Daily Diet Yes, rats enjoy their food as much as we do. They love fatty and sweet food, but they can't always get what they want!  My rats are fed on around one table spoon of balanced and nutritious rat mix (about 12 grams per rat, Burgess's "Supa Rat") always with fresh water and some more  fresh vegetables and either pasta or rice to supplement this.  And of course they don't get any salt and pepper!  Spicy and salty food is not recommended and you should not feed them with onions or citrus fruits either. If you can't feed your rats with regular vegetables, you should supplement the rats' water with vitamin drops (Ultracare, "Vita-Sol") . Over feeding them with leafy green vegetables will make their poops runny (!), and surely, you would not want to clean their cage afterwards!  You can also buy a mineral stone from a pet shop, that the rats are supposed to gnaw on it. My rats don't particularly like it, or they haven't worked out what it is.

Top Tips: Broccoli is supposed to be very good for them, but my rats prefer tofu, sweet corn and cereals. Rats love chicken too, but ideally plant protein like Tofu is said to be better for their digestion. My rats enjoy well cooked white fish too.

Too much protein (meat, tofu, nuts) are known to cause skin problems. If you see your rats are scratching here and there and has dandruff, or a bald patches, try cutting on their protein. Any lumps or bumps could be mites (not to worry, easy to treat but you should not leave it), or tumor (have it checked first). 

If you have a hungry young rat who tends to overeat all the time and seems very bloated, try soaking their cereals or rat mix in double the amount of water. You will be surprised how much they expand. It takes time to soak up the water well but it has definitely reduced the big bloated belly that my rats were suffering from.  

My rats definitely prefers organic food. They seems to be able to tell what's organic and what's not. I can't. You can argue what is the definition of organically grown food and whether it is 100% chemical free or not, but wheat grain specially tends to soak up a lots of pesticides than any other grains so it's worth while switching the regular diet to organic if you can afford a bit of extra. Try popping to your local health shop, and I guarantee you'll find a lot of good souvenirs for the rats!

I used to feed my rats with baby food when they are not looking very well. I don't mean they look pale or anything, but red mucus stains around nose and eyes and sneezing. It's called prophylin staining and it is not blood. I still have a stash of "breakfast" powder baby food, such as peachy porridge. Oh, it was very popular with the rats. It's very high in calories and not all the baby food is suitable for rats. However it comes handy in many occasions: it's good for old rats who are very weak to chew, has no teeth, can't eat large amount, needed to be medicated with antibiotics (and usually you need non-dairy product based  mixer.) It can fit in syringe to bottle feed the rat if you have to. Handy!

Dog food is said to be better for the rats than cat food which has higher protein. Ideally a rat's diet should contain around 14% of protein. But if you can get a rat mix, then don't make your rat share his food with the dogs. Though dog chews are good for the rats too.
 

Treats, that's their favorite. They would rather have treats as their mains, so don't be fooled by their cute "Gimmi mooore, Pleeeaaze!" eyes and begging little paws. It is healthier if you can give them fresh fruits but my rats don't seems to be interested. They would rather have treat drops (Vitakraft do a wonderful range of flavors, not that I tried them) and they seems very popular with my rats. May be half or one drop per rat in a day, after dinner or may be as a reward for learning a new trick. You'll pleasantly be surprised that they will be very motivated and willing to show off their tricks! They enjoy nibbling on unshelled natural peanuts and sunflower seeds too  (oh, these fattening things!). 

Why not try making your own tasty low fat, low sugar, treat for them? All you need is a bit of wheat powder, pinch of salt and sugar, egg and crushed nuts. Mix them together and place small portions on a grease proof paper on a baking tray and bake it in a oven!
 
Drinks, well, water should be put in a water bottle and changed every day. Tap water is OK, but depends on where you live. I give my rats boiled-then-cooled water with vitamin drops. Fizzy water is a big NO, NO. Rats can't burp nor throw up if they are feeling bad in a stomach so such things are pretty lethal. (Though having said that, somebody I know suggested that her rat threw up when he was severely ill)

Do not give cow's milk to rats. Instead, try Soya milk, it's specially good for nursing mothers, weak baby and adult rats. If not get a kitten milk. The reason for this is because cow's milk has a high level of substance called lactose, which rats's stomach is not particularly designed to absorb well. Did you know that some humans have the same problem!
 

Top Tips: If you think your rat is very very lethargic and feels weak, you can suspect that he might be dehydrating (or just very sleepy). If you pinch the skin and it does not go back to the normal state quickly then yep, the rat is definitely dehydrating. This happens very often for the rats who are rescued from a snake tank. The rats who suffers from diarrhea also loses a lot of water. The rat might be too weak to eat anything. Try getting a non- flavoured, non-fizzy electrolyte powder to mix in a water. It's cheap and you can get it from a chemist. It shoudl replace the lost water quite swiftly.