# How much food can rats eat in a day?



## sim 🌱 (Jan 11, 2021)

Hi!
I am about too get rats and i’m wondering how much food they can eat a day.
For instance how many grams for:
-breakfast 
-dinner
-treats (normal human food)

Thank you


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## PilkkuVilkku (Jan 7, 2021)

I’m a beginner too but for treats in the beginnging there is no limit, you want your ratties to learn to trust you and the best way to a rats heart is trough their tummy! I give them a treat about every time I walk past or they just look cute. When they start to trust you, you can cut back on treats a little. The daily amout for a rat is about 15-30grams of their dry food a day. And then fresh food. I have their basic pellets availabe for them at all times in the cage


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

I always limit treats, even in the beginning. For treats, I usually break Cheerios into 3 or 4 pieces- so I can give them treats frequently while not giving too much of the treat itself.
When my rats get a bit older, I free feed them, (have food available all the time) but for babies I fill their food bowl each morning. 
I give fresh fruits and veggies every night, about as much as the rats can eat in 10-20 minutes. (depending on how much they eat)


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## a1phanine (Mar 27, 2018)

I just make sure they always have some main food available.
They don't overeat there boring normal ones


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

I found that the avg rat eats two tablespoons (~28 grams) and can maintain a normal weight. This works for my rats but may vary for others. When they were babies they got 3 tbsp for two rats and veggies.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Different rats will eat different amounts of food and the amount a rat eats will vary over the course of their lives. Generally, rats eat a total of around 15 to 25 grams of food per day, each. If you're choosing to portion out their food, I'd suggest starting by giving them a total of around 17-18 grams a day and then pay close attention to how long the food is lasting them and be sure to weigh them regularly to ensure they're gaining, losing, or maintaining their weight appropriately. You'd want to adjust how much you're giving daily depending on these factors. 

As for proportions, I do around 70% primary diet and 30% vegetables/fresh/wet food. As for treats, I keep it to a minimum. I might give them 1 baby puff a day or let them have a quick nibble of whatever I'm eating. 

The Isamu Rat Care youtube channel has a great playlist called ["Feeding Rats"] that has loads of information about diet and weight.


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