care sheets

i was reading the care sheet on feeding and i think there is a small mistake but i could easily be wrong.

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We recommend that you feed mice from the time of birth until the time it becomes a juvenile. Mice are higher in calcium then rats are, and this is important for them during this time of growth. For this reason it is not a wise idea to start them on rats immediately.

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it seems like it might be a mistake about the mice being higher in calcium thats why u need to switch to rats???

Rats are better than mice

Well, I'm not sure about mice compared to rats, but I would presume a weaned mouse to be much higher in calcium than a rat pup of the same size. So, until your BP is big enough to take weaned rats, mice of the equivalent size would be higher in calcium.

Yes, it is all about the rodent's stage of growth. Fully-formed bones have more calcium than pinky and fuzzy bones, regardless of whether you are feeding rats or mice. Likewise, pinkies and fuzzies have a higher proportion of fat and less protein than older juvenile or adult rodents. Other than that, the difference in nutritional value of mice vs. rats is negligible.

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Originally Posted by hhw

Well, I'm not sure about mice compared to rats, but I would presume a weaned mouse to be much higher in calcium than a rat pup of the same size. So, until your BP is big enough to take weaned rats, mice of the equivalent size would be higher in calcium.

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I believe you are correct. Adult mice provide more calcium than rat pups, therefore until your BP is large enough to take small adult rats, you should feed adult mice.

thanks that makes alot more sence. i rememberd reading somewhere that rats had more calcium. ohh well.

Marla hit the nail on the head:

Gram per gram an adult mouse will have more developed bones (hence more calcium) than a baby rat.