What To Feed Pet Rats | RSPCA

Skip to Main Content

Find a Pet

• Find a Pet
  • Rehoming and Adoption
  • Fostering

• Useful Links
  • Advice for Adopters
  • Pet Care
  • Pet Insurance

• Sponsorship
  • Dog Kennels
  • Cat Pods

• Favourites

Advice and Welfare

• Pets
  • Cats
  • Dogs
  • Horses
  • Rabbits
  • See more

• Farm Animals
  • Beef Cattle
  • Dairy Cows
  • Farmed Fish
  • Laying Hens
  • Meat Chickens
  • See more

• Wildlife
  • Badgers
  • Birds
  • Deer
  • Foxes
  • Hedgehogs
  • See more

• Seasonal Advice
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • Winter
• Cost-of-Living Support
• All Advice and Welfare

Ways to Give

• Donate
  • Gift Aid
  • Giving Monthly
  • Gift in Wills
  • In Memory
  • Payroll Giving
  • Philanthropy
  • Advice for donors

• Gift in Wills
  • Request a Gift in Will Guide
  • Step-by-Step Advice
  • Free Will-Writing Service
  • Information for Executors
  • FAQs

• Sponsorship
  • Dog Kennels
  • Cat Pods

• Lottery & Raffle
• Advice for Donors
• SMS Donations

Get Involved

• Fundraise
  • Find an event
  • Ideas and Resources
  • Young Fundraisers
  • Fundraising Pack

• Campaign
  • Better Chicken
  • Better Labels Better Choices
  • Born to Suffer
  • Fireworks
  • Save our Breath
  • See more

• Volunteer
  • Big Help Out
  • Types of Roles
  • Volunteers' week
  • Volunteering with Us

• Businesses
• Events
• Lottery & Raffle
• Membership
• Young People
• Pet Insurance

What We Do

• End Cruelty
  • Change the Law
  • International Work
  • Investigate Cruelty
  • Prevent Suffering
  • Prosecution
  • Rescue Animals

• Care For Animals
  • Financial Assistance
  • Home for Life
  • Rehabilitation
  • Release
  • Wildlife Centres
  • Veterinary Care

• Who We Are
  • Branches
  • Executives
  • Governance
  • History

• Education
• How We Work
• Latest
• Strategy to 2030
• Press and Media

Other

• Find a Pet
• Advice and Welfare
• Ways to Give
• Get Involved
• What We Do
• Search
• My RSPCA
• Report a concern
• Sponsor
• Colour mode Vivid Calm

• Shop
• Next Gen
• Education

Main menu Find a Pet

• Find a Pet
• Useful Links
• Sponsorship
• Favourites

Find a Pet Find a Pet

• Rehoming and Adoption
• Fostering

Find a Pet Useful Links

• Advice for Adopters
• Pet Care
• Pet Insurance

Find a Pet Sponsorship

• Dog Kennels
• Cat Pods

Main menu Advice and Welfare

• Pets
• Farm Animals
• Wildlife
• Seasonal Advice
• Cost-of-Living Support
• All Advice and Welfare

Advice and Welfare Pets

• Cats
• Dogs
• Horses
• Rabbits
• See More

Advice and Welfare Farm Animals

• Beef Cattle
• Dairy Cows
• Farmed Fish
• Laying Hens
• Meat Chickens
• See More

Advice and Welfare Wildlife

• Badgers
• Birds
• Deer
• Foxes
• Hedgehogs
• See More

Advice and Welfare Seasonal Advice

• Spring
• Summer
• Autumn
• Winter

Main menu Ways to Give

• Donate
• Gift in Wills
• Sponsorship
• Lottery & Raffle
• Advice for Donors
• SMS Donations

Ways to Give Donate

• Gift Aid
• Giving Monthly
• Gift in Wills
• In Memory
• Payroll Giving
• Philanthropy
• Advice for donors

Ways to Give Gift in Wills

• Request a Gift in Will Guide
• Step-by-Step Advice
• Free Will-Writing Service
• Information for Executors
• FAQs

Ways to Give Sponsorship

• Dog Kennels
• Cat Pods

Main menu Get Involved

• Fundraise
• Campaign
• Volunteer
• Businesses
• Events
• Lottery & Raffle
• Membership
• Young People
• Pet Insurance

Get Involved Fundraise

• Find an event
• Ideas and Resources
• Young Fundraisers
• Fundraising Pack

Get Involved Campaign

• Better Chicken
• Better Labels Better Choices
• Born to Suffer
• Fireworks
• Save our Breath
• See More

