Mice are rodents that live both in the wild and at home. They feed mainly on plant foods, although they will not refuse some food of animal origin. The diet of mice living in captivity should be as close as possible to their natural diet. However, the menu of rodents living in the wild depends on several factors: areoles, season, type of mouse (forest, meadow, steppe, etc.).
Key Features of Wildlife Nutrition
Rodent nutrition depends on their habitat and season. They choose foods high in carbohydrates as their food. For example, fruits, grains, seeds. It is worth noting that mice are able to eat small portions for a long time when there is a shortage of food. However, in special cases, hunger forces them to engage in cannibalism by eating their young.
Newborn mice feed on mother’s milk. This lasts until they can chew solid food on their own. The mother brings food to the nest to the strengthened cubs, accustoming them to her diet. Matured mice begin to get their own food.
Wild rodents living in the city are omnivores. They eat both plant and animal foods. Mice love worms, snails, crickets, and slugs. Also in urban environments, rodents feed on waste discarded by people.
On the day, rodents eat at least their weight. The amount of food for pregnant and lactating individuals increases. The nutritional feature of all mice is that they do not eat the product completely, but gnaw it on top.
Types of mice and their food preferences
There are several types of mice in nature. The diet of each of them is slightly different. For example, in the menu of steppe rodents, cereals and larvae of small insects predominate, and meadows – grasses, berries and root crops. Wood mice prefer mushrooms, acorns and tree bark. Rodents living near water bodies eat mainly spiders, caterpillars and plant roots. Another type of mouse is taiga. Lingonberries and cranberries form the basis of their diet.
Diet of rodents at different times of the year
Under natural conditions, the diet of mice is determined by the season:
- In summer and spring, rodents eat plant foods.
- In autumn, mice prefer ripe fruit from fruit trees. Also in their diet there are many grains and seeds that remain in the ground after harvest.
- In winter, it is quite difficult for the animal to get food. In search of food, he gets closer to the inhabited land, destroying the stocks of people. As food, mice choose carrots, potatoes, beets.
In the wild, rodents consume little water. They get most of it from food. That is why most often rodents choose juicy fruits, vegetables and fleshy plant leaves.
Eating at home
Breeders of mice know firsthand how important a balanced and correct diet is for a rodent. Not only the health of the pet depends on it, but also its appearance. The menu of mice at home should be as close as possible to how the animal feeds in the wild.
The easiest way to provide your mouse with the right diet is with ready-to-eat food. You can buy it at any pet store. When choosing an industrial feed, you should pay attention to its composition. It should be free of husks, rough herbs, chemical additives, and dyes.
You should not give the rodent food in which peanuts, oats, caraway seeds, sunflower seeds predominate. These products contain a large amount of fat, which will provoke obesity.
Natural diet
Mice have a fairly fast metabolism. The rodent needs food every 3 hours. Based on this, you should regularly pour fresh food into it. If this is not done in a timely manner, then the animal may have health problems.
A mouse living at home should get 14% protein, 9% fiber and 10% fat daily. When compiling a diet, it is necessary to take into account the natural needs of the rodent’s body. The menu should include the following food:
- vegetables (cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, etc.);
- fruits (apple, banana, grapes, melon);
- grain (barley, wheat, rye);
- nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.);
- greens (parsley, sprouted grains, dill);
- berries (strawberries, currants, wild strawberries);
- quail egg,
- seeds.
Captive mice are often protein deficient. To replenish it, you should include in the diet of dried freshwater crustaceans, boiled quail eggs, insects. If there is a lack of calcium and amino acids in the mouse’s body, it is recommended to introduce canned crickets into the menu.
Do not forget about the young twigs, which are necessary for the rodent to grind the teeth. The mouse will not give up rowan, apple and coniferous branches. It is also necessary to provide the pet with access to clean and fresh water.
As a pet treat, you can treat your pet with black bread and dried fruits. Everyone knows that mice love cheese. However, you should be extremely careful with this product, as excessive use of it leads to obesity.
Note that mice love cockroaches. If these insects are in the house, then the rodents will hunt for them.
What is forbidden to give to mice
The mouse can gnaw everything that comes its way. However, many products are capable of causing irreparable harm to her health. To avoid this, it is necessary to exclude the following foods from the diet:
- pickles;
- smoked products;
- Salo;
- potato;
- sweets;
- feed intended for other animals;
- white cabbage;
- tomatoes;
- citrus;
- onion;
- milk.
The choice of herbs should be approached with special responsibility. It is forbidden to give the mouse medicinal herbs with a bitter taste: celandine, wormwood, gentian, etc.
The diet of mice living in the wild and at home is about the same. Rodents are rather unpretentious in food, so it is quite easy to keep them. The worst time for captive mice is winter. At this time, it is difficult for a rodent to find food.
