Pet mice are omnivores, meaning they can take meat apart from seeds, veggies, and fruits. Even with commercial feeds for mice, you’ll realize that meat is incorporated in plenty.
And although it’s not crucial to include meat in the diet of mice, meat is excellent in offering variety. Plus, the presence of bones in meat is crucial as it helps the mice to gnaw, hence assisting in teeth development.
Is Raw Meat Safe for Pet Mice?
It is not advisable to feed raw meat to your mice because there is a probability that the raw meat has e-coli bacteria, which can complicate the health of your mice. For instance, the mice can experience allergic reactions and skin irritation. Again, raw meat affects the digestion of mice, and the pet may experience diarrhea.
How to Prepare Meat for Your Pet Mice
The easiest method of preparing meat for your mice is cutting it into small pieces and boiling it. Or, you can buy ground meat instead, place it in a large bowl, add enough water, cover and bring the mixture to a boil. After boiling for some time, decrease the heat level for the meat to simmer until it’s cooked.
If the mice have a lot of weight, you can get rid of excess fat from the meat by pouring the mixture into a colander to drain the juices. Otherwise, you can serve the juices to mice that don’t have weight issues. Once the meal is ready, serve a reasonable portion, and always use clean dishes when serving the mice.
What Type of Meat Is Good for Pet Mice?
1. Chicken Meat
Mice like chicken meat. Overall, chicken meat is the ultimate source of proteins for mice, and it also has lower calories and fats than other meat types like beef.
The chicken breast is lean, contains high protein levels, and has lower fats and calories than parts like the wings and thighs, making it the best to feed the mice. Either way, mice feed on every part of a chicken, including the bones.
Side Effects
Serving mice large portions of chicken meat may result in rapid weight gain, given the high-calorie content of chicken meat.
2. Mealworms
Although mice feed on mealworms, it is good to know whether you’ll go for the dried or fresh worms. Dried mealworms are served as treats; given their fatty nature, you shouldn’t serve large amounts. Notably, they are less nutritious than fresh mealworms, and you should be keen not to serve dried mealworms with additives.
When preparing fresh mealworms, you need to chill, freeze then cook them before serving your mice.
Side Effects
Overfeeding can lead to digestive issues because of the fat content in the mealworms.
3. Processed Meat
Processed meat is not suitable for mice. So when you come across sausages, salami, and other similar foodstuffs, do not be tempted to feed them to your mice. Also, avoid bacon, jerky and cold cuts because they contain salt and other seasonings.
Side Effects
Feeding mice on processed meat can result in fatality because salt and other additives are toxic to mice, even in the smallest amounts.
4. Beef
While rats can eat beef, you are safer ensuring the meat is ground. The good thing with ground meat is that its fat content ranges between 5 and 12 percent, so you can decide the fat quantity you want to purchase for your mice.
Side Effects
Mice can become obese when served with high-fat content ground beef.
Other Things that Pet Mice Eat
Making sudden changes to the mice’s diet can result in stomach upset. So, introduce new foods gradually.
Mice that live in the wild spend most of their time searching for different foods, and you can recreate the natural behavior. However, not all veggies, fruits, or herbs are edible to the mice. Here are ideas of other foods that you can feed your mice on.
Vegetables
- Carrot
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Chicory
- Sweet peppers
- Cucumber
- Cress
Fruit
- Apple (make sure you remove the seeds first)
- Pear
- Peach
- Melon
- Dried banana
- Red grapes
Herbs
- Basil
- Sage
- Parsley
- Coriander
Some ‘people’ foods like chocolate and peanuts are toxic to mice. Also, avoid citric fruits like lemons, oranges, and grapes. Again, evade acidic veggies like garlic and onions.
Final Thoughts
Mice like meat, but it is essential to feed them fresh meat. The key is identifying a reliable source from which to acquire these protein foods to ensure the meat hasn’t been in contact with pesticides or additives. Also, exercise healthy eating by serving your mice considerable portions twice a week. Meat has excellent nutritional value, and when served as an occasional treat, it shall boost your pets’ energy.
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