition to a grain mix.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

Id take the food back . and complain.

I have dog food in my mix, you want to go for a cheap brand full of cerials in my opyion as good quality dog food is mostly meat based and I'd think too high in protein for mice where as the stuff you wouldn't want to feed your dog is lower in protine. the dog food I use looks more like some sort of rabbit food lol,


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## Seafolly (Mar 13, 2012)

Oh dear. Without a microscope it's hard to say but I don't think I'd feed that. : /


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## bonsai (Oct 14, 2012)

Hello.
The mix looks terrible.I wouldn't feed such dusty and coloured food at all.
Any other possibiltiy,mixing yourself,buying high quality bird food or good balanced pellets,would be better than that.
You can add fresh vegetabals,herbs and proteins e.g.mealworms yourself to have a good mix.


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## mouseypeach (Jan 13, 2013)

Thanks everyone. Even the hartz looks better than this stuff. I'm taking it back.
I have rabbits- would their timothy pellets be beneficial in a Mix I made myself? It's LM farms Classic pet rabbit food.
As far as the dog food goes, if I only gave him a kibble a day of this high protein dog food, along with some sort of balanced mix of food would that suffice as a protein source or would it be too much or not enough protein?
What exactly are the meecer "food groups" and what suffices?


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## mouseypeach (Jan 13, 2013)

These are the ingredients to the Rabbit pellets I have access to-
gredients: Wheat Middlings, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Soybean Hulls, Ground Corn, Cane Molasses, Oat Groats, Soybean Oil, Lignin Sulfonate, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, DL-Methionine, Magnesium Oxide, Choline Chloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Dried Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Extract, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract.

Here is the dog food 
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Tapioca Starch, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Potatoes, Alfalfa Meal, Potato Starch, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product

Crude Protein 34.0% min
Crude Fat 15.0% min
Crude Fiber 6.5% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Calcium 1.3% min
Phosphorus 0.9% min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.3% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 3.0% min


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## Seafolly (Mar 13, 2012)

I admittedly am not much help here, but I would avoid the dog food unless you're in a pinch. That high protein kibble is typically reserved for pregnant or nursing does. I think 13% is the cut off for mice? I limit my rats to 14%. I give my mice bits of cooked meat from my own meal from time to time. What about meal worms? Vegetable protein works but is absorbed differently I think.

As far as I'm aware, the pellets are fine for the mice but not as a staple. More like an addition. Mine don't like them at all actually - seed mixes and lab blocks are their favourites.


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## mouseypeach (Jan 13, 2013)

Anyone think this mix suffice...?
Wild bird seed mix that contains Millet, wheat, milo and sunflower
Dried meal worms
Rolled oats
Flax seed
Walnuts


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## DaisyTailsMousery (Nov 8, 2012)

I use lab blocks and they never look moldy or dusty. Each of my mice gets one block a day and plenty of treats (sunflower seeds, cheerions the occasional baby carrot etc.) and my pregnant/nursing does get lower quality cat food, too.
(and I think that mix would work fine)


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## besty74 (May 26, 2012)

that mix sounds great, but that food you posted the picture of looks awful i would take that back!


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## scrapheapchallenge (Sep 17, 2012)

I would say it looks mouldy 

Have a look here:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5

for the thread with reccomended foods.

I use the wagg mouse mix but I mix it in with porridge oats, rice, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, mealworms, a little home made flatbread (flour, water, pinch of salt and splash of olive oil), and I crumble in some shreddies/malted wheaties too. They also have mineral blocks to lick or gnaw on, I have tried them with carrot but they aren't interested. Occasionally as a special treat I will give them a crunchy nut cornflake or a sugar puff


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I mix food from whole grain and seeds each night, as I have found that the different moisture contents in the ingredients cause staleness as the mix ages, especially with seeds that have a higher moisture content and tend to get soft and not very tasty even overnight. Yes, I too taste my mousies seeds and I sniff the grains I use for evidence of mustiness and other contamination. If it doesn't smell okay to me, I don't use it.


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