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The Fun Mouse: Mouse Information: Mouse Diet
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General mouse diet
There are many options out there for a mouse's diet. There are a couple things to look out for when picking the best food for your mouse. If you have mice that are NOT from *extremely* well tracked lines from a *quality* breeder, make sure that there is not too much protein in the mix. Most of these mice should not have more than 13% protein in its daily diet. High protein can cause what's known as "hot spots". These spots are very itchy to a mouse and are usually on the back of their neck and sometimes going down their back/spine. If your mouse gets this it can cause extreme discomfort, obsessive scratching, open wounds from the scratching, infection from the wounds, and even death. You can read more about this in the "Mouse Itching, Hair Loss, Mites, and Food Allergies" section. Along with high protein, some mice have allergies to things such as peanuts, sun flower seeds, and wheat to name a few. Most mice will be fine with these ingredients but if your mouse starts to form hot spots you might want to try eliminating these things from the diet. Another thing to look out for is Ethoxyquin. This is a preservative that is added to some mixes. Ethoxyquin is added to both human foods and animal foods. The FDA has regulated it and allows 100ppm in human foods and up to 150ppm in animal foods. If the mix has higher than 150ppm it has been known to cause cancer, tumors, and disease in mice and rats. There is an alternative to using Ethoxyquin. Vitamin E is also a preservative and isn't linked to cancer, tumor, or disease. If you can avoid Ethoxyquin please do so. Lastly, you want to regulate corn intake. Corn in high quantities has been known to cause cancer in mice (as well as all other animals). |
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Ingredients and values
You will be hard pressed to find
consistent diet recommendations for mice. There are many opinions out there about what a mouse needs and how much of everything they need. The varying opinions among mouse lovers and labs isn't because some are wrong, but rather because different lines need different things to remain healthy. There are some lines that need more fat, protein, etc while other lines need less of those things. It would seem that all mice could do fine in the same foods but the reality of it is that most strains of mice differ greatly. If you are just starting out with mice, I recommend that you talk to the breeder you got your mice from and use the diet that they are using. Good breeders put a lot of thought into what their mice need and spend a lot of time evaluating how their mice do on different diets. A good breeder should be able to tell you how their mice do with different ingredients and percents of the overall diet. |
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Pre-mixed foods
Some people prefer mixes because mice are scavengers by nature and they don't want to take this away from them. Other foods, such as block, can be very boring. However, if you feed mixes you need to make sure that your mice are not only picking out the stuff they like best and leaving the rest. Mice need a balanced diet. In addition, it can be hard to tell when a mouse is out of food because there is always empty shells which can look like they have food. Make sure you check the food daily to insure they have actual food, not just empty shells. |
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Lab Block
Lab block is another diet some people choose. It is most commonly given to lab mice as it contains the essential nutrients and vitamins a mouse needs in block form, making it so the mice can't pick only what they want out of a diet and leave the rest like they can with mixes. Lab block is a very good staple. If you have mice that pick out only their favorite foods and refuse the rest then you might want to consider lab block to ensure they get all the nutrients they need. If you do choose lab block be sure to look into the protein. Many lab blocks I've found contain way too much protein. Most of them are around 18% which is terribly high for most mice.
It is vital to a mouse's physical and mental well being to have a variety of food, however. Studies overwhelmingly prove that mice *must* have variety to fulfill their scavenging nature. Feeding block alone can not fulfil this necessity. This environmental enrichment is proven to increase their health, life span, and quality of life. If you feed block as a staple, it is important to also give treats for them to scavenge. Hiding a small amount of treats on a daily basis will fulfill all their needs and it will not be overbearing to their block diet. These treats should be healthy (cheerios are one great option). It is best to "hide" these treats throughout the environment so they have to hunt of them. Hiding can simply mean putting treats in areas that are not where their block is, or burrying them in their bedding (clean spots only). You can have fun hiding these treats too! You can make mouse pinatas out of kleenex (unscented, no aloe, etc) and hemp rope. String it up from the top of their environment, just low enough for them to get at it. You can then watch them break it appart! You can also put these treats in origami cubes with safe bedding enrichment (nesting material that is different from that they already have) as filler. This way they have to chew their way into the cube to get the treats... and the nesting material is a nice bonus! Many of my mice then used the cubes themselves as nests or play gyms. There are many ways you can add enrichment to their environment to keep them mentally stimulated. It's fun for all of you.. your mice and you! |
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Home made mixes
Home made mixes can be okay. However, if you choose to mix your own food, make sure you do a lot of research first. For instance, mice can NOT live on bird seed alone. Nor can they live on dog food or table scraps. Mice need a well balanced diet just like humans do. You need to know how to calculate % in the diet, such as % fat, % protein, etc. This is vital. The best home made mixes I've seen people use are made up mostly of *high quality* lab block or a pre made mix and then they add other things to it such as cereal, oatmeal, etc. Just be careful what you add. Things like sugar should not be a staple and your additions should not be overbearing to the base diet as it can render it useless.
I can not stress enough how important it is that you do a lot of research into what a mouse needs as a staple diet before even considering making your own. Many very intelligent people 'think' they know best, just to find out later that their mice are suffering because of their diet. Unfortunately, by the time they find out that their mice are suffering because of their diet, their mice have been exposed to it for at least a year. At that point they begin to realize that while their mice 'appear' to be doing great, they are not living as long as they should be, or could be. By that time many mice have been exposed to this diet for a very long time and the damage can't be undone. With extremely few exceptions, TFM does NOT recommend casually making your own mix. It generally causes more harm than good. |
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Treats and added nutrients
All treats should be given to mice in close moderation. When ever introducing something new to your mouse you need to watch their stool. Some treats will cause runny stool. Diarrhea can dehydrate a mouse very quickly and possibly lead to death. However, loose stool or changed in the color of the stool after giving a new thing can be okay as long as it goes away fairly quickly. When ever giving something new, only give the mouse a little sample of it and watch the stool. As days/weeks go by, you can increase the amount of treats or added nutrients your mice get.
Treats and added nutrients your mice can have can consist of;
Vegetables such as carrot, lettuce (the darker the lettuce the better), peas, etc. Veggies often do cause loose stool at first because the water content in the veggies is high. Watch your mouse and their stool very closely when introducing veggies. You can also give mice different meats (fish, chicken, turkey, pork, etc), pasta (cooked and uncooked), cooked rice, and scrabbled eggs. You must be very careful with things high in protein, as stated earlier. However, the protein in meats and eggs is much better for mice than other proteins. Oats, different cereals, dog treats, mouse/rat/hamster treats can also be given to mice in moderation.
Many of the treats listed above can be given to your mouse as part of their normal diet. Mice can greatly benefit from veggies, meats, oats, scrabbled eggs, pasta, and cereals. Things with sugar, high fat, and high protein should be limited to just the occasional treat though. |
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