# Feeding question



## devioustearex (Sep 21, 2017)

Hello once again fellow Rat Forum goers. I am having a few questions about the diet for Penelope. I read about not serving her a mix of tons of goodies. So today I am off to buy a better rat food with only the cubes. For this morning I set out some more of the cubes that came in the mix I received and then added some green bell pepper, spinach and asparagus. Penelope is now food savvy and loves trying new foods! Regardless I am unsure what to feed her daily besides the cubes and how much of the dark greens she can have. I removed the mix after realizing she was avoiding the cubes. Then last night I placed just cubes and this morning one was gone. It worked! Any advice is appreciated.

Also what do you cook the foods that must be cooked in? Such as sweet potatoes, etc.

Update on Penelope. She is learning her name to the sweet taste of peanut butter and shredded cheddar cheese bits.


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

There are quite a few options for feeding your rats, with the two main methods being scatter feeding a good food mix or free-feeding a good lab block. There are benefits to both methods, but unless you know rat nutritional requirements and know how to effectively scatter feed (to prevent the rat(s) from picking out the "yummy" foods and ignoring the others), it's best to feed a quality lab block. 

The two best lab blocks out there are typically considered to be Oxbow adult rat food and harlan teklad. I've never fed harlan teklad, but my girls absolutely adore their Oxbow, and it's pretty much nutritionally complete. It is kinda expensive though, so the best way to get it is to order 20lb bags online. I usually just buy the 3lb ones from Petsmart as it takes my four girls a good while to even finish one, but buying online is definitely better financially.

You can't really feed a seed mix and lab blocks together, as rats are like young children in that they will pick and choose the fatty and sweet foods, and ignore the rest if allowed. I save any fatty or sweet foods for special training treats, and exclusively feed oxbow in the cage.


As for veggies, my rats usually get bits of whatever I'm eating. This can range from lettuce (too much will give them diarrhea, so be careful, cucumber (same thing as with lettuce), carrots, peppers, avocado (a rare and fatty treat, be sure not to give anything located near the pit as its poisonous), cantaloupe, bannana, apples, and even the occasional olive (these are high in sodium, so give them sparingly), strawberries, raspberries, and more.

At first you'll want to only give a small bit, as if the rat has never eaten veggies/fruits before too much to soon can cause indigestion and diarrhea. 

Otherwise, my rats also love diving for frozen peas/corn and get Cheerios and Gerber puffs as daily training treats. They also occasionally get hard boiled eggs, although his is a pretty rare treat due to its high protein content (but it's hilarious watching them open up the egg, so I really recommend trying this!). Meat baby food is another trick training treat I feed once or twice a week, but again this is high in protein so you don't want to overdo it.


Try not to overdo the dairy, as despite our association of rats and cheese rats are actually a bit lactose intolerant. A bit of yogurt or cheese won't hurt them, but too much can cause indigestion. Yogies are pretty much the most junkie treats out here, and I had a girl who was mildly allergic to them so I tend to avoid them (as well as other commercial treats).

Be careful with peanut butter and other sticky treats, as even if you water them down there's a chance that they could cause choking in your rat, mainly due to the fact that rats do not have a gag reflex and lack the muscles to gag at all (hence why "pseudo" choking rats bob their heads forwards and backwards to expel or swallow the food). I stay away from peanut butter due to this, and due to the fact that it's very fatty (like peanuts, which my rats unfortunantly love!). Most nuts are fatty in general, so while I occasionally give almonds or walnuts to my girls, it isn't a common treat.


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## devioustearex (Sep 21, 2017)

Thank you for the response! She sadly loves peanuts. I?ll limit the amount I give her and I?ll make sure it is almost in a liquid form. More like peanut flavored water. How much do you feed? She is still quite young and right now is smaller than my palm. I gave her one leaf on spinach and she gobbled it up. How much serving size would you suggest for her since she is young? That?s where I am confused. I don?t want to feed her too much fresh veggies and cause her to have a problem nutrition wise. I keep the blocks in the cage at all times but fresh food wise I just don?t know how much.


