What to feed hopper mouse?

[krampvs]

I have recently decided to feed live opposed to F/T, since my beeps have refused F/T more often than not, but will eat live 100% of the time. The place I get my hoppers from is a bit of a ways away, so I have decided to just take one monthly trip instead of weekly ones. In this case, I will need to feed them but am totally lost as to what they eat at that stage.. I can't find "lab blocks" that I have read about, and I've seen things like bread suggested, but what do you feed your live mice/rats? I threw a blueberry in there today and the one I got today went to town, but presumably they can't live off of blueberries.
Also, I'm keeping them in a critter keeper and am not comfortable punching out the top hole for a water bottle so I have a water dish in there..are they capable of using these at this stage? The one I got today is 12g so is probably closer to a weaned mouse.

[c0r3yr0s3]

I use bread and cheerios but I've only had to keep them alive for a couple days whenever I have a stubborn snake that isn't hungry. I have been considering purchasing a hamster cage just to make it a little easier and for peace of mind that the little buggers won't escape

[Timelugia]

Bird seed, sunflower seeds and the like

[c0r3yr0s3]

Bird seed, sunflower seeds and the like

So basically treat them like hamsters? Sorry for the thread jack. I've been considering breeding feeders when I convert my den into my snake pit and I assumed mice and rats had the same needs as a hamster. I want them to be as healthy as possible so they will be more beneficial to the snakes. The main thing I want to get sorted out is fleas. The couple that I had to keep alive attracted ALOT of fleas. I know they can't really harm the snakes but I don't want them to give the rodents any diseases. What is the best way to combat them without anything toxic?

[Godzilla78]

Mice will eat almost anything. I bought mine mouse food from Walmart, which was mostly seeds and stuff. They will seriously eat almost anything. I kept a rat alive for days on just carrots, his poop turned orange and I started feeding him properly after that. lol

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Hoppers are not weaned and therefore still need to be with their mother while the may nibble on a little dry food if you are lucky, do not feed junk with zero nutritional value like most commercial pet mouse food, or bird seed and so on.

Buy some dog food 18 % protein max, and no red dye.

Also unless this BP you are feeding just came out of the egg this is not the appropriate size prey.

[Godzilla78]

??? Seeds have tons of nutritional value. Including protein, lots of fat and vitamins.

[Godzilla78]

Nutrition Facts
Sunflower seeds, driedSunflower seeds, dry roastedSunflower seeds, oil roastedSunflower seeds, toastedSunflower seeds, dried

Amount Per 1 cup, with hulls, edible yield (46 g)100 grams1 cup (140 g)1 cup (140 g)

Calories 818

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 72 g	110%
Saturated fat 6 g	30%
Polyunsaturated fat 32 g
Monounsaturated fat 26 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
Sodium 13 mg	0%
Potassium 903 mg	25%
Total Carbohydrate 28 g	9%
Dietary fiber 12 g	48%
Sugar 3.7 g
Protein 29 g	58%

Vitamin A	1%	Vitamin C	3%
Calcium	10%	Iron	41%
Vitamin D	0%	Vitamin B-6	95%
Vitamin B-12	0%	Magnesium	113%

there are tons of other seeds to feed, too, this is just one type. Most commercial feeds, have multiple seeds plus "dogfood" style kibble.

[c0r3yr0s3]

??? Seeds have tons of nutritional value. Including protein, lots of fat and vitamins.

That's what I thought too.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

??? Seeds have tons of nutritional value. Including protein, lots of fat and vitamins.

Maybe for your little pet mouse but you need quality for feeders.

Do you think feeder breeders feed seeds?

Too much fat too much protein but hey I only breed a few thousands of feeders each year and have done so for a decade.