# Sticky  Food mice like



## DomLangowski

Here is a list of food that mice like, If you know of any that i have missed please post, or if there are any you have tried please also let us know.

Thx

*Fruits*

- Apple (seedless) 
- Banana 
- Blackberries 
- Blueberries 
- Cantaloupe. 
- Cherries 
- Cranberries 
- Grapes(seedless) 
- Lychee 
- Mango 
- Melon 
- Peaches (no stone) 
- Plums (no pits) 
- Raspberries 
- Raspberry Leaves (helpful for diarrhea) 
- Strawberries
- Watermelon

*Veggies*

- Asparagus 
- Bean Sprouts 
- Bok Choy 
- Broccoli 
- Cabbage (Limited amounts) 
- Carrots 
- Cauliflower 
- Celery 
- Chard 
- Chestnuts 
- Chickweed 
- Chicory 
- Clover 
- Corn on the Cob 
- Cucumbers 
- Dandelion Leaves 
- Endive 
- Green Beans 
- Kale 
- Parsnips 
- Peas 
- Radicchio 
- Romaine Lettuce 
- Spinach 
- Squash 
- Sweet Potatoes 
- Sweet bell Peppers 
- Swiss Chard 
- Turnip 
- Water Chestnuts 
- Water Cress 
- Zucchini

*Meats and Proteins foods*

- Cooked Ground Beef (Rinse well in hot water to remove any grease) 
- Cooked Chicken or Turkey (Steamed or baked) 
- Low Fat Cottage Cheese 
- Fish Cod (Cooked removing bones and skin) 
- Grasshoppers (Pet Shop) 
- Mealworms (Pet Shop) 
- Crickets (Pet Shop) 
- Bread(whole grain no white bread) soaked in milk ( Low Fat, Skim, Soy) 
- Eggs ( boiled or scrambled) 
- Plain Tofu 
- Plain Low Fat Yogurt 
- Dog Biscuits (No Garlic, onion, or onion powder) 
- Monkey Chow 
- Lab Blocks

*Other foods*

- Buckwheat 
- Baby Food(low sugar and no onion or garlic) 
- Cheese (mild cheeses in moderation) 
- Cooked Plain Brown Rice 
- Cooked Pasta(Wheat or Spinach would be better) 
- Dry toast(Also helpful for diarrhea 
- Flax seed 
- Low or Sugarless Cereals 
- Pumpkin Seeds (unsalted) 
- Nuts (No almonds) 
- Sesame Seeds 
- Soybeans(Roasted no salt) 
- Squash seeds 
- Lentils 
- Oatmeal(dry or soaked in skim, soy or lowfat milk) 
- Nutritional Yeast 
- Bran and Wheat Germ (Refrigerated goes bad fast) 
- Peanuts (unsalted) 
- Alfafa 
- Unsalted Popcorn (no butter) 
- Millet

*Foods To Avoid*

- Almonds (Contains Cyanic Acid) 
- Apple Seeds 
- Canned food 
- Chocolate 
- Candies 
- Chips and Junk food 
- Pork Products 
- Potatoes (Raw) 
- Raw Kidney Beans 
- Eggplant 
- Fool's Parsley 
- Grape Seeds 
- Avocado (Contains Cardiac Glycosides) 
- Raw Rhubarb 
- Tomato leaves 
- Oranges or Tangerines(no citrus fruits) 
- Cherry Stone 
- Peach Stone & Leaves 
- Apricot Stone 
- Lemon or Lime 
- Jams and jellies 
- Spices 
- Garlic 
- Onions 
- Leeks 
- Scallions 
- Chives 
- Pickles

_Last Updated 11/03/2009_

_- Thank you to everyone who was helped and provided feedback for this list._


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## Mark

haha i had to steal this the other day to show someone


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## DomLangowski

Brill, at least someone has made use of it


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## Mark

DomLangowski said:


> Brill, at least someone has made use of it


Haha! ive used a few things from it but my mice wouldnt touch them silly fools


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## Ruthy

I would eat most of those foods! :lol:


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## NaomiR

well I'm new to mice so this is invaluable, especially as I'm going away this weekend so I have printed this off for the animal sitter


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## DomLangowski

Glad you are finding it useful.

Please remember All food listed above should be given in small quantities no more than twice a week and should not be used as a main diet.

