Make sure your rats have a healthy diet
 

Facts

• Without water to drink a rat will quickly become seriously ill.

• Rats are omnivores and eat both plant and animal materials.

• Some human foods (e.g. onion, citrus fruits, walnuts, rhubarb, grapes/raisins and chocolate) are harmful to rodents and should be avoided.

• Rats need essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals from their diet, as they cannot produce these themselves.

• Rats feed mainly at dawn and dusk, and drink mostly during the night time.

• Rats really like sweet and fatty food. However these can lead to obesity and other health problems if eaten in large amounts.

• Rats can quickly tell if their food has gone off, or if their water is tainted.

• Rats like to hold and manipulate their food in their paws.

• Rats will eat some of their own fresh droppings. This normal behaviour helps them absorb all the nutrients and minerals that they need to stay healthy.
   

Things you should do 

• Provide a fresh, healthy balanced diet that meets all their nutritional needs. This is most easily done by feeding a balanced commercial pelleted diet especially for rats.

• Consider supplementing their diet and adding variety by occasionally giving them small amounts of fruit and vegetables, a cooked egg, grains or seeds. This should be given as part of their daily nutritional ration and not in addition or it could lead to obesity and associated health problems.
• Provide constant access to fresh clean drinking water at all times.
  
  - Check their water bottles morning and evening and refill them twice a day, to make sure that your rats never go thirsty;
  
  - Provide your rats with water bottles rather than bowls to avoid contamination;
  
  - Make sure you clean the drinkers regularly to avoid the build-up of algae and bacteria;
  
  - Check for blockages, and make sure that the drinkers are not leaking;
  
  - Multiple drinkers should be available so that all cage mates can drink at the same time, to avoid competition and to make sure that should one become blocked that your rats still have access to water.
   
• Do not feed your rats food designed for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters or other herbivores as they will not meet the nutritional protein needs of rats.

• Do not give your rats any food that is harmful for them.

• Do not give your rats food high in fats (i.e. dairy) or sugars. Use them only as special treats or rewards during training.

• Feed your rats twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. Remove uneaten food and change the amount of food so all of it is eaten, and that your rats stay a healthy weight.

• Consider providing your rats food in an open bowl to allow them to carry their food away to handle and eat it in an area of their choice. Always make sure that your check the food for uneaten food before re-filling their food bowl. Use a ceramic bowl and not a metal bowl to avoid ultrasound noise.

• When introducing your rats to new foods, do this gradually. Do not change their diet overnight. Rats can be cautious and fearful of new foods.

• To avoid aggression, always introduce new food to rats as a group so that an individual rat does not smell different.

• Encourage natural foraging activity including handling and manipulating of food items. See our factsheet Foraging behaviour (pdf 181kb).

• Never stop your rats from eating their own fresh faeces. It is a natural behaviour and stopping them from doing this could lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problems.