Rats are truly one of the few animals that share a human's dietary needs. They need everything from grains to fruits and veggies to fish and meat to live a happy, healthy, active lifestyle.
Seeds: Seeds are a huge part of a rat's diet and should make up about 40% of their daily serving. A mixture of barley, oat groats, buckwheat, sesame seed, safflower seed, millet seed, and pumpkin seeds is ideal. But the occasional sunflower seed snack is also a great addition to their meal plan.
Nuts: Nuts provide vitamins and protein that rats need in order to stay healthy. But they also offer a hard surface to chew- which helps keep your rat's teeth strong. Nuts should be fed sparingly, about two to three times a week. Things like almonds, walnuts, and cashews are ideal- with a mix of peanuts as snack items.
Vegetables: Dried vegetables like peas and carrots are a great addition to a rat's daily meals. Do not feed your rat corn, as it is not as easy to digest and can cause problems over time. Fresh vegetables, like green beans, cauliflower, celery, and broccoli should be offered two to three times a week.
Meats: Rats are one of the few pet rodents that need meat in order to stay healthy. Many people (and commercial food companies) forget that rats are omnivores. This means they not only eat seeds and vegetables, but they also hunt game. Wild game like pheasant, muskrat, and even (yes, ew) cooked mice are perfect for a rat. But if the idea of cooking wild game doesn't sit well with you, a mixture of bird meat and red meat one or two times a week will work perfectly.
Fish/Egg: Eggs are a huge part of a rat's diet. In the wild they will rob nests. And domestically they often miss the opportunity to eat eggs- which leaves out important vitamins that they cannot get in other foods. Fish also offer many essential vitamins. You should offer your rat some sort of egg two to four times a week. Do not use salt and if you must cook with butter use a minimal amount. We recommend hard boiled, soft boiled, or poached. Scrambled also works well. Fish should be offered sparingly and only once a week. salmon, tuna, clams, and even shrimp shells are all safe for your rat to eat.
Fruit: Just like humans, rat's have a big sweet tooth. And fruit is their candy. Dried fruits like banana, coconut, papaya, apple, and berries can be offered once or twice a week. And fresh fruits like pear, kiwi, grape, apple, and banana can be served up once a week. Rat's will happily eat almost any fruit, but these things should be fed in moderation. Their high sugar content isn't exactly as healthy as vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meats.