*Do not over feed any of these to your mice.*


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## Dayna

What is it that makes garlic bad for mice? I've heard it has anti-carcinogenic qualities..?


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## Effy

I was going to ask about garlic, too, as I know garlic is good for us and chimps...but obviously, rodents are very different!
Also, watermelon is bad because of the water? Surely that's not the whole problem? So is cucumber and...well....water! Is it not just bad if you feed it as a...food? Like, just a touch as an actual treat shouldn't hurt, because it's not replacing a food item. Obviously, I could be VERY wrong...but I just can't see a small cube of watermelon being that bad!

But the list is great, gives me ideas. (I'm not a fantastically healthy eater, so I have a hard time thinking of good foods! :lol: )


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## SarahC

I can't comment on garlic but mine love water melon and I haven't had any bad side effects.


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## DomLangowski

Thanks for the feedback guys, ill add water melon as a good food 

As for the garlic im unsure and would need to get some more feedback on it. Has anyone tried garlic?


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## Peteyandthegang

Very glad I read this, thanx lots We have fed avocado before and had no bad effects at all, but I wont be doing it again now just incase


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## Hawkula

1/4 clove of garlic per mouse every week or so can help keep away RI's. 
Makes their breaths smell of garlic, though. Oh and it makes males smell like pizza :lol:


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## DomLangowski

Hawkula said:


> 1/4 clove of garlic per mouse every week or so can help keep away RI's.
> Makes their breaths smell of garlic, though. Oh and it makes males smell like pizza :lol:


Sorry to sound stupid, whats RI's??


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## Maplewood Stud

i see cucumber is on the good list.
i give rusty and smokey cucumber every now and again, but i was always told that u needed to dry it out with a piece of tissue first to ged rid of some of the water.
if watermelon is ok to give mice, surely cucumber as it is would be ok too?! x


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## Cait

RI is shorthand for respiratory infection, Dom 

Cucumber is fine, I never pat it dry before I put it in the Maxeys when I show mice. As with anything, too much wet food could cause diarrohea but in moderation should be ok.


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## sasandcol

I know it says mice like dog biscuits, but we have just had some dried cat food/biscuits come through the door. Can the mice have these or best left to cats?


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## darla

I can't say about the garlic either but I have several kinds of roaches that can not have onions or garlic. Same for my lizards. I have been giving my mouse moms the meal worms and small roaches. You should see them run after the roaches. Don't worry I breed these bugs so they were not wild caught. My rats also enjoy these but not very often. I didn't see anything about dandelions, do you not have those where you live?


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## sommy

I CERTAINLY have dandelions..... All over my local park!!  :?


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## DomLangowski

sommy said:


> I CERTAINLY have dandelions..... All over my local park!!  :?


Anyone know if dandelion stalks are ok? the mice seem to like them :?


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## XxFaexX

Pineapple???


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## Vivian

you mustbe carefull by fruits.

all mie love them, but the shugger in the fruits will make them ill, if you feed them to often!

one time of the week it will be ok. veggies you can give them 4th of the week

lg viv


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## adele108

my doe loves flowers! when i give her rose petals she rips them up which is hilarious, but anytime i get given flowers i let her have one or a few petals at least, she seems to love them. she wont eat cucumber but munches on yellow pepper like a trouper. also loves the oats from my museli!! haha
adele


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## Le Necrophagist

My mice had a taste of some hashbrowns and potato squares recently. The pregnant does LOVE IT!


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## Mari

I ran out of the regular dog biscuits that I usually treat the meece with last night. So, I had a small bag of Old Mother Hubbard Peanut Butter Biscuits for dogs (the really small ones-they're about 1-1/2") that I use as training treats for our dogs. The mice LOVED them! They kept stealing them from each other and hording them! It was the cutest/funniest thing! :lol: I don't know if it's something most of you can get over in the UK, but I would definitely suggest them as treats!


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## Hawkula

I made a "kidney cake" for dog training a few days ago and had some left today and the mice absolutely demolished it :lol: 
For those of you who are not familiar with kidney cake its basically a mix of garlic, kidney (or liver) and either whole meal flour or bread crumbs. Into a mixing bowl mince or very finely chop 1 cup of kidney/liver, grate in 4 cloves of garlic or throw in 2tsp of garlic powder and put in 1 cup of bread crumbs of half a cup of whole meal flour, fully blend, add water as necessary to make it into a cupcake mix consistency, blend again, put into a cake pan and cook on 200C until fully cooked through (bake it in the way you would for a normal cake!), take out, cut into small pieces and put back in the oven until dried, leave to cool then serve.
Even the lazy does come out of their hut to have some!!


