Some pet mice owners and aspiring pet mice owners find it challenging to determine the ideal diet for their little companions. We know they can eat species-appropriate mouse food from a pet store, but can mice eat meat? Well, yes, mice can eat meat!
They are omnivorous, meaning that they can eat a combination of vegetables, fruits, and meat.
Like any other pet, veterinarians recommend feeding your pet mice commercially-made mouse food because it contains the right amount of vegetables, seeds, grains, fruits, and of course, meat to help your pet have a healthy growth and development process.
With that being said, here’s everything you need to know about meat as a component in your pet mouse’s diet and some of the suitable foods you can feed your pet mice.
Is Raw Meat Safe for Pet Mice?
Raw meat is not safe for pet mice. For starters, it can contain E-coli and salmonella bacteria, which can cause severe health issues in your pet mouse, such as diarrhea, skin irritation, among other issues. So, when you thoroughly cook the meat, you reduce the risk of causing any health problems to your pet.
Raw meat also contains high amounts of fat, which may be too much for your furry little friend to digest.
How to Prepare Meat for Your Pet Mice
Boiling/cooking meat for your pet mouse is the best option since it gets rid of harmful bacteria and makes it more digestible.
While preparing meat for your furry friend, don’t add a lot of salt because a high-salt diet affects the brains of mice and can lead to changes in their immune system. It is also recommended to cut the meat into small sizes to enable your pet to eat and digest it more easily.
What Type of Meat Is Good for Pet Mice?
Some of the meat suitable for your pet mouse include:
Feeding your furry little friend bacon, sausages, salami, among other processed meat, is a big no-no. This is because they contain spices and seasonings that are very toxic to your pet.
The 3 Other Foods That Pet Mice Can Eat
It’s not healthy to feed your mice meat all the time. Your pet also needs a balanced diet. Here are other foods that mice should eat.
1. Vegetables
Vegetables contain essential nutrients like vitamin A, magnesium, choline, to mention a few that aid in a pet mouse’s overall growth and development. These nutrients help improve your pet’s vision, muscle growth and control, brain and central nervous system functioning, among other benefits. However, you should only feed your mice with small amounts of vegetables.
Some of the suitable vegetables for your furry little pal include:
While all these and many other vegetables are good for your pet mouse, they tend to enjoy crunchy vegetables even more because crunchy foods help your furry little pal keep their ever-growing incisor teeth in shape.
Before serving your pet any of these vegetables, make sure to cut them into bite-sized pieces that they can eat and digest easily. Cutting them into bite-sized pieces also prevents them from nibbling through the vegetables, therefore destroying more veggies than they can eat.
Vegetables like lettuce and corn are considered inappropriate for pet mice because they can cause them to have stomach upsets and even diarrhea.
2. Fruits
Fruits are also a significant part of a pet mouse’s diet because they contain nutrients such as vitamin C and E and zinc that reduce the risk of heart disease and cataracts and improve its immune system’s overall functioning.
Some of the fruits that are safe for your pet mice include:
Acidic fruits like grapes, raisins, oranges, and lemons are unsuitable for pet mice because they may trigger some severe allergic reactions in your furry little pet. That is why it is essential to consult a veterinarian to know which fruits or other foods are safe for your pet mouse.
3. Seeds
Occasionally feeding your pet mouse seeds is recommendable as most of these seeds contain fiber, which is beneficial to your furry friend.
However, it is essential to keep in mind that pet mice prefer some seeds over others, so you have to gradually introduce them to your pet.
Some of the seeds suitable for pet mice include sunflower seeds, oats, birdseed mix, and millet.
Final Thoughts
While meat isn’t really a must-have food in a pet mouse’s diet, it does provide a good amount of nutrients to your furry little pal. However, it all comes down to the diet. Providing your pet mouse with a balanced diet that has a little bit of everything is the key to having a happy and healthy furry little pet.
Next on your reading list:
Featured Image Credit: Piqsels
