When Do Baby Mice Start Eating Solids?
Baby mice are vulnerable little creatures. Just like babies of many other animals, they will need a lot of attention and special care during the first few weeks or even months of their lives.
The diet is one of the most important things for your mice when they are just born. You need to find a way to make sure the mice will eat the food, and that the food is not big enough for them to consume.
During the first few weeks, mice will like to eat non-solid and liquid foods and meals, and you should avoid solid foods for the first few weeks.
But when can you actually start feeding baby mice solid foods? At about 2-3 weeks old, baby mice can start eating soft solid food.
When they are this old, their teeth will already start to form, and they will have already grown quite significantly, especially if they have been under very special care from you during the first few weeks.
This is also when their eyes will start to open and they will start to see, which is why it becomes easier for them to eat solid foods as they can quite clearly see what they are eating.
In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about mice and solid foods, and when you can start feeding your baby mice solid foods.
How to Tell How Old is a Baby Mouse?
The growth of mice is relatively rapid. In 2-3 weeks they will start to develop into bigger mice, they will start to gain their eyesight, and will start to eat solid foods.
But let’s go over the first few days and weeks and how you can tell how old your baby mouse is.
In the first 3 days, you will see that your baby mouse is pink and red in color. Within the next few days, the color will start to get less red. In the first few days, milk spots will also start to appear.
By day 4 or 5, their ears should be already fully developed. The skin color will also become much clearer and defined. The skin will thicken significantly, and the milk spots should be gone by now.
In the days between 6-9, the fur will slowly start to grow. First, it will appear behind the ears and will be very thin. But in these days, the fur will start to thicken and will start to appear on the belly. By day 10, the fur should be fully grown.
From the days of 10 to 12, the teeth will start to erupt, and they should form almost completely by day 14. Also, females will start to show nipples. The pups will also become much more active and they will start to have more energy.
And as we’ve said, it might be as early as in day 14 that your baby mice will start to eat solid foods.
And the growth will be much quicker from then on, because the mice will start to eat more proteins and more calories, which is enabled to them when they start to eat solid foods.
How Often do Baby Mice Eat?
Baby mice will need food regularly and constantly. It will be as often as every 1-2 hours. That’s because you will be feeding them smaller meals, but these meals should be much more regular and you should also try to include as many proteins as possible.
In the first few days or weeks, these foods will be mostly liquid foods. However, after about 3 weeks, you should try to reduce the frequency of the meals, because the mice will be able to consume larger meals and get more calories in with just one meal.
After that, you should try to feed them meals every 3-4 hours, and then slowly transfer that to once or twice a day. This will normally be only achieved after a few months.
What Solid Food Can Baby Mice Eat?
Even if the mice will start to eat solids now, you should still try to include foods that are still quite liquid.
At first, it’s best to often cook some rice and make it really moist so that it’s easier to consume. Baby mice just love this type of food.
Also, baby mice will love to eat all sorts of cooked vegetables. This includes cooked peas, cooked carrots, squash, or other softer types of vegetables.
Also, you can try to feed them human baby food which is generally quite liquid and it’s a great way to add quite a lot of calories to their diet and make them grow quite fast.
Do Baby Mice Have Teeth?
Baby mice will start to develop teeth around day 10 or 11, sometimes also maybe later. However, the teeth will only fully develop in the following days or weeks, which is when you can start feeding them solid foods.
At first, their teeth will be still very small and sometimes also uneven. However, in the few days that will follow that event, the teeth will start to straighten out and they will grow, allowing the mice to chew solid foods easier, and allow them to grow faster.
What Do Baby Mice Eat When Their Eyes are Closed?
So, how can baby mice eat when their eyes are still closed? Mice have a really good sense of smell, even when they are very young.
They can smell food, and they will be able to sometimes find it on their own. However, for the first few days (if there is no mother around), you will need to feed them manually.
This can be time-consuming, but it will only last a few days until mice start to develop their eyesight. This will normally occur during the 2-3-week period.
After that, feeding becomes much easier. Mice are able to eat on their own, and they will also start to grow better.
Conclusion
Baby mice require a lot of care. They don’t have teeth early, and they don’t develop their eyesight, so feeding them is a chore.