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## tinyfish

Mine have eaten spring onion before and I just read here I should avoid? Is it only onion or also spring onion? Maybe it's just cos onion is too strong but spring onion is milder?


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## Mari

I just remembered I've been meaning to try giving my meece poultry bones, as I've read so many things about treating them with them. I remembered this (fortunately, as I usually remember too late!), as I was taking the rest of the meat off of a rotisserie turkey breast we had for dinner last night. I left a bit of meat on and broke up the remains of the 'carcass' into smaller pieces and gave it to the mice and rats. They _*LOVED*_ it! They looked like such savage little carnivores, they were so excited! lol I will definitely do this again!


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## moustress

My mice love dried bananas, fresh spinach, canned tuna...and they go wild over any kind of dried stale bread. It's been a while since I got them any pumpkin seeds but they love those too. sometimes I give them dried papaya or mango, but they prefer fried bananas. They love about 75% of any new foods I try on them.

Anybody ever try putting live crickets in for their mousies? I'm curious about that.


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## Mari

Not sure about the crickets, as I've never tried them. I just assumed they would be afraid of them as they are live mealworms?


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## Maplewood Stud

ive tried mine and they love both live mealworms and crickets, especially the babies that are coming up to weaning age, as with the crickets (i know this sounds cruel) but it gives them something to chase and play with trying to catch too x i found mealworms also go down really well especially with pregnant does as i guess it just gives them a bit of a boost, mine also have had dried mealworms if i couldnt get live ones x
ive also tried a few other bugs, mainly with my harvests but some of the fancies like them too, especially caterpillars, woodlice and cabbage white butterflies x we even saw one of our siam bucks catch and eat a fly that had got into his rub the other day lol yum! x

on a seperate note has anyone ever given their mice a big proper dog bones like u can get in petshops, if so what sort as may try it x


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## Sylvi

Your list is really interesting! But I noticed no pork products. I work for a well known supermarket and we were infested by mice for 2 years. As I was always opening up in the mornings I was the one to clear up the mess! The shop floor was 4800 sq feet, and the mice were easy to find as they only went to their favourite sections. So, I first started down the bread isle

Burger baps - shredded and the sesame seeds stripped off of every one
Loaves with 'bits' in - totally shredded and every seed eaten
Coffee and walnut cake - every walnut on the top eaten
Anything with a nut on would have to be removed. I would take it off at night, put it on a trolley and park it up in the household isle some nights, but sometimes they would find it there! The mice weren't shy either - we would have to check for loaves containing mice during the day!

Next stop - homebaking
Packet nuts - first nibbled would be brazils followed by walnuts.

Crisps - all - they love Bombay mix! We had a nut stand with packets of nibbling nuts (for people) and a close inspection of it one day found the brazil nuts and spicy mixes totally empty!

In the dairy -

Bacon fat - they would nibble the rind off of gammon joints and packets of rashers.
Pork pies - they would nibble a hole in the crust and go inside and completely munch the insides.
Meat pies - especially steak
In the meat fridge they would nibble into the tops of the raw chickens.

They cost us hundreds and thousands of pounds, it would be nothing for them to ruin £500 worth in a week, and we had to have a higher waste budget to allow for them!


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## SarahC

I found a zebra finch on the seeded loaves of the bakery section in sainsburys once,and I crept up and caught it :lol:Back to the mice,when I worked for a catering company I tried the mice on many things.They were partial to tuna mayo.I used to give chicken carcas as recommended by someone else.Although they liked them I decided not to continue on hygiene grounds.


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## julieszoo

Are mice ok to have chicken bones? The rats get them regularly


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## SarahC

yes,they will eat chicken bones.


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## Toast

My mice love dog biscuits, bananas, as well as the occasional carrot. I'll try some other stuff. I think mealworms would be good.


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## moustress

Their latest new treat are squash seeds; roasted in the toaster oven with squash stuff still all over it. They rioted over them if I didn't get one to each quickly!


