Can Pet Mice Eat Cheese? 5 Things to Consider
Do pet mice like to eat cheese? Should you feed your pet mice cheese?
Although, most of us believe that the favorite food of mice is cheese, the reality is, that mice don’t like cheese. In fact, some cheese types, which have a really strong and rich smell, will be ignored by most mice.
Dr. David Holmes, from Manchester Metropolitan University, made some tests and claims, that mice prefer food which are high in sugar rather than cheese.
Feeding Cheese to Pet Mice
If you want to keep your pet mice healthy, you should avoid feeding them any type of cheese. Pet mice and wild mice, in general, will pretty much eat anything if they are hungry.
So if you feed them cheese, they most likely eat it, but that doesn’t mean that they love it.
Mice prefer to eat grains, fruits, vegetables and sweet food, which are high in calories. If these food types are available for them, mice will pretty much ignore cheese.
Is Cheese Bad or Toxic to Pet Mice?
Some cheese types might be toxic for mice. Feeding your mice only cheese can also cause health issues, because they will not get all the vitamins and minerals they need.
Always make sure, that you feed your pet mice a balanced natural diet, in order to keep them in good health conditions.
Is Cheese the Best Mouse Bait?
I did extended research and also tested myself, and found out that mice are more attracted to peanut butter or chocolate.
If you have a pet mouse, you can try this out yourself. Offer your mouse in 3 different bowls a piece of cheese, a piece of chocolate and a small amount of peanut butter.
Watch it closely, to see in which order will consume your mouse the offered food. Most likely, the mouse will start with the chocolate and will continue with the peanut butter. It can happen that it won’t even touch the cheese.
Mice are very intelligent, especially when it comes to food. They will always choose the food that is higher in calories. So, if other food is available, such as chocolate, peanut butter or even grains, the mouse will just ignore cheese.
So, cheese being the best bait for mice is a myth.
Can Mice Eat Blue Cheese?
Pet mice and mice in general are attracted to cheese that has a strong smell. Brie, Camembert or Blue Cheese are among the cheese types that mice will be attracted to.
Although, the smell of blue cheese might be very attractive, you should avoid feeding it to your pet mice. Blue cheese contains mold, which is toxic to pet mice.
Do Mice Like Swiss Cheese?
As I mentioned before, mice will eat any type of cheese, including Swiss cheese, if no other food is available. This doesn’t mean, that they like or should eat cheese.
If you want to offer your pet mice some treats, you should consider natural food, such as rice pops, snacks that are specially made for mice – I recommend to feed them these snacks which you can buy from Amazon. These snacks have a really high sugar content, which mice love.
Wrapping Up
Although in the public awareness, mice love cheese, in reality, cheese is not good for them. You should avoid feeding cheese to your pet mice altogether.
