# Constant Food or Daily Feeding? Which Is Better?



## tillyandapril (Aug 6, 2013)

Is it better to fill the mouses' food bowl all the way up and let them have access to food 24/7 or is it better to put enough food in for one day and feed them once daily?

I feed mine once daily because they tend to poop in the food bowl so if I left several day's supply of food for them they would poop all in it. Some of my mice tend to have bigger appetites than others and eat a lot of the food before the others get to it. Would it be better to give them 24/7 access to food to ensure everyone is getting enough to eat?


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

They should always have food available.If they are peeing in the pot try putting the food straight onto the floor of the cage.It is good to check the mice daily if you have time but not essential.


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## tillyandapril (Aug 6, 2013)

I started making food constantly available and my mice have all quickly gained a lot of weight. I am going to go back to my old feeding routine i guess :/


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

What variety do you have? Limiting food doesn't necessarily result in a good lose of weight, but in the biggest mouse scarfing all the food. You should maybe look at changing diet instead, if they're not breeders you may be giving them too much protein or just general fatty foods over all.


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## tillyandapril (Aug 6, 2013)

I primarily feed them lab blocks with occasional rolled oats, fruits and veggies, and sometimes seeds as special treats (mainly pumpkin seeds). When I fed them once daily they were all a healthy size, but since I switched over to constant food even the ones with smaller appetites have started getting fat.


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

I feed mine every day but they should always have a bit of food left over by the next days feed due to there fast matabalizum they should have acess to food all the time. I don't use bowls I just throw it on the floor they then have to forage for it so which is natural and gives them something to do. 
But when I go away for a weekend I chuck in 3 days worth of food and put on extra water bottles and have never had a problem.
My mice in my isolation shed only get fed every other day as I don't want to be going in there too much so they get loads of food to last them.


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