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## SarahC

I've never tried squash seeds but mine riot over pumpkin seeds which I guess are the same.I'm not as kind as you though,they get them unroasted.I mix the left over seeds from the parrot food in and as the parrots reject the pumpkin seeds the mice get the luxury.If they weren't so expensive Id buy them and use them as a bigger part of the diet.


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## Lizzle

Wait, but what about grapenuts? You know, the cereal.  I've given mine some before and they love it, but I'm not 100% sure that it's safe. Does anyone know?


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## ccoryjohnn

Thanks for the list! I'll have to print it out.


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## thamesvalleyexotics

A very interesting read. 
Has anyone got any hard evidence that garlic is bad for rodents? It seems to be listed on every bad-food list I've seen however most zoo's use garlic as part of the diet for their rodents and certainly I've used it for years for mine. 
I wonder if its one of those fables that has come about maybe after someone fed a mouse garlic and it died soon after for no apparent reason?
I have never seen any real evidence to suggest that it is bad for rodents. 
If anyone can correct me please feel free, like I say, I have never seen any literature or studies that prove it to be bad. 
So here I am feeling a little mean that my furries get garlic on a semi-regular basis.... But it's never done them any harm. If in doubt though, I'd still say to steer clear. I'm only sharing my personal experience.

Kat


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## Rhasputin

I have heard that dehydrated garlic chips are good for rats and mice.


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## Mymouse

SarahC said:


> yes,they will eat chicken bones.


Cooked bones?


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## bethmccallister

I made warm oatmeal for my mice for the first time today. I dropped in little bits of dried cranberries...they absolutely loved it!


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## Kallan

Garlic and onions are bad for cats and dogs because they cause anaemia and GI problems. I guess the rule is not to feed to excess.


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## Anne

i was told that dry pasta should be ok, so gave my mice a little full grain spaghetti today, they loved it, but is it ok to give?


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## bethmccallister

Whole grain pasta is great for mice since it's high in iron. I've even given some regular pasta to mice in a pinch for something to feed on hand...some don't eat it unless it's cooked though.


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## Anne

Thanks for the answer, then I will continue to give them that sometimes 

Also, i gave them a little bone that still had a tiny amount of meat on it, it was a duck bone left over from the ferrets dinner last night (they are mainly barf fed) and they were very interested in that


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## geordiesmice

I have given mine bones with pieces of chicken on they picked them clean.


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## SarahC

bread and milk.One icescream scoop per cage








and some of the things I put in it


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## Laigaie

I've been hearing arguments about garlic/onions and animals for years, but when I look at commercially-produced dog and cat feeds, I see garlic all over the place in the "good" brands! Garlic is even advertised on some packaging, because research has shown it to be good for cardiovascular health. I feel like with mice, because they're so small, it's hard to not feed it in excess, but I seriously doubt that it is nearly as toxic as many people seem to believe.


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## Anne

I have been using garlic oil for my ferrets when one of them had dandruff and garlic should be good for the skin. They got a very tiny amount (I mixed a piece of garlic with olive oil and gave them a couple of drops a day for a whild) and I think it helped.


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## Anne

geordiesmice said:


> I have given mine bones with pieces of chicken on they picked them clean.


cooked or raw?


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## Govanbill

What about coconut ?


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## geordiesmice

Cooked Anne , I give them rice too they love that not together though .Yes can eat coconut, grapes, apple,banana,pineapple, caukiflower, broccoli,Lettuce (but could give them indigestion contains lactucin) infact I dont think rabbits really like lettuce because they find it bitter, wild ones never ate it in my garden they went for the Carnations first.Our Rabbit fanciers may tell us if Rabbits like lettuce.I think there is a very good list of foods mice like and dislike in the feeding posts on this forum if you look They also love dandelion leaves collect them from a source you know has not been sprayed with total or selective weedkillers.There are many wild foods you can give when in season the small cones off the wild service tree(sorbus torminalus)acorns, berries off the Cratageus or Hawthorn bush, wild grass seed heads and also grass seed.The willow Salix alba mice will strip the bark off and they can get quinine out of the bark a cockateil will strip bark off willow stems for quinine.


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## Zowie

Has anyone tried baby sweet corn?