Get Involved Volunteer

• Big Help Out
• Types of Roles
• Volunteers' week
• Volunteering with Us

Main menu What We Do

• End Cruelty
• Care For Animals
• Who We Are
• Education
• How We Work
• Latest
• Strategy to 2030
• Press and Media

What We Do End Cruelty

• Change the Law
• International Work
• Investigate Cruelty
• Prevent Suffering
• Prosecution
• Rescue Animals

What We Do Care For Animals

• Financial Assistance
• Home for Life
• Rehabilitation
• Release
• Wildlife Centres
• Veterinary Care

What We Do Who We Are

• Branches
• Executives
• Governance
• History

1. Home
2. Advice and welfare
3. Pets
4. Rodents
5. Rats
6. Diet

Rats What to feed rats

Here are our tips for making sure your rats have the diet they need to stay happy and healthy.

A balanced diet for rats

It's easy to feed your rats a fresh, healthy and balanced diet by feeding them commercial food pellets. Always feed them food designed specifically for rats, rather than pellets for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters or other herbivores – these won't give rats the nutrients they need.

Remember:

• Give them some variety - rats are omnivores, so you can supplement their diet with small amounts of fruit, vegetables, cooked egg, grains and seeds. Give these as part of their daily food allowance, not in addition to it, or it could cause obesity or health problems.
• Avoid harmful foods such as onion, citrus fruits, walnuts, rhubarb, grapes, raisins and chocolate.
• Avoid sugars and high-fat foods such as dairy. Rats like sweet and fatty food, but it can cause health problems if they eat too much of it, so only use these as treats and rewards during training.

Feeding your rats

Rats feed mainly at dawn and dusk, and drink mostly during the night, so feed your rats twice a day – in the morning and evening. Remove any uneaten food, and change the amount so that they eat all of it and stay a healthy weight.

Give your rats their food in open ceramic bowls (not metal, as this creates ultrasound noise) - this allows them to carry food and handle or eat it wherever they want. It's a good idea to encourage natural foraging behaviour, as rats enjoy holding and manipulating food in their paws.

Remember, rats need to eat fresh faeces - it's natural behaviour that helps them absorb all the nutrients and minerals they need to stay healthy. Stopping this could cause nutritional deficiencies and health problems.

Drinking water

Give your rats a continuous supply of fresh, clean drinking water, in bottles rather than bowls to avoid contamination. Provide several bottles so that all your rats can drink at the same time. This means they won't be competing for water and won't be thirsty if one of the bottles gets blocked.

Check their water bottles morning and evening and refill them twice a day to ensure the rats are never thirsty. Clean them regularly to stop algae and bacteria build-up, and check them everyday for blockages and leaks.

Foraging behaviour

Foraging is a natural behaviour for rats. Encourage your rats to forage for food items including handling and manipulating their food.

• Give your rats a variety of appropriate food options, so that they have control over their own food choice. This is very important as rats often develop individual preferences for particular foods.
• Mix food items among fresh bedding during cage cleaning and scatter food items around their cage.
• Hide food items in safe places. Rats will happily dig in sand/gravel trays, or chew through cardboard tubes to find hidden favourite food items.
• Occasionally provide seeds (like sunflower seeds) and nuts (such as peanuts) to allow your rats to manipulate their food in their paws whilst they eat.
• Give your rats whole or intact food to help stimulate them. Try giving them a cooled, unpeeled boiled egg so they can work out how to break into it.
• Always provide food enrichment as part of their daily food allowance, and not in addition to it. Foods high in fat or sugar should only be used as occasional treats, or rewards for training, and should not be part of every meal.
• Always provide multiple food objects rather than just one for a group of rats, this will help to avoid competition.

Rat fact: rats show empathy with other rats

Rats remember if they've received help from another rat and will help others in the future. The more help they receive, the more they will help other rats.

They also share their food with others, and will give the biggest share to the hungriest rats. If they're given a choice between receiving their own treat and their companion rats also receiving a treat, they choose the option that ensures their friends also get a treat.

Find out more

Rat health and welfare

To give your pet rats a happy, healthy life, here's what to do to give them the care and attention they need.

Rats

Rats are intelligent, highly social animals and make incredibly rewarding animals to look after.

Mice

Mice are small rodents who can be very active, generally at night and around dawn and dusk.

Hidden