What to feed pet rats: the daily diet ratio

A healthy rat diet is mostly a complete rat food, with a smaller share of fresh vegetables and only a little fruit and treats. Here's the balance the Rattitude Care app uses, and how to put it into practice.

This guide is also in the free Rattitude Care app. Get the app

What should the main food be?

A commercial pellet or lab block made specifically for rats. The RSPCA warns against using rabbit, guinea pig or hamster food, which doesn't give rats the nutrients they need, and the PDSA describes rat nuggets as containing the right balance of nutrients. Pellets are better than seed mixes because rats can't pick out only the tasty, fatty bits and leave the rest.

How much and how often should rats eat?

Rats gain weight easily, so the PDSA advises following the feeding guidelines on the packet and weighing the food out each day. The RSPCA suggests feeding twice a day, in the morning and evening, since rats feed mainly at dawn and dusk, and adjusting portions so they eat everything and stay a healthy weight. Remove anything left over.

Serve food in ceramic bowls — the RSPCA notes that metal bowls create ultrasound noise that rats can hear. Fresh foods and treats come out of the daily allowance, not on top of it.

How should rats get water?

The RSPCA recommends a continuous supply of fresh, clean drinking water from bottles rather than bowls, with more than one bottle so rats don't compete, checked and refilled twice a day.

Which foods should rats never eat?

The RSPCA lists onion, citrus fruits, walnuts, rhubarb, grapes, raisins and chocolate as harmful to rats, and advises avoiding sugary and high-fat foods such as dairy. The Rattitude Care food guide covers 30 common foods, with portions.

Is 80/15/5 a strict rule?

No — it's a rule of thumb for balancing the bowl, not a veterinary formula. Young, pregnant, nursing, elderly or unwell rats can have different needs; ask an exotic-pet vet before making big changes to their diet.