In this list are the veggies cooked or raw? Or does it not matter


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## Laigaie

Usually it doesn't matter whether they're cooked or not, though you do want to avoid canned foods. The process involves rather a lot of salt, which is not so great. There are plenty of folks who prefer not to feed corn, either because of the poor nutritional balance, or because of the chance of fungal contamination. I'd say if you're talking about fresh home-grown sweet corn, it'd be a great treat, but not a regular food. Wet foods in general, and particularly sweet wet foods like fruit, seem to be the cause of a lot of loose stool.


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## Paul Brockman

Becoming a member of such a well established forum is just so helpfull but Ifear I may be in danger of asking questions already covered many times over ---if that is ever the case please point me in the direction of the relevent thread.

I'm in the process of moving from breeding & exhibiting canaries to fancy mice , I know what 'wild' mice like because I've spent years protecting the birds feed from them . When I had chicks in the nest I'd use a commercially prepared 'egg food' , basically dried egg that is re-constituted with a little water ---just to make it crumbly moist---a great way of getting protien into young chicks. Now being a bit of a tight wad (not really I always take my turn in buying the teas at shows  ) and taking advantage of the discounts for buying in bulk , I have a sack left ---would this be ok to feed to nursing does ? Its still in date , etc.

Regards Paul.


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## geordiesmice

I used it Paul with no problems the they ate the whole lot  .Egg food has the most scrumptious smell you could eat it yourself lol( I wouldnt try it though).I would mix it with a bit of themix you feed your mice with not just neat egg food.


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## Galaxy

I had a mouse who loved carrot. She was pure white when I first got her and after eating so much carrot she became a pale shade of orange! She had no ill-effects from eating so much of the carrot. When one of my other meecies'. was ill (almost at deaths door, it seemed) and refused to eat I was getting desperate so I gave her chicken cat food. That mouse's head perked up and her whiskers which had been drooping began bristling as she started sniffing so I put a tiny bit to her mouth and she began licking my finger. She started quivering all over and wanted more and more. To cut a long story short she lived for ages & still had the occasional bit of cat food (only chicken tho). Also on a couple of occasions I would buy a jar of peanut butter undo the lid and put it in the cage. The mice would approach it and then it seemed like they would decide who was going in the jar. Mouse jumps in and all the others licked her clean all over. It was really funny to watch them circling this jar and watching intently. I know peanut butter can make them fat but I only did it twice and the mice I have now don't get it.


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## Paul Brockman

Thanks geordie , shame to waste it . You are right about the smell , when I visited the factory in Belgium the chief vet said to me " We put a little aniseed in the mix so when the breeder opens the bag the smell hits him , if he likes the smell he convinces himself that the birds will like it " . Nothing like a bit of kidology eh?


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## Galaxy

What about grass & dandelion flowers?


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## tinyhartmouseries

Has anyone said cooked peas? I have a buck that absolutely will inhale cooked peas!


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## Galaxy

Cooked parsnips made my mice fart


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## tinyhartmouseries

oh no! I have never experienced a mousey fart...  :mrgreen:


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## ccoryjohnn

Haha I thought mice can't fart?


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## Galaxy

Well there was a definite waft floating around their posteriors! :lol:


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## geordiesmice

I love the Aniseed smell, Im laughing at mice farts you know I I suppose they would or they would pop haha


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## Galaxy

On no! :shock: I guess ...... No I hope I haven't started a new trend .... Don't want people going round sniffing mouse farts .... :lol:


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## Zowie

i've given my mice home made dog biscuits with garlic in before with no ill effects, but obviously they had only had one or two, with about week between them


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## Zowie

Galaxy said:


> What about grass & dandelion flowers?


The hay I give my mice has dried dandelions in it, and some treats I've given them also have dandelion in them, so I'd say it should be fine but (obviously) be careful of pesticides if you're getting them from somewhere that's not your garden/a pet store!


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## Galaxy

I only give them dandelions from our back garden and clover flowers too! Never from anywhere else. I love it when they pull their noses out & they are covered in pollen.


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## Govanbill

Cornflakes are a favourite of my girls.


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## Galaxy

Do you mean plain cornflakes or the honey nut ones etc?


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## Govanbill

Galaxy said:


> Do you mean plain cornflakes or the honey nut ones etc?


just plain


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## Galaxy

Ok. How about those bran strandy things. Or bran flakes?


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## Govanbill

I only give them cornflakes cos I eat them myself


Galaxy said:


> Ok. How about those bran strandy things. Or bran flakes?