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## charlypie (May 15, 2017)

Shadow already gave you great info, I don't have much to add. I also feed oxbow and I'm very happy with it, I buy the big bags from drs foster and Smith and it lasts around 5 months with 4 rats. I also just feed them a little of whatever I'm eating for fruits and veggies, I wouldn't feed fruits and veggies more than a few times a week though. I give them meat too, and occasionally fun things like chicken bones and the corn cob after we eat corn. I also keep cheerios, oatmeal, and uncooked pasta around for treats. I don't feed bread or pretzels because I've had rats choke on both.


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## Basiltheplant (Jan 2, 2017)

charlypie said:


> Shadow already gave you great info, I don't have much to add. I also feed oxbow and I'm very happy with it, I buy the big bags from drs foster and Smith and it lasts around 5 months with 4 rats. I also just feed them a little of whatever I'm eating for fruits and veggies, I wouldn't feed fruits and veggies more than a few times a week though. I give them meat too, and occasionally fun things like chicken bones and the corn cob after we eat corn. I also keep cheerios, oatmeal, and uncooked pasta around for treats. I don't feed bread or pretzels because I've had rats choke on both.


How much of the Oxbow are you giving your rats each day that the big bag can last you 5 months with 4 rats?
I too use the big bag of Oxbow, and with 7 rats it lasts me 1.5 months. I feed them 3 ounces twice a day which seems to be the perfect amount for my little buggers, so you may be able to sense where my confusion is coming from.
Unless there is even a bigger bag than the pound bag that I have not been informed of... or if my rats are just all greedy little food goblins


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Basiltheplant said:


> I too use the big bag of Oxbow, and with 7 rats it lasts me 1.5 months. I feed them 3 ounces twice a day which seems to be the perfect amount for my little buggers, so you may be able to sense where my confusion is coming from.


When I used the 20 lb. bags of Oxbow, it would also last me just about exactly 5 months for four boys, as well. I think around a pound of food per month per rat is fairly average but some larger rats will eat up to two pounds per month. It sounds like your rats average a little over a pound and a half per month so it's not really that big of a difference.


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## charlypie (May 15, 2017)

I actually just keep a gravity feeder (the kind you'd see marketed for rabbits and guinea pigs) full in the cage. That's just how much they decide to eat, which ends up being 1 pound a month per rat. I'm sure it's not exact, I have one really big boy, one small one, and two who fall in between, but they average out I guess.


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## Basiltheplant (Jan 2, 2017)

charlypie said:


> I actually just keep a gravity feeder (the kind you'd see marketed for rabbits and guinea pigs) full in the cage. That's just how much they decide to eat, which ends up being 1 pound a month per rat. I'm sure it's not exact, I have one really big boy, one small one, and two who fall in between, but they average out I guess.


I have 1 lazy senior rat, 1 active year old rat, 1 lazy 10 month old, and 4 very active 10 month olds
So I assume the general activity level of the cage could deeply affect the average food intake


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

devioustearex said:


> Hello once again fellow Rat Forum goers. I am having a few questions about the diet for Penelope. I read about not serving her a mix of tons of goodies. So today I am off to buy a better rat food with only the cubes. For this morning I set out some more of the cubes that came in the mix I received and then added some green bell pepper, spinach and asparagus. Penelope is now food savvy and loves trying new foods! Regardless I am unsure what to feed her daily besides the cubes and how much of the dark greens she can have. I removed the mix after realizing she was avoiding the cubes. Then last night I placed just cubes and this morning one was gone. It worked! Any advice is appreciated.
> 
> Also what do you cook the foods that must be cooked in? Such as sweet potatoes, etc.
> 
> Update on Penelope. She is learning her name to the sweet taste of peanut butter and shredded cheddar cheese bits.


In addition to a complete lab block (Oxbow, Harlan) you can feed a small mix of fresh vegetables daily. I free-feed lab blocks because rats need to eat very frequently and it keeps them from acting food-obsessed.

I recommend dicing things like broccoli/green beans/kale/chollards/spinach and shredding things like zucchini, carrots, and apple. 

