Favorite Pet Rat Treats
Favorite Treats for Pet Rats and Other Rodents
Meet my pet rat, Rascal!
Rascal and our other rats LOVE food. Below I've listed some of our favorite treats. Some are healthy, every-day treats and some are for eating once in a while. Some may even extend the life of your pet rat! (You can read about those below.)
Vote for your favorite treats or find great treat ideas for your pet rat. Then, suggest your own favorite pet rat treat. What do YOU think should be on this list and why? If you would like, grab the pet rat treats list as an RSS feed or widget for your own blog or Squidoo lens.
Try Some of These Favorites - for rats and other small pets
Can Soy Prevent Mammary Tumors? - and how to add soy to your rat's diet
According to rat experts, soy products help prevent mammary tumors and decrease pain perception.
Feed your rat lab blocks with soy protein or add it as a daily treat:
- MISO - spoon a little into a treat bowl
- EDAMAME - my rat Rascal and my two love birds LOVE edamame
- SOY POWDER - make into a paste with water and spread on a favorite treat
- SOY MILK - clip a ceramic dish onto the side on the cage and fill with some unflavored soy milk each day (vanilla and chocolate soy milk have a lot of extra sugar)
I can't guarantee that a rat won't develop mammary tumors by eating soy every day but from what I've read it sure seems like it can help.
Sources:
Rat Fan Club.org "Rat Health Food"
What Is Inositol? - the life-extending component of brown rice and how to add it to your rat's diet
Inositol is a component found in high-fiber foods such as brown rice, wheat bran, and sesame seed that may be effective in extending the life of rats by helping prevent cancer and by promoting better health.
To add Inositol to your rat's diet:
- Cook some brown rice and spoon a small bit into your rat's food or treat dish. Eat the rest or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Give your rat a small hunk of whole-grain bread. No need for a dish, they'll snatch it and run!
- Buy powdered Inositol at your local health food store and sprinkle it in your rat's water. It reportedly has a sweet taste that rats love.
Rats need iron to absorb this mineral so make sure they're getting enough iron in their daily feed or supplements. As always, I cannot guarantee these findings are true, but the info seems legit to me!
SOURCES:
Try Soy or Inositol
It's easy to made homemade rat treats. I found this one at About.com.
If you want to make smaller treats (for smaller rodents) reduce the baking time by a few minutes.
Tools Needed
large mixing bowl
greased cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 2/3 cup dried mixed fruit (non citrus) chopped into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup apple juice (or other non citrus fruit juice)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 250 F (120 C).
- 2. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- 3. Shape mixture into small (1/2-inch) balls.
- 4. Place balls on greased cookie sheet.
- 5. Bake 45 minutes.
- 6. Let treat balls cool completely. They should be nice and crunchy once cool.
- Store in a sealed bag or container in a cool dry place.
Don't Give THESE Foods to Your Rat!
foods toxic and unhealthy to pet rats
Some foods your should never give rats under any circumstances. While safe for humans these foods can be harmful, toxic, or even deadly for birds. Others are okay in very small amounts but should not be fed more than once or twice a week.
This list is not exclusive, but keep your rats away from these common foods:
- Alcohol
Some curious pets like to drink out of glasses--keep wine and other alcoholic beverages inaccessible. Alcohol depresses organ systems and can cause fatalities.
- Bananas, green only
Green bananas inhibit starch-digesting enzymes.
- Beans, raw or dry
Share well-cooked beans with your rat but never uncooked or dry beans. These contain hemaglutin, which is very toxic, anti-nutrients that destroy vitamin A and enzymes needed to digest protein and starches. This causes clumping of red blood cells.
- Caffeine
Keep caffeinated beverages such as soda and tea out of rat reach. Consumption can lead to cardiac malfunction, fast heartbeat, arrhythmia, and cardiac arrest.
- Chocolate
Chocolate act like a poison to rats causing first foaming at the mouth (rat's can't regurgitate) and diarrhea and then seizures and death.
- Citrus, skin and juice only
D-limonene, a coumpound in citrus skin that also contaminates the juice during squeezing, can cause kidney damage and kidney cancer in male rats. Clean citrus fruit after peeling it to remove remaining oil.
Photographic Print">Amendola, Elise