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## Galaxy

Ok. I meant in general. Can you give bran flakes or those bran strandy things? The ones that are sposed to be healthy for us but taste like.... hem....


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## Govanbill

Galaxy said:


> Ok. I meant in general. Can you give bran flakes or those bran strandy things? The ones that are sposed to be healthy for us but taste like.... hem....


I really dont know


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## Zowie

Galaxy said:


> Ok. I meant in general. Can you give bran flakes or those bran strandy things? The ones that are sposed to be healthy for us but taste like.... hem....


When you say bran strandy things do you mean all bran?


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## Galaxy

I guess. I don't eat it myself. Waaay too healthy!


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## Galaxy

I gave my mice some mealworms today and it was great. They were so excited they were quivering and yipping and jumping and racing around crazily.


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## bw89

This list has been soooo helpful. My mice and me thank you


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## moustress

I've been reading in this thread and I'm working my way up to getting crickets for the meeces. Worms are a bit too...wormy for me, but if I could stand giving nightcrawlers to my turtles I should be able to do this.

Though, ya know, I was putting those squirmy earthworms on hooks probably since about the time I learned to talk. Larvae are different, though.. I just don't know.


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## bw89

moustress said:


> I've been reading in this thread and I'm working my way up to getting crickets for the meeces. Worms are a bit too...wormy for me, but if I could stand giving nightcrawlers to my turtles I should be able to do this.
> 
> Though, ya know, I was putting those squirmy earthworms on hooks probably since about the time I learned to talk. Larvae are different, though.. I just don't know.


Moustress, I just thought I'd say if you put crickets in the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes they slow down making them easier to move the right number of crickets to a different tub. I just thought i'd mention it because it's handy. If you want them to speed up for your mice to catch just leave them in a warm place for another 10 mins and they soon speed up. I think this is true for most invertebrates, and definately works for mealworms, crickets and grasshoppers. 

I feed a lot of crickets to my reptiles so work with them a lot.

Bill :mrgreen:


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## Galaxy

Oh but what if there was a wiley cricket and it evaded the mice and managed to get out into your house and all you could hear is a cricket chirping?


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## Laigaie

The chirping of the crickets we keep for the herps is one of my favorite things.


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## Galaxy

When my cousin was two she let a load of crickets and grasshoppers go in my aunts house and they got everywhere! It was horrible waking up and finding a cricket watching you when I went to stay there. Also one year back in the 80's my other cousin let a load of stick stick insects lose in the house. That was a nightmare!


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## bw89

Galaxy said:


> When my cousin was two she let a load of crickets and grasshoppers go in my aunts house and they got everywhere! It was horrible waking up and finding a cricket watching you when I went to stay there. Also one year back in the 80's my other cousin let a load of stick stick insects lose in the house. That was a nightmare!


LOL it sounds like you have mischevious relatives :lol: . Yes I have been in that situation, and it's not nice. There are silent crickets available, but the silent quality is debateable. That's the grat thing about mealworms. Silent. Apart from when you give them food. Then you can hear them munching away lol

If you want something a little less intrusive you could try small Dubia roaches. Dubias are poor climbers and cant (i think) fly, If your house is anything lower than 85 degrees fharenheit then the Dubias wont breed if they escape, but in captivity they are very easy to breed giving a constant food source. They also smell a lot less than crickets and make no noise.


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## Galaxy

Yeah, they have their moments - even now. 
Well my Aunt convinced me the other day to let my mice have live mealworms. I was worried that they'd only eat half and leave the rest but as soon as one mouse dropped it another picked it up and they were gone in no time. The mice got so very excited they were yipping and racing around crazily for ages. So next time my Aunt gets some more I'll ask her if I can have some for them. I couldn't touch them myself - just gives me the creeps! :lol:


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## bw89

Galaxy said:


> Yeah, they have their moments - even now.
> Well my Aunt convinced me the other day to let my mice have live mealworms. I was worried that they'd only eat half and leave the rest but as soon as one mouse dropped it another picked it up and they were gone in no time. The mice got so very excited they were yipping and racing around crazily for ages. So next time my Aunt gets some more I'll ask her if I can have some for them. I couldn't touch them myself - just gives me the creeps! :lol:


Another thing I forgot to mention is mealworms grow a lot slower (almost not at all) when kept in the fridge. If a box worth will last you for a long time than you can keep them in the fridge and remove the ones you need. They can last ages this way. This will save a lot of money as in warm conditions they will quickly pupate.

