Feeding mice: Peanuts? Cheese?

Question
Hi Natasha
I'm sorry to keep bothering you with my questions when I haven't actually got any mice yet but I should hopefully be getting them very soon.
I thought I new everything about how to feed mice and what they eat but when I watched your video "your first mouse" I noticed that you said to take peanuts out of their food and I was a little bit confused, I had always heard that mice like peanuts. I always used to give my hamsters peanuts and they loved them, I also did a bit of research by looking at other websites and some say mice love peanuts and others say they can cause illness and even be lethal so are peanuts really bad for mice because I know there are peanuts in hamster food and I had heard that you could give mice hamster food because I find hamster food so much easier to find in pet shops, mouse food is really hard to find. It's not really a problem even if I do buy hamster food I could just take the peanuts out but I'd just like to know.

oh! and another thing is cheese ok for mice, I know it sounds like a silly question but I had always thought cheese was fine as long as it was used as just an occasional treat rather than a permanent food source but one website said you shouldn't give them cheese. Anyway I was just wondering?

well thanks for answering my questions

from Verity :-)

Answer
Hi again Verity,

No problem. I wish more people would research before they got mice or rats. There would be a lot more happy and healthy rodents around.

Yes, websites are going to disagree... people have learned from various places, whether their own experience or what someone else does that they assume is fine, or whatever. With mice it is hard to keep a body of knowledge around that is more than mouse care books; the Fun Mouse sites is one of the best references there is, but even those authors may not know certain things.

For instance, I can tell anyone that avocado pits are extremely toxic. I know because I managed to poison a whole cage with one once. This might not be something every knowledgeable mouse person knows. I sure wish I had known : (( There is nothing worse than a cage poisoning (or other avoidable mass death).

I answer these questions to be the helper I never had!

Peanuts themselves are fine- but they carry deadly molds. So you can only trust a baked/roasted peanut. Obviously lots of mice eat them and survive. Others may die and no-one knows why. It is the same with the cedar litter. It is terrible for their respiratory systems. But I used it all my life till 2001. I had no idea. And those cute little noises the mice made.. I did not know that a well mouse is silent. And yet pet stores will still sell you cedar or pine.

Try to use mouse food. I'm pretty sure you can get it online in the UK-- it is easy here. But even so, as I said, take out the peanuts.

Pet supply manufacturers do not care about pets. They sell cedar chips for rodents. They put "rats" on those "mouse and rat" seed mixes, although rats should absolutely not have a seed diet. They sell pellets for rabbits as a whole diet even though rabbits should eat 75% hay, and maybe 15% vegetables and 10% pellets. But they make money off of what they sell, so they keep doing it. Never trust anyone who is making money off of what they tell you about their pets-- except a vet!! it is truly disgusting.

Also-- all those bright colors in the bedding, toys, foods, etc. are to make you buy them, not for the mouse. They should have as few added colors as possible, whether it is bedding, foods, or chewies. They should also have a clear ball so they can see where they are going; not a cutesy colored one, etc. And mice should NOT have sugar. All of those yogurt drops, etc-- spending money to make your pets sick : ((. It is very sad.

Cheese is fine in occasional small amounts. They don't like every kind of cheese. They do love avocado (NO PIT!), pretzels, salty chips, corn chips, popcorn, anything fatty or salty. Just in moderation. oh-- being a vegetarian I almost forgot-- crispy bacon!

Considering how good you are at researching, in a few years you can be a mouse expert yourself! : )))) When you are old enough to be on Facebook I will get you into a mouse group or two.

Have fun :)

squeaks n giggles,

Natasha

PS I don't remember-- are you getting the mice from a private breeder? It should be easy to find one in the UK. You guys are far more serious than we are about mice!  You and the Aussies both.