Rats are wonderful loving creatures.
Basically, rat care is pretty easy. There are something things, though, that you
have to pay attention to in order to keep them healthy. Please click through the
above links for more information.
attie Express. Proper Rat Care. How to care for your rat. Caring for your rat. Rat
Care: Proper rat care, nutrition, Routin rat care, Rat health.
One of the most important things in proper rat care is a good
staple diet. Here are some basics. Head to the link above for more nutritional
information.
Water -
should be filtered or bottled. Not tap.
Cereals/Grains:
Anything without a lot of sugar.
NO BHT or BHA!! It causes cancer in rats.
Mix the grains (e.g. oatmeal with different Arrowhead Meals organic bagged
cereals).
Whole Wheat Pasta preferred…may have normal white flour pasta (both cooked and
uncooked).
Rice (cooked) is good too….wild and brown preferred over white.
Couscous. rat care, proper rat care, care
for your rat
Fruit: rat care, proper rat care,
care for your rat
Avoid Oranges (male rats) – There is one little nutrient in orange peels that may
cause cancer in male rats.
All other fruits are okay, remember to wash well if you don’t get organic…they
are covered with pesticides.
Vegetables/Legumes/tubers:
No Raw Beans: "Raw kidney beans at a level as low as 1% of diet can cause death in
rats in two weeks."
All other veggies are okay. Don’t feed one vegetable in large quantities, mix lots
of veggies to get adequate nutritional needs.
Sweet Potatoes (vs white potatoes) are best as they are highest in protein…please
cook, more appetizing for rats.
Protein: rat care, proper rat care,
care for your rat
All proteins are okay. rat care, proper rat
care, care for your rat
Be sure to limit protein to only 15% of you rats’ diet per day. THEY NEED NO MORE
THAN 15%.
May include bones, rats’ teeth easily grind the bone when they eat them.
Dairy: rat care, proper rat care,
care for your rat
Cottage cheese and yogurt are good. They contain probiotics for digestion.
Be wary of cow cheese and milk…some rats are lactose intolerant…watch for
soften stools or diarrhea.
Soy, Oat, Almond, etc., milks…highly recommended.
Chocolate:rat care, proper rat care,
care for your rat
May be given to rats in small quantities. Does not effect rats the same as dogs.
Rat Pellets:
If you opt to give your rat commercially prepared rat/mouse food/pellets, please be
sure to read the ingredients.
WHAT NOT TO FEED YOUR RATS
Dog Food: rat care, proper rat
care, care for your rat
- NO DOG FOOD…IT IS HIGH IN PROTEIN AND IT IS MADE FOR DOGS
Avocado:
Do not feed your rats avocado
seeds, branches, leaves or rhine....some contain toxins; rather safe than sorry.
"Cases of avocado poisoning are seen periodically
in Los Angeles County animals. Commercial production of avocados is located primarily in
southern California and Florida. Two types of avocados are grown in California (Mexican
and Guatemalan) and toxicity varies. Toxicity may also vary depending upon the time of
year and other factors that are poorly understood. Various species of animals are
susceptible to avocado poisoning. Dried avocado seed can kill mice." http://animalcontrol.co.la.ca.us/html/pages/petownerinfo/Poisons.htm.
The Guatemalan variety is involved in most of the reports of poisoning. Haas
avocados are not Guatemalan, they are a Mexican variety.
For more information on Rattie Express or any of our animals, please email me
(Tara) at rattie.express@comcast.net.
Rattie Express, located in Reading (Allentown, Harrisburg, Philadelphia) PA, is a
rattery dedicated to rat rescue, rehabilitation and adoption of rats as pets, includes
information on rat adoption, nutrition and care. Rat Adoption, rat adoption PA, rat
adoption Reading PA, rat adoption pa, adoptable rats, rat rescue PA, rat rescue pA,
Reading, PA, rescued rats, Allentown, Harrisburg, Philadelphia.