You can even get fancy and simmer it all in a pot with some bone broth and a touch of coconut oil, then freeze them in ice cube trays. You want to add it when it starts boiling and then turn it down to a simmer for 10 minutes. Other things to add in the pot: turmeric, spirulina, garlic powder, cinnamon, kelp powder, parsley, peas, green beans, baked+mashed sweet potato/squash. Takes a bit of extra work, but it's a great daily treat for the rats and you can make a big batch that will last forever.


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## devioustearex (Sep 21, 2017)

I will definitely do this! This way I always have something for them and don't have to worry about what I can hurry and fix up in the morning.


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## Twichard (Aug 5, 2017)

Hi i use selective science feed for my rats its a complete feed i also give my 3 girl's fresh vegetables but they will not eat meat will this do them any harm as i now plenty of members feed meat they're in very good condition but will the lack of meat show in later life


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Twichard said:


> Hi i use selective science feed for my rats its a complete feed i also give my 3 girl's fresh vegetables but they will not eat meat will this do them any harm as i now plenty of members feed meat they're in very good condition but will the lack of meat show in later life


I don't feed extra meat to my rats, all their protein mainly comes from their lab block. I do occasionally feed some meat baby food, but that's really a treat, and not necessary.


Your girls will be just fine, but if your worried about protein, you can always give them some cooked beans or scrambled/boiled egg. I wouldn't worry though.


Rats are omnivorous like us, so while they can eat meat, its not necessary for their survival.


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

Twichard said:


> Hi i use selective science feed for my rats its a complete feed i also give my 3 girl's fresh vegetables but they will not eat meat will this do them any harm as i now plenty of members feed meat they're in very good condition but will the lack of meat show in later life


To be honest while protein is generally recommended (and I do it just to be safe) as long as your rats' protein isn't lower than 14% then you will probably be fine. There are plenty of knowledgeable owners who don't supplement protein and their rats grow up to be healthy. My first rats I gave normal 14% protein rat food without knowing about the whole protein recommendation at all and they grew to a normal size and weren't sickly by any means. I have not personally noticed a difference between my protein supplemented babies and my first rats (total anecdote btw). Just keep young rats between 14% and 22% protein and adjust the amount if you notice that their condition is less than optimal. Protein is most important for pregnant and lactating females, but I've seen conflicting information about the protein requirements of weaned rats. However, I have noticed that the recommendation seems to fall between that 14% and 22% range, usually at both extreme. I personally try to stay on the lower end of that range (I do accidentally give them too much fish from time to time, I have rat portioning issues). If you want to give them protein and they won't eat animal protein then you can try to give them other high protein items like quinoa, pumpkin seeds, peas, cooked beans, or nuts. Don't stress too much over it, though.


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## Twichard (Aug 5, 2017)

Thanks for you're reply the feed im giving has 14%protein i have also been giving them fruit and small bits of fresh pumpkin as its in the store's just now with Halloween on its way thanks again twichard


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## Pangaea (Oct 2, 2017)

When I give my rats romaine heart lettuce I shred it but that's probably more for me than them (although I think they're more likely to eat it when it's in quarter size pieces than a whole leaf). Personally I avoid spinach because I've read that it's not good for rats. 

Other than that I like to occasionally give them frozen peas, carrots, gerber puffs, and fruit if I'm eating it. The gerber puffs, I like to break them into 5-7 pieces (about half a pea) when I'm playing with my rats. Overall they probably don't get more than 1 puff total during play time. When I give them fruit I cut it about dime size or smaller depending on how much I'm giving them. For a really special treat I will give them freeze dried yogurt drops, again about half the size of a pea. I might be conservative in how much I give them (the vets have told me my rats are the skinniest they've ever seen, but still extremely healthy).

For more food ideas, this is a great source: https://pethelpful.com/rodents/Rat-Nutritional-Information-Can-my-Pet-Rat-Eat-This


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

Just a few additions:
1. I only feed my rats a mix and first they picked out the best ones and left some but they never left much and I only fill their bowl up when it?s empty so they started eating all of it and it has worked perfectly ever since. So of course you don?t have to feed a mix but if the pickiness is the only reason not to and it is maybe cheaper or easier to come by then don?t worry your rats will get used to it.
2. Don?t feed your rats avocado it?s really bad for them!
3. Also be careful with lettuce and the like. Only feed it sparingly and in very small portions as it has a very low nutritional value but fills them up a lot so they won?t eat the food with the important nutrients which leads to weight loss and other health problems!


