Animalscaretips
The average healthy dormouse weighs around 20g, but they can be as heavy as 35g just before hibernation. Dormice eat the flowers from oak, hawthorn, sycamore, willow, honeysuckle and bramble. In summer they eat caterpillars, aphids and wasp galls before fattening up on blackberries and hazelnuts ready for hibernating.
- What do you feed dormouse?
- What do hazel dormice eat?
- What do I do if I find a dormouse?
- Do dormice eat cheese?
- Do dormice eat fruit?
- Do dormice eat walnuts?
- Are dormice edible?
- What berries do dormice eat?
- What are dormice predators?
- Are dormice endangered UK?
- Do harvest mice hibernate?
- Do dormice eat acorns?
- Do dormice store food?
- Are dormice mice?
What do you feed dormouse?
Food and Water
In the wild, dormice eat a varied diet that includes nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetation, bird eggs, and insects. A good variety seems to be the key to keeping dormice in captivity. The main part of your dormouse's diet should be a nut and seed mix, such as those made for hamsters and other small rodents.
What do hazel dormice eat?
In autumn, they will feast on nuts, seeds and berries, in order to put on enough fat for them to survive the winter. Once they emerge from hibernation, they will eat the blossoming flowers of trees such as hawthorn and oak, also taking insects like caterpillars when summer arrives.
What do I do if I find a dormouse?
If you are lucky enough to see a dormouse, please report your sighting to the People's Trust for Endangered Species, to help the conservation charity increase their knowledge of the species. Remember that a special licence is required to handle dormice, so people are advised not to attempt picking one up.
Do dormice eat cheese?
Nuts as occasional treats. They also get occasionally cooked chicken, boiled or scrambled eggs, cheese (although I've yet to find a type of cheese mine will eat!)
Do dormice eat fruit?
The common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) feeds on both vegetable food and food of animal origin. ... The main vegetable food sources are flowers in spring, berries in summer, nuts and soft fruits in autumn, but dormice also use many other food sources.
Do dormice eat walnuts?
Dormice are one of our rarest small mammals and very hard to find in the wild. Luckily, dormice leave very tell-tale signs when they eat hazel nuts – one of their favourite foods.
Are dormice edible?
They are much larger than the native, hazel dormouse and are called 'edible' because they were often eaten, especially in Roman times. Edible dormice are nocturnal and spend most of their time in the tree canopy or buildings. During the day, they rest in nests, similar to squirrel dreys, in trees or roof spaces.
What berries do dormice eat?
In late summer, berries, nuts and winged seeds are important food resources and dormice exploit species including bramble, bilberry, honeysuckle, rowan, cherry and hazel.
What are dormice predators?
Predators of Dormice include owls, snakes, and weasels.
Are dormice endangered UK?
Native and localised. Hazel dormice are rare and vulnerable to extinction in the UK. They are a priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Do harvest mice hibernate?
Harvest mice are less active in winter but do not hibernate; they stay close to the ground for warmth and insulation, and store food to sustain them through the winter months.
Do dormice eat acorns?
Dormice also eat oak flowers, but acorns are of little value. The plant's finely shredded bark is the preferred nesting material used by dormice. ... Bramble often flowers late, when many other species are over and dormice also eat the berries and seeds in autumn.
Do dormice store food?
Before hibernation, a dormouse eats as much as it can in order to build up a fat store. It makes a nest deep in a hedge or on the ground, lines it with grass, wool, leaves etc, and prepares a little store of food in case it wakes up during a warm spell.
Are dormice mice?
The first surprise is that they are not mice at all, although they are rodents. ... There are two sorts of dormice you might come across – the edible dormouse (Glis glis) and the native dormouse, sometimes called the hazel dormouse and technically known as Muscardinus avellanarius.
