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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Healthy Snacks

Giving your rats just the peanut assertions from the pet store isn't the healthiest. Giving them your own healthy snack sometimes is better. About a few times a week it is healthy to give your rat fruits and vegetables, instead of rat food that day. But you have to be careful about what kinds of fruits and vegetables you give them. Never give them anything cooked or deep fried, it is to fattening and unhealthy. Its better to give them raw fruits and vegetables. Like broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, bananas, anything healthy. But there are somethings you should be more careful about, if you know that a certain fruit or vegetable has high acids that can upset the human stomach you probably shouldn't give that fruit or vegetable to your rat, like mangoes. Some rats also get upset stomachs easily, so if you have a rat and you try to give it a fruit and they get sick, make note of it and don't feed them that again. When rats are older they can get sick more easily, even an upset stomach can get real bad and lead to extreme sickness and even death when rats are adults. So also be careful of what you feed them. Carrots are also another good food. Rats also love uncooked pasta. Keep your rat healthy, and please leve comments. NO EMAIL ADDRESS REQUIRED!!!

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ratman! I love rats... after reading so much about them on your website, I got one! I love rats so much! I have a question: can you feed your rat cooked pasta or rice? Or does it have to be uncooked?

Anonymous said...

Hi!Great info but i was wondering if i could feed my pet rat uncooked rice like 20 minute rice or something like that?thanks

Rat Man said...

To be honest with you, I'm not to sure about cooked pasta. Because it often depends how its cooked and with what. I'd just give your rat uncooked pasta. As for uncooked rice, it's sort of the same as the pasta.

Anonymous said...

thanks rat man

Anonymous said...

hello, I love rats too i have to little jumbos i swear my jumbo whos name is jumbo lol, (the other is nibler)thinks hes a lil puppy coz as soon as i let him out the cage he jumps onto my me and starts licking my face! any way i was just wondering abt the rice won't uncooked rice make their stomachs expand and hurt.

Anonymous said...

hello :)
i used to have a fancy mouse..his name was Dude and he lived about a year and a half after i got him. i actually stole him from my anatomy class when i was in high school. needless to say im considering getting 2 dumbo rats sometime soon. and i was reading various internet articles about them and i read that they shouldnt eat bananas cause its considered toxic..what do you think?

Anonymous said...

i was told not to feed them brocolli cuz they cant properly dispose of gas..i just got a rat

Anonymous said...

thank you so much i just got a pet rat for christmas and im doing a science fair prodject for school so its very helpful to know what healthy snack i can give him for the expirement

Anonymous said...

Wow, soooooooooo much to learn about pet rats. I love rats and their my favorite animal.............i have a zoo in my bedroom so I decided to give them all their own room. I have 3 rats,sugar glider,guinea pig,ferret,dog,and 4 cats. I love them all soooooooooooo much that I skip hangin out with friends on the weekend to spend 4 hours will every one at the same time...........but the reason i looked at this was because i wanted to know what i can give them as a treat that is healthy soooooo they have a good life. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Errgotamine

Anonymous said...

Do NOT feed your rat uncooked rice, it is NOT the same as uncooked pasta. Uncooked rice is dirty when not washed and can even harm humans!! ALSO, NO ORANGES OR ORANGE JUICE FOR male RATS, IT CONTAINS AN ACID THAT CAN HARM THEM BY CAUSING DISEASES AND MESSING WITH THEIR SYSTEMS, you can give oranges to FEMALE rats though, as male and female rats have different systems. If you want CORRECT information about rats check out official websites, not someones blog!! Half of the stuff I've read here isn't even correct. By the way, don't feed your rat GREEN vegetables, no lettuce or cabbage and NO broccoli!! (seriously "rat man", give the correct information!!)Green veggies cause upset stomachs and diarreha!!

IAMME said...

My rat Reece's loves dry un-sweetned cherrios is this ok??? as well as sunflower seeds now she does not get them all the time but as her treat she loves them. She also hardly eats the food that PETCO fed her what should I do???

IAMME said...

