Healthy Diet for Pet Rats
Rats are... well, rats! As we all know, rats are opportunistic omnivores and can eat almost anything. So it's no surprise that keeping your rat healthy isn't exactly a difficult task!
Wild rats live off of smaller mammals, small reptiles, birds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, bugs, the local humans discarded food, waste from slaughterhouses, restaurants, candy factories, and much more.
Luckily, our domestic friends don't have to scavenge for their food, and we can be sure they're getting all of the essential nutrients they need to live long, healthy lives.
Wild rats live off of smaller mammals, small reptiles, birds, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, bugs, the local humans discarded food, waste from slaughterhouses, restaurants, candy factories, and much more.
Luckily, our domestic friends don't have to scavenge for their food, and we can be sure they're getting all of the essential nutrients they need to live long, healthy lives.
Staple Diet
First, try to avoid seed mixes. Some rats can be picky and will only eat their favorite pieces out of the mix, which means they may not be getting all of the nutrients they need. If you want to ensure your rats health, you'll want to feed them a healthy brand of lab block (the equivalent of kibble for dogs). Many commercial rat blocks provide a perfectly healthy, well balanced diet and can be fed exclusively and without any kinds of supplements. Just be sure you're purchasing a healthy brand of block, such as Oxbow or Mazuri.
Oxbow is the most popular brand of food, and it is highly praised amongst rat fanciers. It's low in protein and fat, and most rats absolutely love it. Oxbow also has a young rat formula, which a lot of people reccommend, but some claim it's not the best because for some unknown reason it contains alfalfa, which rats cannot properly digest. For young rats, Oxbow's adult formula can be fed as a staple for adults and babies, but you'll want to supplement it with extra protein.
Mazuri is a very popular brand as well, and you can find it in most pet stores. It's completely vegetarian, low in fat, and can be fed as a main diet without supplements to young rats and adult rats alike.
BEWARE OF DANGEROUS FOODS! Low quality rat blocks or mixes such as Kaytee or Wild Harvest brands are not a good option for your rats main diet. Feeding a low quality diet may cause your rats to experience lethargy, hair loss, tumors, and in worst cases, death. Kaytee brand food, for example, is not processed properly--one of its main ingredients is corn, which must be dried thoroughly or else it will mold. One batch of food containing mold spores can lead to food poisoning, and--since rats cannot vomit--may kill your rats instantly.
For young rats under 6 months old, you may want to supplement their staple diet with some extra protein. The best sources of protein for young rats are black beans, vegan dog food, feeder bugs like mealworms and crickets, roasted unsalted almonds, baked pumpkin seeds, and kale. You can feed these foods 2 or 3 times per week until they are 6 months old. After that, you'll want to switch them to a low protein diet. Young rats require about 12%-18% protein in their diets, while adult rats only require about 11%-16% protein. Excess protein in an adult rat's diet may lead to hair loss, itchiness, weight loss or weight gain (depending on their age) and even tumors, or strokes.
You may even be picky about what you feed your rats, and want to ensure that you always know exactly what your rats are eating. In either of these scenarios, you can feed your rats a homemade mix. This has the same risk as feeding them a seed mix, as some rats will only eat their favorite pieces out of the mix. However, homemade mixes are different from seed mixes in the sense that they are made from real, fresh food as apposed to possibly stale, tasteless and processed seeds. Click here to see my recipe for a homemade rat mix.
First, try to avoid seed mixes. Some rats can be picky and will only eat their favorite pieces out of the mix, which means they may not be getting all of the nutrients they need. If you want to ensure your rats health, you'll want to feed them a healthy brand of lab block (the equivalent of kibble for dogs). Many commercial rat blocks provide a perfectly healthy, well balanced diet and can be fed exclusively and without any kinds of supplements. Just be sure you're purchasing a healthy brand of block, such as Oxbow or Mazuri.
Oxbow is the most popular brand of food, and it is highly praised amongst rat fanciers. It's low in protein and fat, and most rats absolutely love it. Oxbow also has a young rat formula, which a lot of people reccommend, but some claim it's not the best because for some unknown reason it contains alfalfa, which rats cannot properly digest. For young rats, Oxbow's adult formula can be fed as a staple for adults and babies, but you'll want to supplement it with extra protein.
Mazuri is a very popular brand as well, and you can find it in most pet stores. It's completely vegetarian, low in fat, and can be fed as a main diet without supplements to young rats and adult rats alike.
BEWARE OF DANGEROUS FOODS! Low quality rat blocks or mixes such as Kaytee or Wild Harvest brands are not a good option for your rats main diet. Feeding a low quality diet may cause your rats to experience lethargy, hair loss, tumors, and in worst cases, death. Kaytee brand food, for example, is not processed properly--one of its main ingredients is corn, which must be dried thoroughly or else it will mold. One batch of food containing mold spores can lead to food poisoning, and--since rats cannot vomit--may kill your rats instantly.
