rats and a healthy diet

7/27/2019 Rats and a Healthy Diet

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CRITTER CITY

BY SANDRA CONTI- TODD OF ALLEXPERTS.COM

Food, food, glorious wonderful food!!

Lets start with the most popular question about feeding that I hear:

How much do I feed my rat daily?

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I am asked this often as well. Rats should not be scheduled feeders, instead, they

should be self feeders, which means, always have a bowl full of dry food available forthem at all times. People fear their rat will become overweight and eat and eat till they

stuff themselves, which is not true. Rats do not over eat. They eat till they are satisfied.What makes a rat fat is the food they are being fed. If its high in fat, you will have a fat

rat regardless of how much he eats of it. If this is his diet, he will be plump, which

although they do look cute, its not healthy just as it isnt healthy for any living thing tobe over weight.

PEANUT BUTTER WARNING:

I felt I should put this at the top of the page since I have had the unfortunateexperience with other rats (not mine) choking from peanut butter and yes,sometimes they die from it. Peanut butter is very thick and sticky and it can

clog the rats throat in a fraction of a second, cutting off their airway andchoking them to death. There is no real reason to use peanut butter for your ratanyhow to be honest, with so many other things that they CAN eat, why risk it?But if you for whatever reason, feel you must use peanut butter on your rat,please please add water to it and make it a thin paste rather than allow them tohave it thick. Trust me, I am not being paranoid. There have been cases whererats have died from choking on peanut butter and if you think about it, howmany times have you had to reach up on the roof of your mouth and removethe peanut butter that was stuck there during a peanut butter and jellysandwich for lunch? So there you have it....




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Mr. Smokey sure loves his uncooked pasta noodles! It takes his owner, MissBree of Illinois, two hands to hold him!!!!

Rats and a healthy diet!

Rats are not meant to eat other small animal diets such as hamster food ormouse or rabbit food. Rabbit food is for rabbits, not rats, so why would you

expect that what meets the nutritional requirements of one species willautomatically cover the rats nutritional needs as well? Its common sense if youthink about it. Feeding your rat hamster or rabbit food is like feeding your




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human baby puppy food. Yep, same difference.

Did you know that most rabbit food contains alfalfa? Thats all just dandy for good oldPeter Cotton Tail, but your rat on the other hand cannnnot digest alfalfa properly.

Same for foods meant for your sweet little Guinea pig. Cavy cannot produce their ownvitamin C, so their food contains extra vitamin C. Having vitamin C in rats food is

just fine, but an excessive amount, as with any vitaimin supplement, is not good forANY species, man nor beast. Long story short, rats get rat good, rabbits get rabbitfood and so on and so on.....

And no, you cant simply throw them your table scraps and be done with it.Although you would be very popular in your choices with the rats, it canactually do more harm than good. Rats were stripped of a long life, obviously,so we do what we can to keep them healthy and a healthy rat lives longer, we all

know that! Lets start with commercial foods at the pet stores. Those seedmixes. I would get the dish tossed back at me if I offered them seeds fordinner! LOL! Truth is, not only is that stuff pricey, but its worthless. Its loaded

with stuff that is too high in proteins and fats and even toxins like mold, whichis found in the hard corn kernels. Spiffy huh?! High protein diets lead tokidney disease later in life. So what to do? Lets see, no commerical foods, notable scraps, I am not making this easy for you am I? Well I will right now bytelling you that you can make your own mix and not only will it assure you that

your rat is getting a well balanced died, but it will save you money in the long

run. Once you buy all the stuff needed to make the grain mix, you will haveloads of it for weeks to come. Here is a few examples of homemade rat grainmixes that are great for your rats and most rats love every single thing in themix which in turn, you wont see your picky rat sifting through the dish lookingfor his favorite pieces. .




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Fresh fruits and veggies:

Carrots

Sweet potatoes( sweet potatoes must be cooked, never raw, which can be toxic)

Peasgreen beansfresh corn

corn on cob (huge hit!)Strawberries

Melons of all kindsBlueberries

RaspberriesPlums

Apples and applesauceBananasGrapes

BroccoliSquash

Cucumber (in moderation)Zucchini




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Precious baby Nomi eats her first ear of sweet corn!

Please refer to the link below for information on homemade ratdiets that meet the rats nutritional needs.

