Cheap, bulk dried mealworms. Good source of protein for pregnant and nursing does--
or any mouse! (Wayyyy cheaper than in a pet store!) Gee! Mice love 'em!
http://www.hardwareandtools.com/Gardman-BAO4513-200Gm-Dried-Mealworms-u130536.html
Bioserve Fast-Trac spinning saucer on top of an igloo--less expensive than a regular saucer and it fits in a shallow bin cage. (Note: If you order a Fast-Trac you must order
an igloo, also, to go under it! Still cheaper than a regular saucer!) (Igloo floors are not necessary.)
http://www.bio-serv.com/product/Mouse_Igloo.html
How to destink your male mice: from the inside out with Marshall Bi-Odor! You've all heard about putting a few drops of vanilla extract in the water bottle. If that doesn't work, try Bi-Odor. And if that doesn't work, use them together! It's the best thing!
(Ingredients and how it works listed at this web site.)
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753506
The very best lab blocks are made by Harlan Teklad, but they supply only laboratories. The good news is that Harlan has started a consumer line called Native Earth. Native Earth lab blocks are Harlan blocks! Yippee! And this place sometimes has good things on sale or reductions in shipping. Their deal for five 40-lb. bags reduces the per bag cost to $17.00, making NE 4018 not only the best but the cheapest mouse food! (Informative description and list of ingredients at this link.)
Harlan Teklad also makes great aspen bedding. Here's the Native Earth version,
$4.95 flat shipping, no matter how much you buy:
CareFresh Ultra bedding really absorbs odors! I use it for all my male mice. Together
with Bi-Odor, they hardly smell at all. CareFresh Ultra is often on sale here. (For best value, buy the largest package.)
http://www.nationalpetpharmacy.com/search/carefresh-ultra
Telephone Jedd's Pigeon and Bird Supply at (800) 659-5928 and order Enrofloxyn,
100 ml bottle. It's only about $40 and enough to last a year (shelf life two years).
Cheap water bottles! No minimum order required! Check out the bottom of the page where you can buy just the lid/nozzles:
http://www.klubertanz.com/images/Klubertanz_Pg30-31.pdf
Affordable! Weighs to within a tenth of a gram. Also does ounces and other weights.
The lid turns into a tray to put your mouse on. Zero out function sets scale to zero with the tray on it so you don't have to do math! Ideal for gathering data for Mrs. Beach's Litter Theorem study!
http://digitalscale.com/TritonT2.htm
Needle pipettes are wonderful for giving liquid oral medications to mice. Their tip openings are smaller than any medicine dropper or syringe and easy to tuck into the corner of a mouse's mouth and they are made of soft plastic. I buy mine for 99 cents at my local pet shop. Here's a link to a picture of what they look like. (Please note that the price at this web site is for 100 pipettes.)