Bill


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## silver-ranch

Readybrek! My mice absolutely loved licking a bit of readybrek off my finger


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## Anne

bw89 said:


> Galaxy said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, they have their moments - even now.
> Well my Aunt convinced me the other day to let my mice have live mealworms. I was worried that they'd only eat half and leave the rest but as soon as one mouse dropped it another picked it up and they were gone in no time. The mice got so very excited they were yipping and racing around crazily for ages. So next time my Aunt gets some more I'll ask her if I can have some for them. I couldn't touch them myself - just gives me the creeps! :lol:
> 
> 
> 
> Another thing I forgot to mention is mealworms grow a lot slower (almost not at all) when kept in the fridge. If a box worth will last you for a long time than you can keep them in the fridge and remove the ones you need. They can last ages this way. This will save a lot of money as in warm conditions they will quickly pupate.
> 
> Bill
Click to expand...

I buy dried mealworms and they absolutely love them! 
I am happy that they can be bought dry as they are easyer to keep and also they are not so creepy as the living ones. I have even come to picking them up with my hands, even though I thought they were pretty nasty at first and didnt want to touch them.


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## Anne

Does anyone know if it is ok to give pumpkin (hokkaido) with seeds when it is raw? I know people can eat raw hokkaido, so I guess it is fine for mic?


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## Govanbill

Hob Nobs seem to go down ver well


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## PeachnZelda

Hehe... Mouse farts...

So you say in the main list that cod is ok, and someone said they feed tuna. Is any fish/seafood unsuitable for mice? I'm a pescatarian so more likely to have fish leftovers than chicken etc. momma got spoilt today and had a tiny bite of smoked salmon from my sushi. She did seem to love it, tho I imagine it's not the healthiest due to salt content!


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## Laigaie

With fish, be careful of salt content and also mercury. Some fish has a great deal more mercury than others, and while humans can handle a fair bit, I can't imagine mice taking too well to it.


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## Govanbill

Any fish that is a ground feeder ie. Cod will have a higher amount of heavy metal in their system.


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## PeachnZelda

An ok, so I imagine, like w dietary advice for people, it's best to feed freshwater and oily fish - salmon, mackerel, sardines - obviously without bones, particularly the little fish.

Does anyone feed shrimp or anything?


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## Emfa Mouse

Quick question about the lychees, should I peel them for my mice or give them with the skin on?


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## MissStitches

My mice absolutely go BANANAS for an occasional tortilla chip. They have a rather low salt diet, so I think it's fine every once in a while. :lol: I'm pretty sure it's fine for them, I only feed it to them once in a great while with small amounts. No ill effects, either.


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## scrapheapchallenge

I've been having a good read of this thread - with a good bout of laughing at the mouse farts section! :lol:

I bought a bag of Wagg mouse food, but have also added some rice and porridge oats (which he LOVES), I have been putting bits of carrot in too but he really isn't interested in that - he nibbles a bit then chucks it out of the bowl and ignores it. I also tried giving him a fresh, wild-picked blackberry but he simply wasn't interested at all in that. I may try him with a bit of banana later though when I have one.

He loves the flatbread I made (flour, water, pinch of salt and splash of olive oil) so he gets a little crumb as a treat every day (by crumb I mean he gets a piece literally a couple of millimetres square)

Reading about the dandelion leaves I just popped out into the garden and picked him one. He wasn't convinced it was actually food at first, except that I was offering it to him in the way he gets offered tasty morsels like flatbread/sunflower seeds/mouse safe "chocolate", so he grudgingly took a nibble. A few minutes later when I offered again he had a couple more nibbles but he remains unconvinced, I've a feeling it'll end up the same way as the carrots - I have a mouse who doesn't like his greens! :roll:

Thanks for all the useful information though, I've bookmarked the thread for future.

On the subject of mealworms, I have had to deal with them a lot - as I'm also a volunteer for Durham Bat Group rescuing these little guys:









(adult on the left, babies of various ages on the right that I'd been hand feeding on kitten formula from a dropper every two hours, graduating onto mealworms. These are 45 and 55kHz pipistrelles, known as "common" and "soprano" pipistrelles)

If you want to breed your own mealworms then you'll have to make sure you buy non irradiated ones, as most mealworm feed suppliers irradiate the mealworms so they can pupate & mature but can't then reproduce, thus ensuring you don't end up with an accidental plague if they escape, and also that the supplier keeps getting business from you when you need more.

