What Do Mice Eat

Companions of pipes, houses, debris and even rooms. Mice are the perfect relationship between love and hate that some people can feel. Some little friends, who can sometimes cause more than one individual to jump out of their seats, especially when they are looking for food to survive.

They come in all colors from brown, black, gray and in more particular cases white.  Regardless of how we might find it, we know that mice belong to a family of mammals  called Merida. This means that they are handled in large groups, reaching more than 600 members in the same area, if their proliferation is not controlled.

Mice are constantly confused with their sisters the rats; this has nothing to do with their gender but rather with their size or build. The former are smaller and have a much more compact body that allows them to easily slip into small and elaborate holes.

Although there are many types of mice, there is a particular species to which we are most accustomed, the famous house mouse. The also called common or domestic mouse is the one that we can find in our homes and urban areas, characterized by its small pointed face and its round eyes in addition to its famous long tail which it uses to balance itself.

The adaptability of mice is one of their most outstanding abilities which allow them to live almost anywhere in the world, with the exception of those climates with extreme cold conditions, since there are species that adapt perfectly to the characteristic heat of the deserts and savannas.

The particular energy of mice is captured even in the most popular cartoons. Their agility sets them apart from other animals, being quite difficult to hit when they really set their minds to it. They are also excellent builders of shelters as well as burrows, which are used to protect themselves from birds, reptiles and many other species that seek to hunt them for food.

To obtain their food they can do the least expected feats, taking advantage of their speed and small size to get what they want in the most efficient way possible. They are very particular animals and somewhat social with others just like them, but always imposing respect for their territory.

What do you need:

• Fruits
• Waste
• Grain
• Trash
• Mice
• Insects
• Carrion
• Vegetables

Instructions

1. They are herbivores. Mice are animals that consume vegetables, fruits and their additions more frequently, that is, they are considered herbivores for the most part. This means that they can feed on any plant resource, hence the fact that they are very easily found in large fields or crops where they can obtain food without getting too complicated.
   They find a special taste for seeds, being one of the favorite foods of this animal. Likewise, fruits tend to be eaten frequently, having apples among their favorites, as well as those that they consider crunchier.
   Also among the vegetables that they consume the most are some such as broccoli, celery and carrots. These, due to their hardness, serve to file their teeth and reduce them since they do not stop growing throughout their lives, harming mice when they reach a large size.
   It is believed that they are not herbivores but rather omnivores because they can eat almost any food. This can be refuted by stating that they can certainly have a fairly varied diet, depending on the conditions they are exposed to, but that in their natural state (where you can get supplies on your own) they will prefer plant matter as their only option.
2. Some species are carnivorous as we have told you, mice belong to herbivorous animals as well as others that are considered omnivorous, but there is an exception.  Grasshopper mice are a variety of this species that is distinguished mainly by being carnivorous, unlike others. They can be obtained in countries such as Mexico or various areas of the United States.
3. They also like insects in their natural state, mice also obtain their energy from other types of food such as insects. Worms, larvae, centipedes and some crickets are part of their diet in nature; in urban areas they can even consume cockroaches. Among their favorite insects are the beetles since they help them with what we mentioned before about their teeth, due to their hard shell. In some cases, the mouse is capable of ingesting even snails, which are not very common in their diet but help them provide quite particular nutrients that they do not obtain with other species.
4. Famine makes them cannibals as in many cases in nature, mice, if they find themselves in need due to lack of food, come to eat each other. If the hunger is great, they can even eat their own tail in search of survival. Another case of cannibalism among mice is the one that occurs when the females eat their young, but they have to go through contexts of extreme famine for this situation to arise. In these times it can also happen that the strongest rodents consume those that have died or are too weak to defend themselves.
5. They can be destructive. Mice have the particularity that they can become extremely destructive, especially in places where there is a great movement of food. The fields and orchards are one of their favorite places to live since they have a very varied series of fruits and vegetables within their reach. The problem is that mice do not measure the amount of food they eat daily and that is why they can cause great damage, ruining entire crops if they have a large group of them nearby. In the home they can also destroy different pieces and ruin the foods that they taste as they go.
6. The cheese myth despite popular beliefs, mice do not go crazy for cheese. Although if it is to their liking, they prefer to consume other types of foods, such as those that have a high carbohydrate content. If you’re looking to attract a mouse in the most efficient way possible, cheese won’t help as much. What can help you is a piece of chocolate because it attracts them with greater relevance, but it is not highly recommended that these animals ingest (in case you have one as a pet) since it is very toxic for them.
7. They like waste. One of the reasons mice love to be around humans is because of how easily they can get whatever food is left behind. Pieces of bread, food scraps or any waste that for a person could mean garbage, for a mouse it will be a guarantee of an immediate delicacy and without much difficulty in reaching it.
8. They do not feed on materials. A lie that exists around mice is that they can eat any material such as wood, plastic, cardboard and even metal. This is completely false since eating them is not the same as chewing or gnawing on them. Mice come to destroy what is in their path in search of resistant materials to build their nests and burrows. When you come across any sign that a mouse is destroying the furniture, cables or areas of your home, be sure that it is not because of hunger but rather because it is making a lasting home for its young and for itself, where it can take refuge from dangers and their predators. They build their homes with everything they find in their path, which is why they can become quite characteristic, depending on what they find in their path.

Tips

• If you have a mouse or mice as pets, we recommend that you avoid giving those peanuts, any type of acidic fruits or vegetables, or feeding them raw meat, as they can cause negative consequences for this little animal. Eating these foods can cause skin and stomach problems, as well as other very common allergies for these+ rodents.
• If what you want is for your mouse to be in a fairly active state of health, what you can do is supplement its diet with food prepared for other animals. For this you have to control very well the rations that you give them because they are very prone to being overweight, which can cause death quite easily. Mice are animals that, as we have told you, can live anywhere in the world and you can find them in the wild or living very close to your home (or in your own home). Learning about their diet and lifestyle helps us to control them and avoid the negative experiences that they can generate if the appropriate precautions are not taken with respect to these animals.