Can Pet Rats Eat Dog Food? (Are There Any Benefits In This Food?)

Can pet rats eat dog food?

Yes, your pet rat can easily and maybe even eagerly consume and digest your dog’s food. But it wouldn’t be a good, steady diet for the rat because rats and dogs have different nutritional needs, and dog food simply doesn’t deliver all the necessary nutrients for a healthy pet rat.

Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of keeping your pet rat happy with a healthy diet.

How are rats classified?

Creatures can be classified according to what they eat. Carnivores eat meat. Herbivores eat plants, fruits, roots, bulbs, and vegetables. Rats are classified as omnivores, which means that they are best served a diet featuring fresh fruits, vegetables, and small portions of meat.

An occasional dollop of dog food is okay, but dog food won’t suffice over a long period of time and a steady diet of the stuff can be downright dangerous.

What’s wrong with dog food?

Think about the size difference between even the smallest dog and a pet rat. Your pet rat’s tiny body simply can’t process the large quantities of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fat that are included in dog food. Rats only consume small amounts of meat, whereas meat is a major ingredient in dog food.

A dog food diet will give you an unhappy, morbidly obese, nutrition deficient pet rat. One of the biggest problems for pet rats is that they tend to easily become obese.

What’s a healthy diet for your pet rat?

Since your pet rat cant eat dog food, you’ll need some alternatives!

Rule No. 1 is that you must make sure that your pet rat has fresh water at all times.

As to the diet itself, your pet rat isn’t demanding. Here are the basics:

• Small portions of fruits and veggies. By weight, fruits and veggies should represent between 10% and 20% of your pet rat’s daily intake. Experts disagree on the exact percentage, so it’s best if you watch your rat to see what they like most and to make sure that you aren’t overfeeding them.
• The rest of the diet should be good quality rat cubes or rat pellets that you can get at your local pet store. Quality commercial rat food contains a healthy balance of protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals along with flavor enhancers. These pellets or cubes can make up the balance of your pet rat’s healthy diet.

Here are some excellent choices of common fruits and vegetables for your pet rat’s diet:

• Green Beans
• apples
• melons
• celery
• peas
• broccoli
• melons
• bananas
• parsley
• carrots
• small amounts of corn 

Rats enjoy these items raw or cooked. Remember to watch the amount of food that you’re feeding your rat. Read on to learn how little makes for a healthy diet.

How much food should you feed your pet rat each day?

The size of your pet rat will determine the appropriate amount of food you should provide, and it’s all measured by weight.

For every 3.22 ounces (100 grams) of your rat’s body weight, you should provide between .16 and .19 ounces (5 to 6 grams) of rat food every day. The average fully adult rat will require about .48 and .74 ounces (15-20 grams) of food daily.

You can see that 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce of food isn’t very much, so be careful when you are feeding your pet rat so that you don’t cause them to become obese. Remember that 20% of the diet for fruit and veggies means that you only feed your adult rat a mere .14 ounce (2 grams) of fruits and veggies. 

It is easy to accidentally overfeed your pet rat, which is bad for their health. Measure your servings, at least until you get enough experience to eyeball the weight.

What are good snacks for your pet rat?

It is okay to treat your pet rat with an occasional snack, as long as you keep it small and don’t do it too often. Remember that rats tend to get fat, which is bad for their health.

If you choose to give your rat a snack, here are some ideas from which you can choose:

• Unflavored rice
• cereals
• grains
• seeds
• bread
• biscuits
• cooked pasta

Always remember to include the weight of these occasional treats when measuring your pet rat’s daily intake.

When you consider snacks for your pet rat, try to mix them up to keep things interesting for your rat. They won’t like the same thing over and over any more than you would.

Food that you should never give to your pet rat

Rats are omnivores, which means that they’ll eat almost anything. That doesn’t mean that they should.

Here’s a partial list of foods that you should never feed to your pet rat:

• sticky foods like peanut butter because they can cause your rat to choke
• licorice because it can cause nerve damage
• green bananas because they harm your rat’s digestive system
• blue cheese
• orange juice
• mango
• peanuts
• Brussel sprouts
• avocado

Speak with your veterinarian about the best diet for your pet rat, and to learn more about foods that you should never provide. Also, remember to introduce changes to your pet rat’s diet slowly. Quick and radical changes can cause upset stomachs.

Summing Up

If you came to this post wondering: Can pet rats eat dog food? I hope you’ve found a satisfying answer. Pet rats are delightful, intelligent animals that are low-cost, low-maintenance, and clean companions. Their quirky personalities are entertaining, and they bond with and crave the attention of humans. Owning a pet rat carries with it the responsibility to provide it with a healthy diet.

Dog food is not a healthy diet for your pet rat because it doesn’t contain the necessary nutrients and is designed for a larger animal that features meat as a primary source of nutrition.

You can buy quality rat pellets or cubes that comprise about 80% of a rat’s diet at any pet store and many other stores that sell pet food. The other 20% of a pet rat’s diet consists of inexpensive and readily available common household fruits and vegetables. Best of all, pet rats don’t each much, consuming as little as 1/2 ounce to 3/4 ounce of food daily.

You should consult your veterinarian about the best diet and foods to avoid when feeding your pet rat.

References

https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-should-i-feed-my-pet-rat/

https://animals.mom.com/safe-fruits-veggies-fancy-rats-2025.html

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/looking-after-your-pet/small-pets/your-rat-s-diet