Kirsty


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## andypandy29us

the bats are fantastic ... used to see loads of them when we had a caravan between crook and tow law .... used to love watching them you are so lucky


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## scrapheapchallenge

between Crook & Tow Law? Somewhere near Helme Park then? I used to work at a stables up there. I lived in Crook when I was a kid, then Witton, out Barnard Castle way nowadays.


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## bubbles&amp;squeak

How do you bookmark threads? This is really helpful and I would like to keep it close  x


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## scrapheapchallenge

after the suggestions for trying a chicken bone, I gave Monaro one a few minutes ago. He has dragged it out of his feed bowl and away into another part of the cage, where he has gnawed on it, then buried it in the shavings like a dog lol!


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## onionpencil

my mice loved couscous... but don't give much at once. i gave too much and everyone was all bloated and sleepy after!


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## TanithHH

I've noticed that the list doesn't say anything about Brussels sprouts? Can I feed them to my mice in small amounts or have I just missed them on the list?


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## jackiee

I would guess the cucumber fills them but with no nutritional value, a bit like lettuce.


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## MerlinTheMouse_XIV

Such a big help thankyou!!!


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## FeralWolf

How do people feel about cashews? I'm looking around and can't seem to find anything against them. My two does seem to love them, but I just want to make sure that they're safe.


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## Miceandmore64

-porridge (there is a water instead of milk, recipe online)
-chicken bones
-Oh and I once made a glue made of 4 things (all safe for mice) and I put it on there popsicle stick houses. Then I gave them a little bit and THEY WERE CRAZY OVER IT! Dont know why...
-fingernails (they like them) :lol: 
-bandages (when im not looking) :roll:

I have often offered fruit am funny as it is none of my mice like fruit...wow my mice are strange


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## Love'demMeeces

:lol: My girls LOVE fresh green beans, baby spinach leaves and kale. They go crazy for the veggies. I also notice that some of the leaves are used as bedding LOL. Nothing like snuggling up with a friend in a batch of comfy kale leaves (?) :thumbuo 
Two of the girls (Pixie & Panda) really like to sit in the corner and dig out the little beans from their pods to eat. Watching these little squeakers is so much fun!
Also, their favorite pre-packaged food is the cockatiel seed mixes. All kinds of seeds, oats, millet, nuts. I of course supplement this with the lab blocks for good protein & vitamins. They also seem to prefer Corn Flakes cereal instead of Cheerios.


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## nicky43

Here a new food I learned they like last night..... cooked (then cooled before serving) lima beans. My 2 girls loved them and ate the whole bowl in one night (there was only 8 beans in the bowl).


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## Infinity

Can they have (red) pepper?


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## Teenybits

Quail eggs!


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## Laigaie

Mice will not generally like spicy foods! While birds can't taste capsaicin, mammals can.


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## SolaceKeep

I know junk food is frowned on but my brats love a bite of pork rinds as a treat. I have tried many "good" foods and a few Mice specialty foods bought in pet stores mine will pick out most of it . They refuse pellets of any kind . Tho they Love the Generic Chex *Oat bran* and Honey Nut Cherrios


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## Enlightened1

I was surprised not to see walnuts on here as a food to avoid as they are very toxic and will kill them. .so will salted nuts like salted peanuts
Also if you're mice get sores on their tails and they are eating peanuts. ..stop feeding them peanuts as most mice are allergic to them (learned this the hard way) also. .. mice will dig into an apple for the seeds. .. I would imagine too many would be bad ..just as they are bad for humans if we consume a cup and a half. ..but whose gonna sit there and eat a cup and a half of apple seeds? Lol. . My current mice get apple seeds on occasion they are nearing 3 years old this October and they are very healthy. ..they also get the occasional almond and they love them I imagine the almonds are discouraged for the same reasons apple seeds are. ..for anyone who would like to know more about Apple seeds I'd suggest looking up and watching a documentary called "A life without Cancer" it touches on apples and apple seeds right in the beginning  thank you so much for the list! I am very glad to know I can expand on my mices diets safely <3


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