Foods Not to Give a Mouse

You likely feed your pet mouse bagged pet store food as a main diet staple. While your mouse can be full from eating this food, it can be a good idea to offer your mouse some extra treats for nutritional purposes. Your mouse may enjoy carrots, plain cereal and dry bread. When introducing new foods into your mouse's world it is important to know which foods to avoid to keep your pet healthy.

  1. Chocolate and Sweets

    • Chocolate is dangerous for mice. They cannot metabolize it properly and it may hurt their digestive systems. Most sugary sweets in general should be avoided. Keep cake, cookies and hard candies away from your mouse. Potato chips and other greasy, salty snack foods are also a no go. Any food that a human on a diet would avoid should probably not be fed to the mouse. If you have small children be careful that they do not sneak these treats into the cage.

    Lettuce

    • Lettuce is healthy for humans and a favorite of many small critters such as hamsters and guinea pigs. Mice, however, do not have the correct digestive systems to process lettuce and other watery greens. If your mouse eats lettuce she can become ill with diarrhea which can lead to dehydration. When picking vegetables to give your mouse, the harder the vegetable, the safer it is to feed. Stick with celery, carrots and other vegetables of that nature.

    Citrus Fruits and Unwashed Fruits

    • Do not feed your mouse citrus fruits such as oranges. Citrus fruits can give mice the runs. Instead, stick to other types of of fruit such as bananas and apples. When feeding your mouse any fruit that has a skin, be sure to wash it thoroughly. You never know when an unwashed piece of fruit may contain pesticides. Since mice are so tiny they can become very ill or even die from pesticide exposure.

    Other Dangerous Foods

    • Television shows and movies often show mice eating cheese. In reality, cheese is not good for mice. Cheese is very rich and their system is not designed to handle it. Only give your mouse plain water to drink. Never put seltzer water or soda into a mouse's drink bottle. Mice cannot pass gas, so giving them soda can be a fatal mistake. Milk should only be given to mice when ordered by a vet for health problems. Giving your mouse milk on a daily basis is not in your pet's best interest.