Care products for mice: feeding, drinking and safe transport

Daily care for mice revolves around a few fixed things: fresh water every day, a good portion of food in a clean spot, and a safe box ready for when you need to move a mouse. Mice are small and can deteriorate quickly if they are not eating or drinking properly. With good basic equipment, you can easily keep an eye on that and notice straight away if something changes.

In this category you will find food bowls, water bottles and transport boxes for mice. If you have a glass enclosure, you hang the bottle with the aluminium magnetic bottle holder from Zooply, our own brand. The food bowl should contain a good basic food, such as Zooply Mouse Food, which we feed every day to the mice in our own shop and breeding facility.

At a glance

• ✓ Refresh the water every day and check that the bottle's spout works.
• ✓ Choose a small, heavy food bowl with a low rim and only top up once it is properly empty.
• ✓ Put food and water in a dry spot, not beneath each other and not in the pee corner.
• ✓ In a small group, provide more than one place to eat and drink.
• ✓ Keep an escape-proof transport box ready for the vet or an emergency.

What will you find in the Care & Grooming category?

Food bowls

Under Food bowls you will find small, sturdy bowls made of ceramic and stoneware, such as the 7 cm ceramic bowls, the 100 ml round bowls and the low bowls with a rainforest look. There are also bowls in the shape of a carrot, an apple or a lettuce leaf, and glass bowls on a Gamal wood base. For mice, a small bowl with a low rim works best.

Water bottles

Under Water bottles you will find plastic drinking bottles of 75 and 150 ml, glass bottles of 125 and 250 ml with a bracket and float, holders and a cleaning brush. The Zooply aluminium bottle holder with magnets attaches a bottle to a glass wall up to 4 mm thick and fits the 75 and 150 ml Classic bottles.

Transport boxes

Under Transport boxes you will find Trixie transport boxes in three sizes and a larger carrier with a lid. With these you can take your mice safely to the vet, move them house or keep them apart temporarily while you clean.

Feeding: fixed spot, fixed portion

Mice eat spread out over the evening and night and like to take food back to their nest. A fixed feeding spot with a fixed portion shows you how much is actually being eaten. Mouse food is a mix of seeds and pellets. Mice like to pick out the tastiest pieces first. So only top up the bowl once it has been eaten properly empty; otherwise only the favourites get eaten and they miss out on some of the nutrients.

You can also scatter part of the daily portion through the bedding or hide it in toys. Your mice are then busy searching for longer. Do keep a fixed base portion in the bowl, though. Give fresh food, such as a piece of vegetable, in a separate small bowl and remove it the same day. Clear away perishable leftovers in the nest when you clean.

Drinking: fresh every day and checked

A water bottle keeps the water clean, because no bedding gets into it. For mice, choose a small bottle, so the water does not stand for days. Hang it so a mouse can reach the spout comfortably, but not so low that the spout hangs in the bedding. Press the ball briefly every day: a drop should come out. A blocked spout looks like a full bottle from the outside, while your mouse cannot drink.

Clean the bottle at least once a week with warm water and a bottle brush. Hang it out of the sun, so algae do not start to grow. When refreshing, also check the bedding under the bottle: if it is wet, the spout is leaking and you need to replace the bottle.

Transport: short, safe and escape-proof

A mouse can squeeze through an opening of less than a centimetre. So with every transport box, check that the lid closes properly and that the ventilation openings are narrow enough. Put a layer of bedding and some familiar nesting material in the box, secure it in the car and never leave it in the sun or in a warm car. Mice that live together can travel together; transport a sick mouse separately.

Caring for a small group of mice

Female mice live in a small group with a pecking order. With one food bowl and one drinking spot, a dominant mouse can occupy them, so a mouse lower in the pecking order eats or drinks less. So in an enclosure with several mice, put two food bowls and two bottles in different places. That is also a safe backup if a bottle gets blocked.

A quick look every day

The care products are also your daily moment for a check. When refreshing the water and filling the food bowl, take a quick look at your mice. Are they active in the evening? Are they eating and drinking normally? Do the coat and eyes look good? Have a mouse that is eating less, lethargic, losing weight, breathing with difficulty or has a dull coat checked by a vet with experience of rodents. Mice are small and can deteriorate quickly; with a transport box in the house, you can act straight away.

What do you need on the first day?

When you bring new mice home, make sure everything is ready before they arrive. Take a transport box with you to collect them. At home, the enclosure is already set up, with a food bowl containing the same food they were used to, a filled and checked water bottle and a deep layer of bedding with nesting material. If you want to switch to a different food, such as Zooply Mouse Food, do it gradually over 1 to 2 weeks by mixing more and more of the new food into the old.

Summer and winter

Mice cope poorly with heat. In summer, keep the enclosure out of the sun, refresh the water more often and check that the bottle does not run dry; mice drink more when it is warm. On warm days, never leave a transport box in the car or on a sunny windowsill. In winter, the enclosure is best kept in a room with an even temperature, out of draughts. A water bottle in a cold shed can freeze in frosty weather, and then your mouse can no longer drink. That is why mice should live indoors.

Storing food properly

Store mouse food dry, cool and dark in well-sealed packaging or a storage container. Empty the container first before you put new food in, and choose a pack size you will use up within a reasonable time. That keeps the food fresh and keeps pests and moisture out.

Cleaning

Rinse the food bowl regularly and wash it thoroughly if there are droppings in it. Clean the water bottle weekly with a brush. Rinse everything thoroughly without strongly scented products; mice have a sensitive nose. Clean the transport box after every use and let it dry thoroughly, so it is ready for next time.

Useful combinations

The care products work best together with good food and a good enclosure:

• Mouse food: Zooply Mouse Food as the daily foundation in the food bowl.
• Snacks: Zooply insects such as crickets and silkworms as an occasional protein-rich extra.
• Bedding: Zooply bedding for the enclosure and a layer in the transport box.
• Cages: a roomy enclosure in which food, water and nest each have their own place.

Frequently asked questions about care products for mice

Is a water bottle better than a water bowl for mice?

For mice, a bottle is usually more practical. A bowl quickly fills up with bedding and nesting material and can be knocked over or dragged empty. A bowl can be used as a second drinking spot or temporarily if the bottle is not working; in that case, refresh the water several times a day.

How many food bowls do I need?

For one mouse or a pair, one bowl is enough. In a larger group, put down two, in different places, so nobody gets pushed away. Scattering part of the food around the enclosure also helps prevent crowding at the food bowl.

Which transport box suits mice?

Choose the smallest size that suits the number of mice and the length of the journey. The most important thing is that the box is escape-proof: a well-fitting lid and ventilation openings too narrow for a mouse.

Does the Zooply magnetic holder work on every glass enclosure?

The product information states glass up to 4 mm thick, the thickness of the Zooply terrariums. If your glass is thicker, the holder may not have enough grip.

My mouse is eating and drinking less. What now?

First check that the bottle is working and that the food is not disappearing into the nest. If a mouse really is eating and drinking less, and is also lethargic or losing weight, contact a vet with experience of rodents straight away.

Care products for mice at Knaagplaza

At Knaagplaza, the webshop of 't Knaagplein, you will find the basic equipment for the daily care of your mice, including the Zooply magnetic bottle holder. Fill the food bowl with Zooply Mouse Food, our own premium brand that we use every day for our own animals in the shop and breeding facility. That way your mice have clean water, good food and a safe way to travel every day.