My pet rat wont eat the food from the pet store what should i do???

Angel said...

I agree with Anonymous about the cabbage, rats cannot burp and cabbage creates alot of gas, Broccoli is ok in small amounts if you feed the floretts.

Pasta/Rice: Cooked and Uncooked Pasta is great for the rats, they love it and uncooked rats are hard and keep the growth of their teeth in check. Only feed cooked rice, make sure you wash the starch off, basically prepare it as if you were making it for you.

Bananas: Rats LOVE bananas and will take them readily from you make suer you slice them with the peel and then slice each slice in half so they can pick it up and eat it. Do not feed green bananas they are poisonous for them.

Cherios: These cereals are fine for the rats. If your rats will not eat the petco mix them make her your own mix, mix some of these and feed it, a quality commercial rat mix, Cherios, Muesli, Oatmeal, muesli bar chopped up only a little, popcorn, sunflower seeds. I make this mix and vary things so they do not get bored. and my rats all get to 4 years old.

Hugs all hope this helps
Karin

Kathryn said...

like one person mentioned earlier orange juice is very bad for them. do research lots and lots of research. if the food has a chance for gas in humans do not feed it to your rat. my rat loves to eat what we eat. she goes crazy when she smells pasta cooking. so she gets a little bit as well. i buy dehudraded fruit from the grocery store and give them to my rat she loves them. i see it as if i would eat it and be fine i am sure she can to. i mean rats eat out of dumpsters and live in very bad places. but i am no expert

lillie said...

I have two rats my first rats ive had a gerbil and a hamster but rats are soo different i had read how they were very smart and all but i could have never guessed they were this smart they are truly amazing creatures anyway can u give a rat a pickle?
my rat names are dallas and dash

Angel said...

Pasta, Uncooked or cooked pasta is great for your rats and much loved, a little oil or margarine on cooked pasta helps them with their coat and dry skin.

Uncooked rice should not be fed, it is different from uncooked pasta. If they eat too much it could bloat and rupture their gut.

Bananas are great for rats and much loved by some, banana chips are even better and very hard, great for their teeth.

Karissa said...

Hey I have been enjoying surfing around your website and I just wanted to share that along with my rats dry mixture of food I give them i also give them each a small spoonful of baby food, one fruit type and one vegetable type, and they love it! They just pick it up with their hands and lick their hands off and its usually gone before their dry food is anyday :) I also give them fresh green peppers, lettuce (only one of them likes the lettuce) celery and carrots, I also just read about giving them those peanut butter cookies I will have to try that, THANK YOU!

Karissa said...

I dont know why that one anonymous person said no green veggies, my rats dont get diarreha, in fact they are incredibly healthy I just took them to the vet today actually to Vista Vet and all are in perfect health, I am sure it completely depends on your rat just as it varies person to person as well, so its illogical to say that everything Ratman has to say about his rats diets and what he knows from experience is untrue. You just have to experiment with different types of food until you find what your rat likes the best that is the healthiest for them and their occasional favorite snack they like. I have 3 rats and 3 guinea pigs and literally each one perfers different things its very tedious to make each food bowl for each animal but I absolutely LOVE it, it takes time :) I have one rat that likes green romain lettuce and banana baby food, while the other prefers the Petco dry food and the vegetable babyfood so it just varies :)
Sincerely,
Karissa, and my Dumbo Rats "Bitty Macaroni, Monkey and Prince"

Anonymous said...

Hi, Here are are some great advice on this page, sadly most of them are from the comments and not the actual blog. I think you should do more research before trusting what you read. I've done a bit for today on rats since i recently accuried one myself. diffrent "more official" sites agreed upon no tomatoes, they can choke on the seeds, and i do believe there are a lot of acid in tomatoes? Pasta both cooked and uncooked are good for the rates. this is partly due to their high carbohydrates levels. I would personally never give uncooked rice to any animal , uncooked rice expand in the stomach very painful and in extreme cases cause death. It is usually seen in birds around churches. Someone did mention that rats in the wild eat almost everything which is true, though these rats are a different breed and usually do not live as long as our pet rats. Lastly these diet tips are only general, what a rat can and cannot eat varies from rat to rat. Like people are allergic to different foods so can rats.