RAT SNACKS N STUFF ( http://ratsnacksnstuff.weebly.com/diet-n-stuff.html)

The Shunamite diet (http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/shunamite.shtml)

Regal rat by Oxbow is what I give my rats and they love it. Some people say thattheir rats do not care for it, but I have had no problem with using it. The bestthing to do is offer this to them first rather than other kibble and they will likeit because, well, theres no other choice in the matter. LOL No seriously, they

should like it, but of course you dont want them to starve so if they dont like it,well, there are still other diets out there for them. I use Regal rat pellets (theyare heart shaped) along with fruits and vegetables and other snacks that arehealthy for them daily.

LAB BLOCKS:

If you can get your rat to eat rodent blocks, your set. However, I never hear ofany lucky owner that has been able to have their rat eat enough of those to be

healthy. It can be too boring, but no matter what, offer it to them anyhow.Harlan Teklad lab blocks are the most preferred rodent block.

Buy Harlan teklad rodent blocks HERE (http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/content/view/35)

Just now I was fixing a broken link and found a great site for homemade rat kibble. It

seems to be very nutritional!All the stuff used in the kibble are great for rats.

Rats realm foods (http://www.ratzrealm.com/id25_htm.htm)

Forbidden Foods: What not to feed your ratsThe following should never be given to rats:

Never give: Why not?

blue cheese contains toxic mold

licorice contains a suspected neurotoxin

raw dry beans orpeanuts

contain antinutrients, cause red blood cell clumping (note: thepeanuts that you buy in stores are almost always roasted so are




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okay.... frozen beans from veggie mixes are okay because they've beenpre-cooked)

raw sweet potato contains cyanide-forming compounds

raw red cabbageand brusselsprouts

contain an antinutrient that destroys thiamin

raw artichokes inhibit protein digestion

green bananas inhibit starch digestion

green potato skinand eyes

contain solanine (toxin)

wild insects could carry parasites

rhubarb high levels of oxalates which bind up calcium

raw bulk tofu can contain bacteria (packaged tofu is safe)

orange juice contains d-limonene which can cause kidney cancer in male rats

raw onion can lead to anemia and an upset stomach

Foods that should be fed with caution:

If you want to let

your rat try these,

be careful:

Why?

Too much chocolateIt contains stimulants that can lead to heart failure orneurological poisoning in high quantities. A bit of chocolate isokay and can actually temporarily alleviate respiratory distress

Peanut ButterThis can cause choking in rats. If you want to give your ratssome, mix it with jam or something liquid to make it less sticky.

Avocados

These are high in fat and are a good treat to feed rats that are inneed of "beefing up" (make sure the fruit is ripe). However, the

pit, rind, skin and leaves of avocados are toxic. The part of thefruit in contact with the pit has a higher concentration of toxins.

dried cornIt can have high levels of fungal contaminates which can lead toliver cancer. A little fresh corn is fine.

Foods that should be limited (ie. don't feed too much of these):

Only give these once in a while: Why?

beets high in nitrates and oxalates




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celery high in nitrates

eggplant "

lettuce "

cucumber "

radishes "

spinach high in nitrates and oxalates

collards high in nitrates

turnip greens "

almonds high in oxalates

Swiss chard high in oxalates

Nitrates and amines combine into carcinogenic nitrosamines in the stomach. Oxalates

are toxins that bind up calcium.

Other thingsto watch outfor:

Why?

MoldThis can be toxic. You wouldn't eat a moldy piece of food so of course

you'd never give it to your rat. Remember grains can go moldy too.

Chlorinated

and/orfluoridatedTap Water

Chlorine isn't good for us or our rats. Read more about the dangers offluoride here (http://petratscanada.com/forum/viewtopic.php?

p=8489&highlight=#8489).

HouseholdPlants

Here's a list of toxic plants: Plants that are poisonous to small pets

(http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=18&cat=1804&articleid=1616). Be sure

your poinsettia and holly are out of reach over the holidays. Note: in

some cases, some parts of a particular plant are poisonous (eg. foliage)whereas other parts of the fruit are safe (eg. fruit).

Reference:Rat Health Care, 7th ed. by Debbie Ducommun. 2001.

Water warning!!




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Toxic water!!

