What foods are bad for rats?

Question

I know you need to give rats a variety of foods to keep them healthy but I'm afraid I'll feed them something like a potato (just an example) and find out it is poisionouse to them.

okay, I know about the rat poison

Answer 1

rice is fine to give to rats as long as its cooked properly. Pasta can be given cooked or raw. Pasta is a part of the main diet that you can mix up for rats. Its called the Suebee diet and is well worth doing. Its a lot better than plain rat food. I have an excellent book about rat food, its called the Scuttling Gourmet by Alison Campbell and I suggest you get it if you can. My rats are so much healthier since I started giving them foods from that book. I never give mine anything bad, there are so many other things they can have that do them good instead.
Below is a list of foods that are very bad for rats.
Blue cheese
Licorice
Raw Dry beans
Raw peanuts(I would avoid all peanuts, especially peanut butter it can make them choke)
Raw sweet potato
Raw red cabbage
Raw brussel sprouts
Raw artichokes
Green bananas(and any banana skin)
Green potato skin
Potato eyes(the bits that start sprouting)
Wild insects
Rhubarb
Raw tofu
Avacodo skin and stone(the flesh is fine, very high in protein so its best when they are ill)
Mango
Citric Fruit and Juice (it causes kidney problems in males, girls are fine)


A general rule for human food is if its healthy for us, its healthy for rats. Avoid anything with too much sugar or fat in. That usually means the economy versions of things.
Below is a list of foods that are very good for rats.
Cranberries/juice
Spinach
Blueberries
Raspberries
Bananas(should only be a rare treat)
Tuna in spring water
Green Tea (yet to find one who likes it)
Ready brek(or any porridge)
Weetabix
sardines/mackerel in tomato sauce
corn on the cob
long spaghetti(they prefer cooked)
cuttlefish
yoghurt(I use pre/probiotic when they are on antibiotics)
baby food(jar or powdered)
cereal(economy versions are usualy best as they contain less sugar)
peas(I save them for the hot weather, I use frozen and slightly warm them and put them in a bowl of water)
Green grapes(not as many health benefits as red)
Red Grapes
Brocoli
Spring Greens
Curly Kale
Carrots
Cherry tomatoes
Strawberries
Cous Cous(must be cooked)

Things like eggs can be given as a rare treat. Cows milk should be avoided as rats are intolerant to it. Soya or goats milk is best. You can give them other vegetables like lettuce, but you have to remember that there are no nutrional benefits to them so they are an empty food. It is far better to let them fill their stomach with food that is good for them. Lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber are only good for when you have to travel with rats. Because they have a high water content it is easier to let the rat eat them to get its water than any other method.

Answer 2

I have two rats and they eat anything I put in the cage. I even give them french fries and they eat them. They don't get them every often though.
Other than their rat food, they get wild bird seed that's mostly sunflower seeds, they like those. Carrots, lettuce, chicken meat, pork chop/steak bones, apples and just about whatever else I eat.
I don't give them candy or chocolate, but I do give them frosted mini wheats, they like those too. They also like the left over mixed veggies from dinner, and crackers. They love green beans and peas too. They also like the dry dog food, which is a treat for them.
Anything like the french fries and the frosted mini wheats should be given in moderation and not a lot at one time. Just about anything you can eat, they can eat, but they should have a stable diet of 'rat food' and everything else should be considered as a treat and not given in large quantities.
Don't feed them anything that could swell in their bellies like rice. Rice is not good for them. And I don't ever give them any pasta raw or cooked.

Answer 3

I wouldn't give them rice and water.

Fact: (You really don't want to know this do you?) Rats and mice don't have the vomiting reflex. They can't toss their cookies when they get hold of something that makes 'em sick.

That's why rat poison, which is mostly cereal, works.

Answer 4

I think I heard somewhere that raw potatoes are bad for them. I feed mine everything, cat food, rat food, cheese, crackers. Also I think you can't feed them lettuce.

Answer 5

minei would feed little bits of everything. but i found out that human food can cause cancer in rats(it is gentic also). but i would stick to a main diet of pet foods maybe not dog food but bird seeds, rat food even hampster food and i gave mine cat treats he loved that. and i did give him some fruit 1-2 times a week oh and ifyou really want to go special they like hamburgers but just don't do it very often(cancer) but hey every body needs to cheat ontheir diet somtimes

Answer 6

Rat poison is bad for their health and shortens their lives.

Answer 7

rat poison

Answer 8

just give them a supply of carbohydrate rich food to maintain their high metabolism.