Despite their bad reputation, mice can be cuddly, friendly pets. Their inquisitive nature and undemanding habits remind many of other small animals, such as gerbils or hamsters.
However, just because mice are similar in size and behavior to other rodent pets such as hamsters does not mean they are the same. Mice have their own unique needs when it comes to habitat, medical care, and even diet.
Often, people assume that they can feed mice the same food that they feed to other small pets such as hamsters. Some pet food companies or pet stores even advertise hamster food as being friendly for mice.
There are many similarities between hamster food and a mouse’s dietary needs, so feeding your mice hamster food will still help them meet their nutritional needs. However, there can also be some health risks associated with giving hamster food to your mice, so it is best to proceed with caution.
What Is in Hamster Food?
Hamsters eat similar food to mice. Both rodents are omnivorous and need to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, some protein (many hamsters like eggs), and treats.
There are also dry foods, which combine all the necessary nutrients for hamsters into one simple bag.
Hamster dry food comes in the form of pellets and seed mixes.
Hamster Pellets
Hamster pellets combine various food and nutrients that hamsters need, such as hay, Omega 3 acids, corn, and more in a dry pellet that resembles a cookie or cereal. This ensures that hamsters get all the vitamins they need at every meal, but needs to be varied with other foods because hamsters (and mice) tend to leave their food if they get bored.
Seed Mixes
Just like pellets, seed mixes combine all the nutrients hamsters need in one bag, except that they stay in their original form instead of being ground up to form pellets. Seed mixes offer more variety for the discerning hamster, but picky pets often wind up eating only their favorites and leaving other food, including nutritionally valuable parts.
Hamster seed mixes often have ingredients such as sunflower seeds, peanuts, oats, and vegetables.
Why Buy Dry Hamster Food?
Many hamster owners feed their pets dry food such as pellets and mixes because of the convenience. Instead of carefully weighing out ingredients, all they have to do is buy a bag of dry food.
Dry food also ensures that your hamster gets all the nutrients that it needs without the headache of weighing out other ingredients. This is particularly important for older pets and picky eaters that leave behind other nutrient-rich foods.
Many mouse owners reach for hamster dry food because of this convenience as well. However, it is important to note that these mixes are calibrated to meet the nutritional needs of hamsters, not mice.
Benefits of Buying Hamster Food for Your Mice
Many mice owners buy hamster food at least sometimes for their furry friends. There are certainly benefits to this kind of food.
Similar Nutrients
Although their digestive systems are not entirely the same, hamsters and mice need many of the same vitamins and nutrients. They also eat many of the same foods because they are both omnivorous rodents.
Hamster food contains oats, vegetables, and additional nutrients such as Omega 3 that are beneficial to mice. Although it may not meet all of a mouse’s nutritional needs, hamster food will still help it stay healthy and prevent it from going hungry.
Convenience
One of the biggest reasons why pet owners get hamster food for their mice is convenience. Often it is easier to get hamster food, particularly if someone has multiple small animals and does not want to spend a lot of money on different types of food.
Hamster food is usually more readily available than mixes designed just for mice. Most people can find it at a pet store, online, or even in the pet food aisle at the grocery store.
On the other hand, specialty food for mice is often difficult to find. Since most people are used to thinking of mice as pests or lab animals, they are not very common as pets yet.
Some mouse owners may not even be aware that there is specialty pet food out there for mice and rats. It does not help that some producers and vendors advertise hamster food as being nutritious for mice as well.
Dangers of Hamster Food for Mice
Hamster food has many of the same nutrients that mice also need and can be useful as short-term feed for your mouse if you run out of other food or are still looking for a better source of nutrients. However, in the long-term, your mouse should not eat hamster food very often.
Hamsters do not need all the same nutrients that mice do, so a mouse raised solely on hamster food will still have some nutrient deficiencies. You should feed your mouse food that is tailored to its needs.
Hamster food also tends to have many fatty ingredients, such as sunflower seeds and peanuts. Mice love these foods, but they should only be given as a treat and not a regular part of their diet.
Dangers of Fatty Food
When mice eat too much fatty food, they tend to become obese, particularly domesticated mice who do not have as much space to run around and exercise. Obesity in mice can lead to other health problems, just like in humans.
Mice also have very sensitive digestive systems. Any new food, particularly one high in fat, can cause digestive blockages and other problems.
Other health problems that mice can develop after eating too much fatty food include allergies and even skin conditions.
What Your Mice Should Eat
Mice should eat food that is low in fats and added sugars. They need a varied diet with many different nutrients to stay healthy.
It can be difficult to find precise guidelines on what to feed mice since so few are kept as pets. Most information about mouse food is for laboratories that use mice for experiments.
Thankfully, some information is available about the nutritional requirements for mice. They need plenty of protein each day and several grams of other nutrients such as potassium, iron, calcium, and more.
To make sure that your mice are getting the nutrients that they need, feed them a varied diet. This can include store-bought mixes, fresh fruits and vegetables, and even small amounts of dog kibble as a treat to add protein.
Prepackaged Mixes
Just because you cannot feed your mouse hamster food does not mean that you have to give up the convenience of dried mixes. There are pet foods made just for mice.
Most larger pet stores or online retailers such as Amazon will stock mouse pellets or seed mixes. Rat food is also okay for your mouse as their nutritional needs are virtually the same.
However, not all mouse food is created equal. Be sure to check the ingredients list before buying it to make sure that it is healthy for your mouse.
Some pet foods use inexpensive ingredients such as alfalfa to make their mix seem fuller, but most mice refuse to eat those. Others add harmful ingredients such as dyes and sugars, which could make your mice sick.
Homemade Food
Your mice also need a variety of fresh food to supplement any dry food you may get from the pet store. You can feed them a variety of healthy food from apples to berries to carrots and leafy greens.
However, you need to strike a delicate balance between varying your mouse’s diet and not shocking their system. Mice sometimes get bored of their food and will start to leave it if they think their feed is becoming too monotonous, but if you introduce too many new foods at the same time it could shock their digestive systems.
You can also make your own dry mouse food at home using ingredients such as dry pasta, sugar-free breakfast cereal, and oats. This is helpful if there are no stores that sell mouse food near you or if you want to treat your mice to a special meal.
Should Mice Eat Hamster Food?
If a mouse sneaks a few bites of hamster food, it probably won’t suffer any serious consequences. You can also give your mice hamster food on very rare occasions if you happen to run out of other food.
However, hamster food is dangerous for mice in the long run. Its fat content is too high for their nutritional needs and can cause serious health problems such as obesity, allergies, and digestive issues.
Luckily, feeding your mice a diet that is tailored to their nutritional needs is not that difficult. You can get mouse food from most specialty pet stores or even make your own mix at home using pantry ingredients.
Mice may not be common pets, but they can still be pleasant companions for many years to come. Feeding your mice a healthy, balanced diet will help them stay healthy and active.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. I have a wife and two children and love taking them to the zoo to see all the animals. I grew up with dogs and fish and now have two dogs and two cats. I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.