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

theratmom said:


> 2. Don?t feed your rats avocado it?s really bad for them!


It's true that feeding rats avocado skins or pits over time will have negative health effects. If a rat nibbles on an avocado skin once or twice, it's probably not going to have any affect on them, though.

The avocado flesh itself is just fine for rats in moderation but avoid giving them the pit or skin. My rats love it when I give them a little bit of avocado as a treat.


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> theratmom said:
> 
> 
> > 2. Don?t feed your rats avocado it?s really bad for them!
> ...


I actually meant the flesh. Even the flesh far from the stone contains persin. Persin is a fungicidal toxin present in the avocado. It is considered generally harmless to humans, but when consumed by domestic animals in large quantities it is dangerous. The symptoms include increased heart rate, labored breathing, unrest, weakness, and apathy. High doses cause acute respiratory syndrome (asphyxia), with death approximately 12 to 24 hours after consumption. I know that many rat owners feed their rats avocado but you?re doing them more harm than good. Although small portions probably won?t cause the aforementioned symptoms they can still lead to stomach pain and diarrhea in rats. Also it is easy to get the portioning wrong especially when you Pitt it in their cage because you don?t know how much each rat will eat. Even if many rat owners feed their rats avocado and their rats are still healthy in my opinion it is not worth the risk.


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## Asiposea (Dec 16, 2016)

theratmom said:


> I actually meant the flesh. Even the flesh far from the stone contains persin. Persin is a fungicidal toxin present in the avocado. It is considered generally harmless to humans, but when consumed by domestic animals in large quantities it is dangerous. The symptoms include increased heart rate, labored breathing, unrest, weakness, and apathy. High doses cause acute respiratory syndrome (asphyxia), with death approximately 12 to 24 hours after consumption. I know that many rat owners feed their rats avocado but you?re doing them more harm than good. Although small portions probably won?t cause the aforementioned symptoms they can still lead to stomach pain and diarrhea in rats. Also it is easy to get the portioning wrong especially when you Pitt it in their cage because you don?t know how much each rat will eat. Even if many rat owners feed their rats avocado and their rats are still healthy in my opinion it is not worth the risk.


Have you found any scientific articles regarding persin and rats specifically that you can share here? From what I'm seeing, certain animals, like birds, may be more susceptible, but I'm not seeing much on rodents.


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

I?m from Germany and there it?s like ?never feed your rats avocado omg?!?? in every rat forum or blog or anything else to do with rats. (Btw yes birds are much more sensitive to persin than rats [I think they can even die from eating avocado] but I believe that is mostly due to their light weight..) When I replied to this thread I actually looked for articles I could add some links to but I only found very little. I could send you tons of German links but that probably wouldn?t be much help. I?m looking for a few English ones though give me a minute! (I see many differences between German and American rat knowledge for example in English articles and so on you always read to not give them dried corn where in Germany people always feed them dried corn and even recommend it)


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

So I found two links which are medium- level convincing at best but there really aren?t any good English links I?m afraid and I?m not really in the mood to spend hours researching it... I know that looks bad but you?ll just have to believe me that I don?t say it?s bad for rats to rain on everyone?s parade but because I care for the rats health... anyway here are the links

https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Dangerous-foods-that-can-sicken-or-kill-your-dog-cat-or-other-pet

https://www.paleohacks.com/avocado-toxicity/avocado-toxicity-31454 (you have to read the first comment)


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

theratmom said:


> So I found two links which are medium- level convincing at best but there really aren?t any good English links I?m afraid and I?m not really in the mood to spend hours researching it... I know that looks bad but you?ll just have to believe me that I don?t say it?s bad for rats to rain on everyone?s parade but because I care for the rats health... anyway here are the links
> 
> https://pethelpful.com/dogs/Dangerous-foods-that-can-sicken-or-kill-your-dog-cat-or-other-pet
> 
> https://www.paleohacks.com/avocado-toxicity/avocado-toxicity-31454 (you have to read the first comment)


It's definitely true that avocado can be toxic to rats, only the meat furthest from the skin can be eaten by rats. The persin that is mentioned is present in the skin, pit, leaves and bark of an avocado, but the meat inside is safe as long as it's far from the skin. Anything else from the avocado should not be given to them.


