Can Pet Mice Eat Peanut Butter? 5 Things to Consider

Peanut butter is one of the foods that mice won’t hesitate to eat. People often use it as bait to catch mice that are lurking around in their houses.

These little guys simply can’t resist the buttery sweetness of this substance. At first, they are attracted to the strong smell of peanut butter.

Then, they go closer and enjoy the taste. Its high sugar content and specific taste make it irresistible for mice.

However, feeding peanut butter to your pet mouse voluntarily is not a good idea at all. In fact, it will do more harm than good if you do so.

In this article, we are going to explain why exactly should you avoid feeding peanut butter to your mouse.

Should You Feed Peanut Butter to Your Pet Mouse?

Although mice like peanut butter so much that they can get addicted to it, it is not wise to feed them with it. Just imagine how much sugar it contains, not to mention some of the other things it consists of. Simply put, it is an unhealthy junk meal for mice.

It can even be dangerous because of its sticky and gooey consistency. Any mouse would eat it without hesitation even though it can block his airways. You definitely don’t want to see your mouse choking indefinitely after eating peanut butter.

Us humans have sophisticated physiology to rid ourselves of blockages. Eating sticky and gooey stuff is not an issue for us at all. We can even vomit if something poisonous gets in our system. The body of a mouse greatly differs from ours and they simply can’t solve these problems.

On the other hand, peanut butter also contains a lot of fat. Even if your mouse succeeds at eating it, the amount of sugar and fat he gets from it is definitely not healthy.

Is Peanut Butter Toxic to Mice?

Peanut butter doesn’t contain anything that can be toxic to a mouse. It can cause health problems in the long term but those are not caused by toxicity. It can also cause choking by blocking their airways. Even though it is not toxic, there is really nothing healthy in peanut butter.

Now there are certainly some peanut butter products that contain toxic ingredients. One of these are peanut butter balls (or truffles) that are coated with chocolate. We are going to talk about these exact peanut butter balls later and explain why exactly you should avoid feeding them to your mouse.

Can Mice Eat Peanuts?

Peanuts can indeed part of the healthy diet of a mouse. They absolutely love all types of nuts. However, this doesn’t mean that their diet should consist only of nuts. They need to get enough vitamins, fiber and proteins from other foods in order to live on a balanced diet.

You can even mix peanuts in the main meal of your mouse. Just be aware of the fact that all nuts are high in fat so you shouldn’t feed a lot of them to your mouse. They should not be used as staple food for sure. There are even commercially made foods for mice that contain various nuts, even peanuts.

If it is mixed in the right ratio, then your little pet is not going to have any health issues because of it. When it comes to foods that should rather be used as treats, you should always give small amounts to your pet. Your main goal should be to come up with a healthy and nutritious diet for your mouse and feed it to him every day.

Can Mice Eat Peanut Butter Cookies?

There are various types of cookies that you can feed to your mouse and peanut butter cookies are definitely not one of them. You better look for those sugar-free and low-fat cookies in the market. Either way, cookies should be offered to your little pets as treats.

Once they finish their main meal, you can give them some fruits (bananas), biscuits or cookies to chew on. Harder biscuits can even prove as beneficial when their teeth are growing. All in all, peanut butter cookies contain too much fat and sugar. This is why it can not be considered as healthy food to feed your mouse with.

Can Mice Eat Peanut Butter Balls (Truffles)?

This is the case when a peanut butter product can be actually toxic. The problem with peanut butter balls (or truffles) is the chocolate coating. Chocolate or anything that contains cacao is toxic to mice and many other little pets. Peanut butter is already pretty unhealthy because of its sugar and fat content.

Peanut butter balls, however, should be avoided at all costs. It all starts with the cacao plant which chocolate is made of. That particular plant produces the chemical called Theobromine. It is in the cacao that is used in so many sweets and it’s also the main reason why it’s toxic to animals.

Their organism simply doesn’t react well to Theobromine, while us humans can eat it lightheartedly.

Wrapping Up

If peanut butter wasn’t so sticky and gooey, it would be an outstanding treat for mice. But unfortunately, it has these exact characteristics and it can make your mouse choke a lot. Mice are simply not physiologically built in a way so that they can rid themselves of blockages.

Therefore, we can conclude that you should only give peanut butter to mice if you want to catch them in the house. If you keep them as pets, then it’s a really bad idea even if you want to feed it to them as a treat. There are many other foods to choose from that make good treats for mice.

Treats should be offered after your pet has finished his main meal. The main meal should be nutritious and full of vitamins, fiber and protein. And that’s all you need to know about peanut butter as mouse food. All in all, it is not a good food alternative for them and you should avoid feeding it to them altogether.