Feeding your mouse might seem simple on the surface. After all, they’re so small it might not seem like it would be too hard to take care of them. That smallness is also a burden as even tiny amounts of unhealthy or toxic foods can rack up incredibly fast within their little bodies.
If you’re concerned with what to feed your mouse, as you should be, you can rest easy by purchasing Oxbow Essentials - Mouse & Young Rat Food. This high-quality mouse food is grain-based and absolutely jam-packed with fiber, minerals and essential vitamins.
You can find mouse food in either pellet or muesli forms.
Pellets: Pellets are a strong choice as their uniform sizes and construction ensure that your mouse doesn’t cherry-pick from among the scattered food and miss out on the nutrients they need. Make sure to pair this kind of food with fresher foods. You wouldn’t enjoy eating only nutrient bars, and neither do mice. It’s also the most recommended type of food for your mouse.
Muesli: This kind of mouse food consists of a variety of flakes, bits and bobs of related food that’s good and healthy for your mouse. You find stuff like dried fruits and vegetables, cereal flakes and pellets in muesli food mixes. The problem with muesli is that mice almost always eat only the pieces they prefer, creating unbalance in their health. You can occasionally scatter some around their home to provide variety, but it isn’t recommended as their primary food source.
The nutrition of your mouse comes down to protein and vitamins and minerals.
Protein: Mice typically need around 14% of their diet to be protein. Any more, and they can develop skin issues. That said, nursing and pregnant mice do need more than 14% protein for their health.
Vitamins and minerals: The vitamins and minerals that are the most important to your mouse’s health are calcium, choline, magnesium and vitamins A and E. Young and growing mice also need a certain amount of folic acid as well.
For more information on types of mouse food and nutritional information, you can visit the mouse food buying guide from BestReviews.
Some mouse foods can also be labeled for rats, as mice and rats have similar dietary needs and are both opportunistic omnivores. These foods are perfectly suitable for your mousy friend.
Do not purchase mouse food with added sugar. Any standard and healthy mouse food already contains enough sugar for your mouse. A little bit of added salt is generally acceptable so long as you watch the total salt intake.
One mouse will generally eat around one pound of food every three months or 90 days. But since they’re pack animals, meaning they carry more weight, you’ll go through a pound faster than that. Try to order enough to feed them without ordering enough that any of it goes stale.
Mouse food is typically priced at the cost per ounce level. For less than 15 cents an ounce, you can find bulk quantities of high-quality food or low amounts of low-quality food. Above this, you can find higher-quality foods in lower amounts, with the 25-40 cent range netting you the best of the best mouse food.
A. Absolutely. You should strictly avoid toxic or otherwise unhealthy foods to mice like onions and garlic, chocolate, walnuts, grapes and raisins, coffee and tea, citrus-related fruits and apple seeds.
A. Fruits and vegetables are a great choice, keeping in mind that some fruits are off-limits and you should limit the amount of fruit due to their sugar content. Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and bell peppers are always a welcome treat. Try to keep the percentage of your purchased mouse food and fresher foods to around 75% purchased and 25% fresh.
Oxbow Essentials - Mouse & Young Rat Food
What you need to know: This high-fiber mouse pellet mix is very similar to what wild mice eat in nature.
What you’ll love: This mouse pellet is also packed with vitamins, minerals and grains.
What you should consider: While this option advertises being two packs, some consumers reported only receiving one.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Chewy
Supreme Petfoods Tiny Friends Farm Reggie Rat and Mimi Mouse Tasty Mix
What you need to know: This is a well-balanced and protein-rich mouse food for your precious little one.
What you’ll love: This particular mouse food is terrific at inspiring natural foraging if sprinkled around your mouse’s containment.
What you should consider: If you aren’t a fan of feeding your mouse lots of corn, you should select a different mouse food.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Chewy
Vitakraft VitaSmart Complete Nutrition - Rat, Mouse & Gerbil Food
What you need to know: This is a loose collection of ingredients that still achieves the optimal nutrition values.
What you’ll love: Wheat, soybean hulls and corn are the primary ingredients, though other ingredients are listed.
What you should consider: Mice are pretty well known for foraging out their favorite pieces and ignoring others.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Chewy
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
Jordan C. Woika writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
