Are banana leaves and garlic mustard safe?

by SilverGravity Sat 14 Nov 2020, 3:58 pm

Just what the title says. I’d like to give my mice some more foliage, and we have a couple banana trees inside that are free of chemicals so I’d love to give them some of the leaves but I’m not sure they’re safe. Garlic mustard is a weed that grows everywhere here and I feed it to my chickens but I’m not sure if anyone knows if mice can eat it. Thanks for any info!

by Honey102019 Wed 23 Dec 2020, 9:43 pm

Always ask your vet before offering a new food to your mouse. It's better to be safe than sorry.

I did some reading out of curiousity.

I could not find any information on banana leaves other than mature leaves can cause discomfort in humans when digested due to the high fiber content.

But, I did find that garlic mustard contains traces of cyanide. I know mice can't eat apple seeds because of the cyanide risk so I wouldn't risk it with garlic mustard.

This is the article I found which mentions this...

Garlic Mustard - Evil, Invasive, Delicious

It does add that both kale and broccoli also contain cyanide. But, the author did not indicate how much cyanide was contained in any of the greens included in the article.
Because of that, I cannot assume that just because kale is safe, the same can be said of garlic mustard.

Also, you must remember that what might be a safe amount for humans may not be for mice due to their higher metabolism.

Again, it's best to check with your vet or just stick with foods you know are safe like the safe food list on this forum.

I hope this helps.

Are banana leaves and garlic mustard safe?

Are banana leaves and garlic mustard safe?

Re: Are banana leaves and garlic mustard safe?