Tap water that contains chlorine or fluoride should not be given to rats. If youuse well water, also use with caution because there may be traces of led fromthe pipes. What some people do is allow the water to run for a few minutes tolet the led run out with the first few minutes with the water.

I prefer to use bottled water but you should also be aware of the source thewater claims they get their water from such as the name of the spring etc....Its best to use quality water or it is just nothing but tap water anyhow.

Water bottle hygiene!

Its a good idea to clean the water bottle out with a bottle brush at least once a

week. Use q-tip to clean the nipple. Always note the amount of water your ratsdrink and check it daily. I usually keep 1 bottle per level so if your cage has 3levels, I use 3 bottles. Another thing to watch for is the little ball in the nipplecan get stuck in place and the water cannot come out. This happened years

back with my rats and luckily this is when the water bottle for each level camein handy!! They ball was stuck and so they just gave up on that bottle and usedthe other two. Ever since that time I always tap on the ball at last once or twicea day to make sure it is flowing good.

*

Treats and all that good stuff!!!

Ok so we have gone over food and what is IN and what is OUT! So what abouttreats? Rats L*O*V*E treats and snacks but this can make for an overly fluffyrat as time goes by!!

So what do we do when our adorable vermin gaze at us through the cage bars,tiny pink rattie fingers wrapped around the bars, waiting patiently for someoneto come over and give them some wonderful, delightful, delicious, mouth

watering,brux -worthy treat!!

What do we give them, when, how often and when to say ENOUGH?




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How much do we give?Its best to break it down. This is only an example, using lab blocks as a staplediet. You may be using a rat mix such asa homemade mix that meets all of the rats nutritional requirements or you may

be using regal rat by oxbow.

You already know by now (or should!) that seed mixes are for the birds(literally!!) so this is not included in the diet since it has been deemedunhealthy to be used as a staple diet in the first place.

75-80% lab block15-20% fresh fruits and veggies5% or less treats

This may be on the low side, and to make the rat happy I would suggest thatyou should not give your rat more than 10% treats in their daily diet. As itapplies to humans, same goes with rats: Treats are high in fats in most casesand should be limited in your diet.

Some people say that, hey, the rat only gets so much time on this earth, letsmake him happy while he is here. Thats all fine and good, but in the meantime

your making his already too short life even shorter by making him unhealthy.

This is one way to look at it.

For starters, large petstores supply some decent treats for rats.

Kaytee, for example, sellsHealthy Bits, which are little crunchy treat ballsmade from millet seeds, oats and nuts. Also, you may findHealthy Toppingsin flavors such as papaya, banana, and also if I remember right, there is a

variety pack too. You can find these in both the small animal section and evenin the bird section. I buy the fruit bits and carrots for my hermit crabs and theylove them!! I do believe they are free from certain nasty preservatives that arenot safe for hermit crabs. Yeah yeah, I have hermies too and have kept themalive for several years now. Ok ok , back to rats: Another huge hit are Yogis,or they may be called Yogurt treats , Yogurt drops or Yougurt Chips. They are

all the same bascially and come in vanillia, strawberry and even orange I think.It seems the favorite is Vanilla with most rats though but some rats dont carewhich flavor you buy, as long as they have some. Yogurt drops should be used




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sparingly and I do mean sparingly. I give my rats just one every other day. Ifthey are on the thin side, I sometimes give it to them once a day. If they arechubby, every two days or so.

A few things to avoid:Cheese: As stated earlier, cheese isn't good for a rat's digestive system. Manyrats cannot handle lactose.Peanut butter!! Yes its OK to eat, but it can and has killed rats by choking themto death because it is sticky. If you plan to feed your rat peanut butter,pleaseadd water to it so it is not thick and doesnt pose a potential choking hazard.

You can also give them bits of chopped fruit any time of the day or night.Sugarfree breakfast cereals that is NOT used in the rat mix or that would becheating, they get it anyhow so how fun is that?Dried fruits ( organic in some cases which is great!)

Just to refresh your memory from the list above, here is a repeat of fresh fruitsand veggies that are rat friendly. You can also use frozen or cannedif they are available.

Fresh fruits and veggies:

CarrotsSweet potatoesPeasgreen beansfresh corncorn on cob (huge hit!)StrawberriesMelons of all kindsBlueberriesRaspberriesPlums

Apples and applesauceBananas

GrapesBroccoliSquash



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