Food & Nutrition
Not only do we break down the basics here, but Tail Me More hosts a plethora of food-related articles to help you figure out the best chow for your pal.
Food Types
For more in-depth information on food and nutrition, be sure to head over to “Tail” Me More and select the nutrition tab.
Commercially Available Food Blocks
Lab-formulated food blocks, such as Mazuri, Oxbow, Kalmbach, and Harlan-Teklad, are specially formulated to be nutritionally complete for your rats. However, just like with all marketed foods, not all blocks are created equally. Bleuming Tails suggests Mazuri 6f or Kalmbach 18 as your rat’s staple diet. Oxbow Adult Essentials is a good second choice. Blocks found at WalMart or other big box stores don’t tend to be as high-quality.
Oxbow Adult Essentials is the preferred option as Oxbow Young Rat & Mouse and Oxbow Garden Select are not as nutritionally compatible. Both options include subpar ingredients and fillers that aren’t compatible with rats’ systems such as whole grasses.
Dog Foods
Many brands of dog foods are nutritionally quite similar to rat blocks. Rats are grain-based omnivores and many of the lower grade dog foods are grain-based as well. Some of the most common options include Doggy Bag from Tractor Supply and Twin Pet and Kal Kan from WalMart. When choosing dog food as your staple diet, you have to make sure of a few things:
No dyes! (Especially red dyes.)
Protein is between 14-23%.
Fat is 5-10%.
Fiber is as low as possible.
Grain-inclusive.
Below is a link to a chart detailing many of the commonly used dog foods as rat food. However, please keep in mind that not all foods on this list are appropriate. It is merely a reference sheet.
Mixes
Store-bought mixes are only good for the occasional treat. These mixes are rarely balanced and often include dangerous ingredients such as dried whole corn. (This type of corn can produce a type of mold that is dangerous when consumed.) BTR does not support the use of store-bought mixes as a main diet.
Homemade mixes must be carefully crafted and fed correctly in order to be balanced. There’s a lot of math, measuring, and planning that goes into creating a balanced homemade mix. While numerous places have created “balanced” mix recipes for the public to try, BTR suggests purchasing and following Igloo Rats homemade mix recipe. Igloo Rats dedicated months of research in order to formulate a truly balanced recipe, and even offers an option for you to customize your own mix while still ensuring it’s balanced. This recipe is available for purchase here: https://igloorats.weebly.com/us-premade-recipes.html.
TREATS
Rats can eat almost everything you can eat and this makes giving them a varied diet so much fun. However, there is a handful of food items that should be avoided.
Good treats
- Dark Chocolate
- Pastas (cooked or raw)
- Fruits (limit due to high sugar content)
- Common Veggies (No raw potato or gas-producing veggies)
- Lean Meats (Raw or unseasoned cooked)
- Crackers
- Dog treats/Bones
- Non-sugary cereals
- Captive-bred live insects/dried insects
- Yogurt
- Baby food
Treats to avoid
- Caffeinated drinks
- Alcohol
- Bleu Cheese
- Raw Potatoes
- Raw Beans
- Raw Nuts
- Wild-caught Insects
- Spinach (very limited amounts)
- Soft bread (choking hazard. Stale/toasted is fine.)
- Undiluted Peanut Butter (choking hazard)
It has been long spread that male rats should not eat citrus fruits or other foods with d-limonene. However, the amount that would be needed to be ingested to cause adverse side effects in an enormous amount. Check out “Tail” Me More’s article on citrus!