# Can my rats eat this...



## hhannahh145 (Apr 27, 2012)

Hi guys,
My boys are usually on a nice varied diet with fruits, vegetables, muesli mix, cereals, oats, hemp seeds, dried seaweed, meal worms etc, I try to mix it up to keep it interesting.
I like to treat them, like I'm sure we all do, with the occassional chew or something like that.
Today I found some hamster seed and nut bars, I haven't given them yet because I wanted to check beforehand whether they're actually safe for rats.

The first contains:

Wheat,
Split Maize,
Pea,
Carrot

The second contains:

Wheat,
Maize, 
Split peas,
Sunflower seeds,
Peanuts

If anyone could let me know if these are safe that would be great,
Thanks


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## ChelseaMorning (Feb 28, 2012)

I thought dried corn was on the no-no list because of the possibility of fungal contamination. When I buy commercial chews for my girls, I usually get the ones for small and medium parrots rather than hamsters or gerbils. They tend to be less fatty and I can usually find ones without corn.


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## hhannahh145 (Apr 27, 2012)

**

okay thank you very much, I'll find something else for them


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

Take it easy with the mealworms too. They are high in protein and fat. Make them a special treat, like once a month or every other month. 

Dried seaweed...ooooo...something interesting! Must get some for my ratties!


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## hhannahh145 (Apr 27, 2012)

Will do, thank you for the advice. I got mine from ratwarehouse. It says to only use a tiny bit


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## BigBen (Nov 22, 2011)

You can give your rats any corn that is fit for human consumption. I'm told they can eat the shucks, cob, and stem, too. Makers of lab blocks put corn in their formulas, and that, too, is safe, because they go to great lengths to prevent carcinogens in their formulas. (Some of the commercial blends with corn in them _may _be safe, too, but how do you know for sure? _That's_ the problem.)


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