What type of food and treats for my pet rats?

*This is an exert from http://dapper.com.au/articles.htm#diet , not my own writing!!!!*

Our rat diet

Note: I don't suggest that this is a nutritionally perfect rat diet... it's just what we feed our boys and hope it will provide ideas for some variety for your own rats.

Their dry mix:

This is available to them at all times. I also add some soy-based organic rat blocks to the bowl when I dish it out.

* 1 box of Dr Harry's (Lovatts) Pet Rat & Mouse Mix (available at most large supermarkets)

* 2 cups rolled oats (occasionally rolled triticale and/or barley)

* 1/2 box of Just Right Tropical breakfast cereal (varied occasionally to other Just Right flavors, or other low fat mixed grain cereals)

* 1/3 box of Uncle Toby's OTs Vanilla Crispy O's

* Handful of sunflower seeds

Breakfast:

One piece of fruit... watermelon, rock melon, honeydew, banana, grapes, blueberries, pears, apple, strawberries, peaches, pretty much anything here.

A small bowl of yogurt - they love Fruche the best.

And one of the following (depending on what I'm having):

- bread or pikelet with a little omega ultra (EFA) margarine and jam on it

- weetbix in milk

- porridge

Their fresh dinner mix:

This is what they get at evening dinner time. I vary the mix each batch so the boys don't get bored.

* I/2 packet of wholewheat pasta spirals or macaroni, cooked

* 2 cups of cooked brown rice (or occasionally cooked wholewheat grains)

* 1 can of chickpeas (or occasionally lentils)

* 1 can of mixed beans (red kidney, soy, butter beans, etc)

* 1 large packet of frozen peas

* 1 small packet of frozen corn

* 1 packet of frozen broad beans (or frozen green soy beans if you can find them!)

* 1/2 packet of frozen broccoli, chopped

* 1/4 small pumpkin, chopped into small pieces and cooked

* 1 sweet potato, chopped in small pieces and cooked

* Any other vegies I have on hand that will freeze OK... like potato, carrot (if your rats will eat it, ours won't!)

This makes a large amount that I mix together and freeze in a tupperware container. Important tip: loosen the mix with a spoon repeatedly as it freezes, so it doesn't end up as a large solid block. Then it's as simple as scooping a portion into a microwave cup and cooking/defrosting for 2 minutes before serving. Although it seems like a lot of work to prepare, it only takes 30 minutes or so once a month, and 2 minutes a night to put it in a food dish. Everyone, rat and human alike, seems happy with this feeding arrangement.

I also add a special treat to the top of it each night, like a small piece of ham, chicken, oyster, fish, tofu, or something we might be having for dinner. Of course, they all eat straight off our dinner plate too. I offer them a fresh raw vegie each night too, like broccoli, kale, cauliflower, spinach, edamame, corn on the cob, etc... these are foods they prefer raw and this adds more variety to their fresh mix. It's important to offer as wide a variety of foods as possible to ensure they're getting sufficient nutrition.

General treats:

Treats to offer them occasionally:

* Uncle Toby's OTs Crunchy Squares

* Low fat muesli bars, chopped into pieces - they like the yogurt-topped ones!

* Yogurt drops - the human ones available from health food stores (Soland brand)

* Yogurt coated dried fruits

* Avocado - small cubes (avoid the area around the seed and just under the skin as it contains toxins)

* Sushi rolls - they're very fond of the avocado rolls, but also like the tuna and egg rolls.

* Creamed corn

* Cottage cheese / cream cheese (low fat Philly)

* Chocolate chips

* Anything we're eating

Chew treats:

These are offered to keep those sharp ratty teeth occupied and healthy:

* Chicken bones (cooked)

* Nuts in their shell (macadamias, pecans and hazelnuts are their favourites)

* Baby teething rusks (vegetable-flavoured)

* Dog biscuits (Eukanuba Restricted Calorie Rewards - low in protein and fat)

* Greenies (dog chew)

* Rat seed treat sticks

Harlan Tekland 2014 or 2018, Oxbow Regal Rat. Pet rats do not need very much protein, Harlan Tekland 8406 was created for breeding, lab rats, who need more protein. Avoid seed mixes, Kaytee, and Mazuri. http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/ they sell Harlan lab blocks.

