Homemade Pet Rat Food

by AwesomeA

96K279

Intro: Homemade Pet Rat Food

The first thing to do before you attempt to make homemade rat food is research what is good for your rats and what is not good for them. They can and will eat just about anything humans eat, but not all human food is healthy for your pet rats. I have made a basic list of healthy rat foods and a list of foods to avoid feeding your rats.

Rat Food List:

Most fruits (such as apples, bananas, blueberries, grapes, raspberries, peaches, kiwi)

Most vegetables (such as broccoli, carrots, cucumber, green beans, peas, corn, pumpkin)

Most grains (such as oats, barley, corn starch, rice, grits, raw pasta, raw rice, plain rice cakes, plain dry oatmeal)

Most nuts and seeds UNSALTED (such as walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)

Some meats (chicken is best)

Natural plain cereals with less that 5% sugar and sodium (such as Total, Cheerios, Rice Krispies)

Plain Yogurt (with less than 5% sugar)

Chicken bones with minimal fat

A WORD OF CAUTION: too many berries and green veggies give rats soft poops.

DO NOT FEED RATS LIST:

NO citrus

NO raw onion

NO green potatoes

NO celery

NO iceberg lettuce

NO radish

NO collards

NO turnip

NO uncooked beans

NO uncooked peanuts

NO raw sweet potatoes

NO apple seeds

NO avocado

NO beets

STEP 1: Rat Recipes

To provide the correct nutrition for your pet rats, feed them one bowl of dry food mix and one bowl of rat salad (or combine the 2 in a larger bowl). You may also choose to add other healthy rat appropriate foods as well. Your rat will appreciate the variety!


Dry food mix:

1 part plain Total cereal

1 part Cheerios (or off brand)

1 part Rice Krispies (or off brand)

1 part Oats

1 part Flax Seed

1 part Barley

1 part Dry Pasta (I use Wacky Mac Veggie Spirals and Orzo)

1 part Dry Rice

Banana Chips

Pumpkin Seeds

Unsalted Mixed Nuts


Rat Salad:

3 parts Kale

1 part Spinach

1 part Parsley

1 part Fresh or Frozen Mixed Veggies

1 part Fresh or Frozen Broccoli

1 part Fresh or Frozen Blueberries

1 part Fresh or Frozen Other Fruits


Rat Yogurt Treat:

2 parts Plain Yogurt

1 part Blueberries and/or Other Fruit

STEP 2: Tips to Make Your Life Easier...

1. You can dry fresh kale, spinach, and parsley in advanced for longer storage and prevents wasted food.

2. Buying frozen veggies and fruits prevents wasted food. Your rats won't mind their food being cold.

3. Make large batches of food and store for easy daily use.

STEP 3: Links to Useful Sites

Sites with great information on rat diets:

http://www.ratsnacksnstuff.com/

http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html

Other Rat Sites:

http://www.ratfanclub.org/firstaid.html

5 Comments

JuniperR1 5 years ago

Hello, I am wondering the frequency and quantity of the yoghurt treat to give them

KristineL24 5 years ago

New rat mummy here, if I fill a normal pets at home metal rat bowl to the top with a mix of the salad and the dry recipe will that be enough for two male rats or should I feed twice a day this homemade mix or will they stop eating when they aren't hungry? Xx

KaitlynnG 7 years ago

Can the dry food replace lab blocks or will they still need those?

Olivertj 6 years ago

Lab blocks are a good thing to add into your mix, as this ensures all your rats nutritional needs are being met. The other advantage to mixing lab blocks into your dry mix means they last longer :)