What to feed your mice

As mice are omnivores, they need both protein and vegetables in their diet. When it comes to buying mice food, there are limited good quality options available, but you can find a great mouse mix available from ratRations.co.uk.

A less ideal alternative is a good rat or gerbil mix. Whatever you choose, make sure it has a good mixture of grains, seeds, pulses and a protein source such as dried meal worms.

Making your own mice food mix

Some mouse owners choose to make their own mouse food to make sure their mice get everything they need. You can find a great recipe we use at Woodgreen below.

If you’d like to learn more about making your own mixes, we recommend the book, ‘The Scuttling Gourmet: A Guide to Wholesome Nutrition for Rats’ by Alison Campbell. Keep in mind that mice are much smaller than rats, so they’ll need a little bit more protein. They’ll also need larger pieces of food broken into smaller pieces.

How much to feed your mice

We recommend feeding your mice around 5g of dried food each, per day (around 1 teaspoon each). Mice are foragers – they love to dig and search for food and tasty treats! Try scattering their daily allowance around their cage and hiding treats in toys or interesting items. You can also make your own toys to hide some of their food in. For example, you could put the food in an empty cardboard box stuffed with bedding or wrap it in paper and stuff it in an egg box.

Water

Daily fresh water is extremely important. Many mice prefer to drink from a bowl. Bottles are also suitable and can be provided as well, but these can be tricky to keep clean, and often leak. Make sure your mice can easily reach the spout by having it close to the base of the cage. Or place toys underneath that they can easily climb on to reach it.

Healthy treats

Healthy treats are fine – in moderation! Avoid colourful chew sticks, mineral and salt blocks as these can in some cases be harmful. Instead, stick to healthy, natural food options, adding a variety of treats to their weekly diet:

• Cooked or raw pasta such as macaroni and orzo. Or, break up larger pasta into smaller pieces
• Small pieces of fresh chopped vegetables such as broccoli, curly kale, cabbage, peas, cauliflower, carrot, cucumber. As a guide, a portion the same size as the mouse’s ear is about right.
• Small pieces of fresh chopped fruit such as grapes, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, pear, melon
• Small amount of boiled egg
• Pulses
• Wholegrain low sugar cereal (less than 5% sugars) such as oat Cheerios
• Fresh mealworms – one or two at a time, unless your dry food already has these included
• Apple wood – or other fruit tree wood to gnaw on
• Millet seed spray for birds, or other dried seed sprays marketed for hamsters
• Dried forage such as dandelion or strawberry leaves (you can usually find them being sold for rabbits and guinea pigs)

Can mice eat grapes?

Despite popular belief, grapes are actually safe to feed to your pet mice! They can be harmful to mice when fed in vast quantities, but are perfectly safe when fed in moderation. There’s plenty of research behind the health benefits of grapes for mice. They may be small, but they pack a punch of anti-oxidants.

Grapes, melon and cucumber are refreshing treats, and great for when you’re travelling with your mice. Unlike a water bottle which can spill and leak, juicy fruits and vegetables are a mess-free way to keep mice hydrated.

Foods to avoid

Some foods can be harmful to your mouse’s health and should not be fed to them. These include:

• Fruit pips and stones
• All citrus fruits
• Avocado pits and skin
• Human foods high in fat and salt

Homemade mouse food mix