For young rats under 6 months old, you may want to supplement their staple diet with some extra protein. The best sources of protein for young rats are black beans, vegan dog food, feeder bugs like mealworms and crickets, roasted unsalted almonds, baked pumpkin seeds, and kale. You can feed these foods 2 or 3 times per week until they are 6 months old. After that, you'll want to switch them to a low protein diet. Young rats require about 12%-18% protein in their diets, while adult rats only require about 11%-16% protein. Excess protein in an adult rat's diet may lead to hair loss, itchiness, weight loss or weight gain (depending on their age) and even tumors, or strokes.
You may even be picky about what you feed your rats, and want to ensure that you always know exactly what your rats are eating. In either of these scenarios, you can feed your rats a homemade mix. This has the same risk as feeding them a seed mix, as some rats will only eat their favorite pieces out of the mix. However, homemade mixes are different from seed mixes in the sense that they are made from real, fresh food as apposed to possibly stale, tasteless and processed seeds. Click here to see my recipe for a homemade rat mix.
Treats
Again, rats can eat just about anything. You can feed them fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, nuts, meat, feeder bugs, cereal, pasta, popcorn, baby food, an occasional piece of junk food like potato chips, cheese, french fries, sugary cereal, popsicles, and plenty of other things.
Many rat parents claim that you should not feed your rats ANY kind of sugary or salty junk food, but a little bit on occasion is perfectly fine. Besides, their lives are so short. They deserve to be spoiled, if you ask me!
If your rats eat a healthy enough staple diet, they will not need fruits, vegetables, grains, feeder bugs or anything else as a supplement. You can feed them these things as healthy treats, but they are not necessary for their health.
If you're going to feed your rats fresh fruits and vegetables, just make sure you rinse them very, very thoroughly before feeding them, as fresh produce most likely contains pesticides which will be fatal to your rats.
Did you know rats can eat chocolate? In fact, dark chocolate is another great option for a treat! Rats have the same tolerance level to the toxicity in chocolate as humans do, so they can eat as much as they want and won't get sick. Dark chocolate is practically made of antioxidants, and is very commonly used as a way to keep rats immune systems in good shape and help fight off upper respiratory infections. One square of dark chocolate every day could do wonders in preventing common illnesses in your rats. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the better. I personally use 85% dark chocolate for my rats.
Again, rats can eat just about anything. You can feed them fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, nuts, meat, feeder bugs, cereal, pasta, popcorn, baby food, an occasional piece of junk food like potato chips, cheese, french fries, sugary cereal, popsicles, and plenty of other things.
Many rat parents claim that you should not feed your rats ANY kind of sugary or salty junk food, but a little bit on occasion is perfectly fine. Besides, their lives are so short. They deserve to be spoiled, if you ask me!
If your rats eat a healthy enough staple diet, they will not need fruits, vegetables, grains, feeder bugs or anything else as a supplement. You can feed them these things as healthy treats, but they are not necessary for their health.
If you're going to feed your rats fresh fruits and vegetables, just make sure you rinse them very, very thoroughly before feeding them, as fresh produce most likely contains pesticides which will be fatal to your rats.
Did you know rats can eat chocolate? In fact, dark chocolate is another great option for a treat! Rats have the same tolerance level to the toxicity in chocolate as humans do, so they can eat as much as they want and won't get sick. Dark chocolate is practically made of antioxidants, and is very commonly used as a way to keep rats immune systems in good shape and help fight off upper respiratory infections. One square of dark chocolate every day could do wonders in preventing common illnesses in your rats. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the better. I personally use 85% dark chocolate for my rats.
Forbidden Foods
As far as food goes, it's much easier to list off the things your rats cannot eat, rather than the things they can.
So here's a quick list of things you should not feed your rats:
Too much dairy, dried corn, iceberg lettuce, orange juice, any citrus peel, blue cheese, licorice, rhubarb, red cabbage, artichoke, banana peels, potato skins, potatoes that are not ripe, poppy seeds; carbonated, caffeinated or alcoholic beverages.
As far as food goes, it's much easier to list off the things your rats cannot eat, rather than the things they can.
So here's a quick list of things you should not feed your rats:
Too much dairy, dried corn, iceberg lettuce, orange juice, any citrus peel, blue cheese, licorice, rhubarb, red cabbage, artichoke, banana peels, potato skins, potatoes that are not ripe, poppy seeds; carbonated, caffeinated or alcoholic beverages.
If you ever aren't sure whether or not your rats can eat something, don't hesitate to ask in a rat forum, such as a Facebook Group. There are so many things rats can eat and so few things they cannot, so don't ever feel silly for needing clarification!