What's Best to Feed Your Pet Rat

After getting a rat as a pet you may find yourself looking into what the right foods are to feed him or her. Some books and Veterinarians may tell you that all they need are lab blocks, that no additional treats or food sources are needed. But would you like to eat the same food every day for the rest of your life? Well neither would your rat.

Rats love food, all kinds of foods. While lab blocks may be a nutritionally balanced diet, some rats just won't eat them. Most rats will eat them if there is no other food available, but if you want to keep your rat happy a diet full of foods that are delicious as well as nutritious is what you should look for.

First of all rats will eat just about anything that you eat, but that doesn't mean they should. Some human foods will actually make your rat sick. You should never feed your rat chocolate, just as it may make your dog or cat ill, it will do the same to your rat.

Your rat's diet should consist of lab blocks, and a good seed mixture that most pet stores sell and fresh fruit and vegetables. A good bag of rat food will contain differing seeds, dried fruits and nuts. The fresh fruits and vegetables should be removed from the cage every day as it may spoil and make your rats sick. You should never let your rat eat anything that you wouldn't eat yourself. If the fresh fruits or veggies look spoiled then throw them away.

One type of food should never be given alone for long periods of time as your rat needs the nutrients and vitamins from all sources of these foods. Giving the bagged store bought seed mixture alone with no other types of foods may lead to bad health and shorter life spans. Most rats only eat the types of seeds or nuts in the store bought bagged foods that they like and leave the rest. If they do this they are not getting all their nutritional needs met and may become sick. To avoid unhealthy rats make sure to feed them differing fresh foods, bagged foods made specifically for rats and no the bagged food for hamsters.

As for treats, rats love small bits of just about anything you will be eating. They will let you know what they don't like by not eating it. Small amounts of scrambled or boiled eggs, bread, dry cereals, cooked pasta and fresh vegetables are just some of the foods rats will love to eat.

When buying bagged store bought food, it may be wise to put the unopened bag in the freezer for two hours before feeding any to your rats. This will make sure that any insects that may have found their way into the bag while at the manufacturing plant where the food was bagged. It's best to freeze the bags of bedding material as well, just to be safe.