# How much must a rat eat per day?



## Arashi (Feb 4, 2012)

I would like to know how much food a rat must eat daily to keep healthy.

The truth is, I just feed my rats whatever I have at hand (I get information on whether the food is safe before I feed them). I usually give them vegetables and fruits and occasionally boiled eggs, bread and crackers. Rats aren't a common pet here, so I haven't been able to find "rat food". They were fed chicken feed in the store I bought them from, as well as some kind of fruit which I'm unsure of the name (some form of gourd if I'm not mistaken).

Thank you in advance.

I just want my rats to be healthy and happy. I do my best.


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## Arashi (Feb 4, 2012)

I've heard from some members that they have to leave their rats at home for most of the day.

If you're out for most of the day, how much food do you leave for your rats?

I have no transport of my own and I need to leave my rats alone for some hours, I'd like to know how much food I have to leave to keep them comfortable.

I just want to make sure so I can leave them without worrying


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

Lab blocks or something heartily endorced like Suebee's rat mix recipe http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html would give me the greatest peace of mind. Before that, my rats used to get fresh food and large parrot seed (sunflower seeds, corn, some others I didn't recognise). It seems retrospectively that might not be the best for them but the rats that lived on it never had any problems (I am in Aus though so maybe we don't have the same problems with corn)


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## Afwife83 (Mar 28, 2012)

I would say you need to buy rat food onlline and have it shipped. Find a store that ships internationally. You can also make your own, like Suebee's rat mix.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I am sure in Malaysia they won't have all the ingredients for Suebee's...even in Canada we cannot make it properly.

Do you have any block foods at all for hamsters or mice or rats in the pet stores? Feeding them human food here and there can lead to a malnourished rat with health issues...there's many vitamins and minerals they need that they might not be getting enough of.

I free-feed my rats since I work and leave their bowls (or stashes) with food in them.


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## Arashi (Feb 4, 2012)

@1a1a: I would gladly give them lab blocks, however I'm unable to find any here, and I probably won't have much luck. The best I could do is check out the mix, and feed them as best as I can what is in it.

@Afwife83: I should probably do that, the only problem is that it might be a little harsh on my wallet for the moment. So the convenient thing for me is fruits and vegetables for my rats.

@lilspaz68: I'm not sure if I've seen any food blocks for hamsters, but it won't hurt to take another look. I've tried giving them a seed mix for hamsters (on the bag it said that it was suitable for rats as well), but they didn't really touch it, except for the sunflower seeds.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Arashi said:


> @1a1a: I would gladly give them lab blocks, however I'm unable to find any here, and I probably won't have much luck. The best I could do is check out the mix, and feed them as best as I can what is in it.
> 
> @Afwife83: I should probably do that, the only problem is that it might be a little harsh on my wallet for the moment. So the convenient thing for me is fruits and vegetables for my rats.
> 
> @lilspaz68: I'm not sure if I've seen any food blocks for hamsters, but it won't hurt to take another look. I've tried giving them a seed mix for hamsters (on the bag it said that it was suitable for rats as well), but they didn't really touch it, except for the sunflower seeds.


Yeah unfortunately a seed mix is very very unbalanced as they pick and choose what they want to eat but even then seeds are high in fats, sodium and proteins which is also not good. Can you get us brand names and stuff and we can help you research a better diet?

Or even google Suebee's Mix and see if you would have the ingredients locally?


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## Arashi (Feb 4, 2012)

lilspaz68 said:


> Yeah unfortunately a seed mix is very very unbalanced as they pick and choose what they want to eat but even then seeds are high in fats, sodium and proteins which is also not good. Can you get us brand names and stuff and we can help you research a better diet?
> 
> Or even google Suebee's Mix and see if you would have the ingredients locally?


Sure, I'd be happy to. Thanks!

I'll google Suebee's Mix and check out the ingredients at the moment.


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