How to feed a domestic decorative rat: what it eats and what food it loves the most

Before feeding a domestic rat, you should study the needs of the animal. Pet food should be varied and contain all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Features of the nature of the rodent make you pay attention to the well-being of the pet after eating food.

What do domestic rats eat

Rats are famous for their good appetite. In their passions, they are like people. The animal will be happy to “burrow” everything, but first it will choose the most delicious.

By nature, animals are omnivores: they need both plant and animal food.

It is convenient, on the one hand, and dangerous, on the other. It is good that the pet eats everything, but this makes the owner pay attention to the diet. The nutrition of ornamental rats should be complete, but without frills, since the animals easily gain weight. Fat rats get sick more often and live less.

What to feed a domestic rat

The basis of animal nutrition is grain. This food should always be present in the bowl. Grain mixtures can be bought at the store or assembled by yourself. From what rats eat, mixtures of three categories can be distinguished. They differ in quality and price:

• mixtures of super premium class;
• premium blends;
• economy blends.

Without fear, you can eat super-premium class feeds, which differ in the balance of ingredients, low fat content – up to 10% and the presence of animal protein.

In premium feeds, instead of expensive wheat, there are oats and rye. The mixture is usually quite oily. Feeding rats with such food requires refinement of its composition. The components must be supplemented with purchased grain, which will reduce the fat content of the feed. And the introduction of proteins into the diet will allow the animal to get all the necessary elements.

The economy class food is too poor, it contains herbal granules, which are of no value to rats. If domestic rats eat such food, then grains, seeds or nuts should be added to it. Additionally, you need to give protein foods.

Grain bought in the market may be treated with chemicals, so the source of the product should be carefully considered.

What do domestic rats eat besides grain?

Fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as greens should constantly be in the diet of animals. This food should be from 10% of the diet of rats to 10-12 g per 1 individual. When compiling the menu, seasonality should be observed:

• in spring, the animal, with pleasure, will feast on dandelions and fresh herbs;
• in summer – the first berries and early carrots will please the pet;
• in autumn, the rat should be fed fruits of fruit trees;
• in winter, most vitamins remain in root crops.

The choice of plant foods is not limited by the time of year. Apples and carrots can be given at any time of the year.

Foods that cause fermentation should be avoided. From plant foods it is:

• potatoes;
• cabbage;
• beans.

An excess of fruits and vegetables can cause diarrhea in the animal.

A balanced diet for rats should include proteins. Animal food should be given 2-3 times a week. Rats can be offered lean boiled meat, seafood, boiled fish, chicken and quail eggs. Young people who have not reached six months should receive more protein. It is necessary to increase the diet for pregnant and lactating rats by 1,5 times.

Fermented milk products can be included in the rat’s diet as an additive. Preference should be given to natural products with a short shelf life of low fat content.

Animals are not suitable for products with both 0% fat content and a percentage above average.

Kashi can be given occasionally. This product is not suitable for overweight pets. It is best to steam the cereal with boiling water and let it brew. This method allows you to save more nutrients. The more intensely colored the cereal, the more microelements it contains.

Keep a drinking bowl with fresh water in the cage. You need to change the water daily. Rodents need twigs or mineral stones to grind their teeth. Let’s summarize the diet of domestic rats in the table.

How many times a day to feed the rats

Animals cannot go without food for a long time, so it is better to keep the grain in the feeder all the time. The correct diet for a rodent is 2 times a day. The peak of animal activity is at night, so the daily allowance should be distributed so that in the evening the rats get more food.

There are cases when the animal needs to be fed more often. Fractional feeding is necessary:

• rats up to 6 months;
• emaciated animals;
• animals with diabetes.

Overtime, you can feed an elderly rat if it is not predisposed to obesity.

So, feed for the rat should be poured twice. The grain mixture comes at the rate of 30-40 g per animal, which is about 1 tbsp. a spoon. Raw vegetables and fruits should be given no more than 10-12 g, but if the animals have loose stools, then this amount should be reduced. Protein and sour-milk foods are given as complementary foods 2-3 times a week, without interfering with each other. One day meat, the other yogurt. The new product must be introduced in small portions to determine if it is suitable for the rodent. Not everything a rat eats is good for it. Some animals are lactose intolerant.

What do rats love the most?

According to their food preferences, the animals resemble people, so most of all rats love all sorts of goodies. Not a single self-respecting rat will touch the main food if there are treats nearby. Moreover, there are manipulations. The animal will sit in front of a full bowl of compassion in the eyes: “God is my witness, I am dying of hunger in the hands of a cruel owner who refuses sweets and sweets.”

Animals love tidbits, but even here everyone has their own preferences. Some like insects, such as mealworms, while others cannot imagine life without sweets. As a rule, this list includes high-calorie foods, so they should be given in limited quantities. On the other hand, tidbits are useful as training rewards. Goodies will set the animal in a positive mood during an illness or after medical procedures. The main task of delicious food is not to harm the animal.

How to feed your pet rat treats

If you want to properly feed your animal with treats, choose products without salt, sugar, flavors and dyes. Treats from pet stores should be treated with caution. There is a lot of unnecessary in drops, they are like candy: sweet and useless. Manufacturers do not always report the true composition of the treat, so you should not abuse drops. As a treat, you can give dried fruits, nuts or seeds. Some rats love corn flakes, it is important that they are not sweet or salty.

From food for diabetics, you can give unsweetened cookies. The rat willingly eats baby food in the form of mashed potatoes. The more natural it is, the better. Sauces and meatballs, in which the manufacturer may add unhealthy ingredients, should be avoided. Rats willingly eat dried bread, especially if it contains seeds or nuts. Sweet tooth can occasionally give a small piece of dark chocolate or add 1 drop of honey to the cracker. Some animals will be happy with boiled pasta, others with a shrimp or a piece of egg. Fried, salted, smoked and alcohol will harm the animal.

Do-it-yourself treat for rats

Rats, along with dogs and cats, become members of the family. Sometimes you want to pamper them with your own food. Here you can show imagination. Rats eat cereals, consisting of cereals and vegetables. In the summer you can cook zucchini and squash, in the fall a pumpkin will go well, in winter and spring – bags with frozen mixtures will help out. Vegetables can be steamed or baked in the oven and mashed. Groats need to be steamed or boiled a little. In the cereal mixture with vegetables, you can add a drop of vegetable oil and a quail egg. Animals will love steam omelettes with the addition of water instead of milk and a drop of butter. If you don’t feel sorry for the time, you can cook steam meatballs from breast or beef with vegetables. An exotic dish is steamed buckwheat with gammarus. This crustacean can not be boiled, but added to the already prepared porridge.

Young rats do not always like raw vegetables, but if you bake pumpkin or carrots in the oven, then no one will refuse such a dish.

The danger of treats is that they can easily feed pets. The animal, in order to gain weight, is enough to regularly receive delicious cereals.

Video: how to make do-it-yourself rat treats

In order to figure out how to feed a decorative rat at home, you need to start from the nature of the animal. The rodent needs natural cereals, a small amount of fresh vegetables and animal protein. Basically, table food is bad for pets.