Healthy Rat Diet

Rats are omnivores that can and will eat almost anything, a quality that has helped them survive in urban habitats around the world. You can easily feed your rat a repetitive diet of rat food purchased at the pet store. However, like humans rats thrive on a balanced and diverse diet containing many different kinds of foods. In fact, a diet consisting of good, varied sources of nutrition can extend a rat's lifespan up to five years.

  1. The Basics

    • Supply your rat with fresh water through a drip feed bottle hanging from the inside of the cage. You can buy one of these at any pet shop. Rats need plenty of fresh water so be sure to keep the bottle filled and clean at all times.

      It's a good idea to start with some kind of standard rat food from the pet store and then diversify from there. Harlan Teklad and Purina Rat Chow are good brands. You can usually buy rat chow, or lab blocks, in bulk. You should feed these to your rat regularly as they will provide the animal with complete nutrition. Avoid food mixes intended for other rodents, as rats require very different diets from hamsters and gerbils.

    Diversity is Key

    • Though lab rats do in fact live on lab blocks, your pet rat deserves better than this. Rats love all kinds of food and you should experiment a lot to find out what the animal loves best. Some common fruits and vegetables that rats enjoy include seedless pieces of apple, bananas, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, grapes, kiwi, small amounts of lettuce, peas, mangos and tomatoes. You can also feed rats chicken, meat and fish as long as they are cooked. Cooked eggs are good sources of protein and cheese is a tasty treat, though only on occasion as it is quite fattening. Your rat may love some foods, hide some for later, and completely ignore others. It all depends on the rat's individual likes and dislikes.

    Foods to Avoid

    • There are some foods that you should avoid feeding your rat for one reason or another. If you have male rats, do not feed them oranges. These contain d-Limonene, which can accumulate in the rat's liver and cause cancer. While oranges have not been found to harm female rats, it's best to avoid them altogether. Rats produce their own vitamin C and don't require additional sources of the vitamin. Also, avoid onions, raw kidney beans, raw potato, rhubarb and tomato leaves. In general avoid feeding your rat plants and flowers except for clover and dandelions.