# Poppy seeds! Really worried...



## ratsintophats (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi everyone,Just panicking a bit, my partner fed our pet rat a small piece of cracker (about the size of a fingernail) and when I read the box I saw that it had poppy seeds in it...it was listed as the last ingredient but I am still really really worried after looking up its effects on rats...has anybody had similar experiences? If so, what happened?Thanks in advance!


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

This is a list of poisonious things for rats made from a vet and person who has owned over 300 rats http://ratfanclub.org/plants.html


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## gotchea (May 4, 2013)

That is a good thing to have handy... Thank you Mitsy!


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## ratmode (May 15, 2014)

Don't worry: the amount of poppy seeds in that cracker is not enough to harm your rat.

I made a thread on this a while ago, but in a nutshell, the reason why poppyseeds in LARGE quantities can be toxic to rats is because they are from poppies, which produce opium, and the way they are released from the pods causes them to be coated in a non-zero amount of morphine, thebaine, codeine, etc.

So, if your rat eats a lot of poppyseeds, he could develop acute morphine toxicity. I have given my rats foods containing poppyseeds before with no ill effects whatsoever. The thing to avoid is large amounts of poppyseeds by themselves. A food containing a small amount of it will be fine. Think about it this way: the amount of poppyseeds that's toxic to a rat is the same amount that would be toxic to YOU, adjusted for weight. So if you can eat the crackers all day, your rat can DEFINITELY eat one.


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## ratsintophats (Jun 28, 2014)

Thanks a lot, we both had a restless night, kept checking on all of them! They are running around as usual now so I hope that means we have an all clear =D


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## Jackie (Jan 31, 2013)

I have heard of rats dying from a poppy seed muffin, but that's obviously more than 1 poppy seed, they're everywhere in those things! Glad they're doing well, doesn't sound like there could have been much in the cracker and it was a tiny piece.


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