Dormouse Facts - Feeding & Diet

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The Dormouse Diet

The dormouse is a very selective feeder. Dormice have a very simple digestive system, much like our own. Because of this they cannot exploit readily available foods like leaves. The dormouse must instead eat the most nutritious foods, namely flowers, fruits and insects. As all these foods are available at different times of year, dormice must select habitats rich in all these food sources. Otherwise, a dormouse could have nothing to eat for one part of the year. Many trees and bushes produce 'dormouse food' for perhaps 2 weeks of the year. Because of this dormice often need to move to different areas every few weeks. This is probably another reason why the dormouse is rare, it needs a very diverse habitat to survive.
Dormouse favourites include:

Hawthorn Flowers
Honeysuckle
Sycamore Flowers
Bramble Flowers
Blackberries
Beech nuts
Hazel nuts
Seeds out of Ash Keys
Seeds of Hornbeams
Shoots
Buds