For treats grapes, peas, tomatoes, apples, bananas, and more are good. Nuts, eggs, whole wheat bread, pasta, or rice can be given in moderation. Avoid anything high in fat or sugar, and citrus is bad or male rats. Make sure a food is safe before giving it to your rats. Here's a list of forbidden foods: http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm

Good Treats: http://www.jorats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=7...

Don't feed them anything with pesticides, or anything you wouldn't eat!

Treats for rats can go with plain spaghetti noodles that are cooked and cooled. For a healthy choice is Bananas most rats are bananas for bananas! :)

rats are omnivores and very much like us in terms of diet. They do not have a long life span and what they eat is relative to how healthy their little life is going to be. A rat doesnt eat a lot and I try to give them the best quality food I can and to make it as natural and fresh as possible. Where ever I can I give them organic foods. I aim for a healthy balanced diet that I personally would enjoy eating.

I steer clear of much processed food and dont give them white flours, sugar, salt, flavourings, colourings or preservatives etc.

they need fresh fruit and vegies...they love salad vegies, raw vegies and lightly cooked vegies and well cooked potato. Mine just totally LOVE frozen peas and corn kernels and watermelon, cherry tomato, banana, avacado, apple, pear, broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, fresh corn, carrot, cucumber and lettuce.

they need grains and mine eat cooked rice, pasta and noodles. They like corn and rice cakes, plain unflavored crackers, plain and organic breakfast cereals, pita pocket bread and other quality bread (I only give mine organic spelt or kamut and only a little because leavened bread is not the best food for them or for us). Mine love popcorn and organic cornflakes and puffed rice/wheat/buckwheat. They also love porridge for breakfast in winter.

they also need protein. Im a vegetarian so my rats are pretty much the same. I have to make sure they get enough protein so that their skin will be in good condition and their coats will be nice and soft and full. Mine eat tofu, boiled mashed egg, yoghurt, all kinds of nuts and seeds and cooked pulses, like butter beans, kidney beans, lentils etc.

I give my ratties sunflower seeds and pepitas which they adore. I also give them nuts in the shell (not peanut) and they love to take the nut out. Gnawing on the shell is good for their teeth and is an absorbing activity for them.

I also mash a bit of organic baby food into their cooked grains sometimes.

I make sure that my ratties have a balanced diet. I pretty much organise their daily meals as I would for a tiny palm sized vegetarian child and they eat pretty much the same as I do, but I probably go for a bit more variety for my ratties because food collection and storage is a natural activity for rats, who btw are highly intelligent, and as they are caged I aim to keep it interesting for them.

I put the different food types / groups into separate bowls...eg fresh foods together, dried foods like grains seeds and nuts, cooked mushy food.

I clean out their cage of food twice daily and remove old food. I take away uneaten portions of eg, cooked or fruits after my ratties appear to have had their fill so as to prevent them from getting sick from bacteria etc from those foods being exposed for any length of time. I will leave the dry foods and some raw vegies like lettuce or brocoli available all day and then replace everything with fresh at the evening meal and clean away the uneaten portions of fruits and cooked foods before I go to bed.

I try not to create too much wastage by giving approximately what my ratties will eat - because over feeding them will cause diarrhea but I do tend to give them more rather than less especially when they are young and still growing

I give them tiny little bits off my lightly butter smeared toast in the morning as a treat (no toxic margerine though!!)...they are totally mad for it

I have heard that some people give their ratties yohurt drops but I havent been able to find them anywhere and anyway Id rather use unprocessed foods so my ratties have healthy lives

hope it helps...good luck :D

Mine love cereals like corn flakes. They also like grapes, a little cheese here and there, all sorts of greens, tomato, small pieces of noodle...just don't feed anything too sugary or too high in protein. Too much protein can increase the risk of tumors.

i aso hav a rat and she loves cornflakes popcorn fruit bread vegies just dont give it cheese

actually dont give them peanut butter. its really hard for them to swallow it cuz its thick and sticky. feed them lab blocks and give them occasional treats of raisins, dried papaya, and they love yogurt drops. Yogurt drops are dehydrated clumps of fortified yogurt- buy at pet stores.

They really like people feet and hands....It is their favorite treat:)

bananas, peanut butter and peaches

haha pizza jk DONT feed it pizza