Anonymous said...

This is false information.
As a small animal vet, broccoli is good for your rat!
The stock is the best, as for the flowering of broccoli is not. The flowering of it is what causes the diarreha; it is ok in small portions. A teaspoon of the flowering top should only be given in a weeks time. Green vegetables should be given in teaspoon increments.

Anonymous said...

I came here after doing a search cuz my Ratty has something VERY wrong with him over the last 2 months, & I'm not sure if it's age related (he's close to 3 I think)or if he may have cancer possibly? I hate that I cannot find an affordable rat food 4 him without GMOs...which is well known for causing cancer in humans & especially small animals. His hind legs have become useless & almost atrophied in under 2 months time. He had a tumor-like growth on the side of his head several mos ago but when I started feeding him all NATURAL FOODS that we eat (wide variety of raw & cooked veggies, pastas, oatmeal, hemp seeds & chia seeds, sunflower seeds, nuts, flaxseed oil mixed with veggies or eggs,avacado, etc.) In other words... very healthy...in small amounts of course, as a "treat" once or twice a day in conjunction w/his rat diet... that tumor thing dried up and fell off after a month! He LOVES green veggies, esp cabbage & broccoli, peas, beans, & a teaspoon or so of my oatmeal a few days of the week is his FAV. (not all at same time). He's always had very 'healthy' looking poops, never any diarhea...so I never even knew cabbage could be not good 4 him. He loves it both raw or cooked. He goes crazy 4 my mom's italian pastas (a couple maccaronis w/tiny bit of sauce, chichi beans, etc.) I;ve never heard tomoatoes could be harmful either...he loves those too! He just loves almost anything actually, but turns down certain things. ANyway... does anyone know why he would lose the use of his hind legs like this? I know he's getting old, but... now I don't know what to do 4 him, as he can't get around his cage w/out a lot of struggle...& he ends up going potty where he sleeps in his nest & it's getting all over him & smells horrible. I clean the cage a couple times a day, like a catbox...always cleaning the poops when I see them, but it still smells. And I want to give him a bath, but I got him from my sister & she never gave him one, so I'm afraid to becuz I think he'll hate it. ALso, the other nite...1st time ever, when I was petting him, the hair on his back started to fall out! So I'm afraid to even brush him or get him wet...worried more fur will fall out & our house is pretty cold & drafty. Any suggestions? (I think I may try the dry toothbrush idea for gentle brushing...and maybe try some damp baby wipes or a warm damp cloth to clean him with?) ---sigh--- I love him so much, but I don't know if this is the beginning of the end for him. It is feeling like it... (I have very limited $, cannot afford a vet, so if I do have to bring him in, it will most likely be to say goodbye as an act of mercy.) <:0(

Unknown said...

I have had my rat Rincewind for about a year and a half now and yes plain Cherrios are fine mine loves them and sunflower seeds are fine as long as they are not salted. The food we buy for him has them mixed in and he loves it. If they don't eat what you give them try a different type. Sometimes like people they are picky eaters.

Unknown said...

I found on one blog that said rats love herbal teas. Non caffeinated and avoid anything with oranges in it with the males( orange peels are common in some brands so check the ingrediants) males can develope kidney problems along with other issues. But mine love mint teas and green teas. I have an old baby spoon set aside just for giving him tea and he licks it out of it on his own.

Anonymous said...

is it true that if you give rats blueberrys it pervents cancer??

Anonymous said...

This is a great site! Thanks for the info, I am Rat-sitting and wanted to make sure I was giving him the right food and snacks. Thank you!

If you don't think rats are necessarily the pet you are looking for, but want a pet similar to a rat, I would look into a chinchilla. This link is great for the history of chinchillas, and is really interesting.
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Have any questions or comments? Email me at ratmanbv@gmail.com

ratmanbv@gmail.com