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

Coffeebean said:


> It's definitely true that avocado can be toxic to rats, only the meat furthest from the skin can be eaten by rats. The persin that is mentioned is present in the skin, pit, leaves and bark of an avocado, but the meat inside is safe as long as it's far from the skin. Anything else from the avocado should not be given to them.


I think the persin can be in the flesh as well because the farther you move from the skin the nearer you get to the stone and the persin can ?seep? into the flesh from both the stone and the skin... also the less ripe the fruit is the more persin it has


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

theratmom said:


> I think the persin can be in the flesh as well because the farther you move from the skin the nearer you get to the stone and the persin can ?seep? into the flesh from both the stone and the skin... also the less ripe the fruit is the more persin it has


I've been looking but I haven't been able to find any sources that suggest a measurable amount of persin in the meat (besides the meat that's in contact with the pit or rind) but every piece of literature I've found has stated that everything but the meat contains toxic doses of persin to most animals. I couldn't find anything specific to rats except that wild roof rats in particular love to eat avocados and occasionally norway rats and opossums, etc. There was an anecdote from someone panicking that their rats had eaten almost the whole fruit including the toxic parts, but nothing apparently came of it. From what I've gathered, the amount of persin in the meat is negligible, that the highest concentrations are in the pit, leaves, and stems. Apparently the skin itself doesn't contain that much persin in the first place, but enough to be toxic to birds, though not to dogs. Something interesting I've found are the claims that only the Guatemalan variety of avocado is toxic._"Dr. Art Craigmill, UC Davis, Professor and Extension Specialist in Environmental Toxicology has said that his studies and other research in the United States and Australia have shown that the problem of toxicity is in the leaves and the pit of the Guatemalan variety; the avocado meat of the fruit and oils have not been shown to be toxic." _From what I've found, avocado isn't likely to hurt rats if the meat attached to the rind and pit is discarded because everywhere I've looked there hasn't been mention of any notable amount of persin in the meat. I think that there's nothing wrong with being careful and avoiding avocado altogether, but I know that it has been useful for many rat owners when they need to fatten up a sick or old rat, and I haven't been able to find anyone who has poisoned their rat from it. If you know of a source that will show evidence of a measurable amount of persin in the meat of avocados then please feel free to share it, I'm having trouble finding much information on avocados in general that doesn't come from popular health sites (which I have always found to be either vague or biased).


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

Coffeebean said:


> I've been looking but I haven't been able to find any sources that suggest a measurable amount of persin in the meat (besides the meat that's in contact with the pit or rind) but every piece of literature I've found has stated that everything but the meat contains toxic doses of persin to most animals. I couldn't find anything specific to rats except that wild roof rats in particular love to eat avocados and occasionally norway rats and opossums, etc. There was an anecdote from someone panicking that their rats had eaten almost the whole fruit including the toxic parts, but nothing apparently came of it. From what I've gathered, the amount of persin in the meat is negligible, that the highest concentrations are in the pit, leaves, and stems. Apparently the skin itself doesn't contain that much persin in the first place, but enough to be toxic to birds, though not to dogs. Something interesting I've found are the claims that only the Guatemalan variety of avocado is toxic._"Dr. Art Craigmill, UC Davis, Professor and Extension Specialist in Environmental Toxicology has said that his studies and other research in the United States and Australia have shown that the problem of toxicity is in the leaves and the pit of the Guatemalan variety; the avocado meat of the fruit and oils have not been shown to be toxic." _From what I've found, avocado isn't likely to hurt rats if the meat attached to the rind and pit is discarded because everywhere I've looked there hasn't been mention of any notable amount of persin in the meat. I think that there's nothing wrong with being careful and avoiding avocado altogether, but I know that it has been useful for many rat owners when they need to fatten up a sick or old rat, and I haven't been able to find anyone who has poisoned their rat from it. If you know of a source that will show evidence of a measurable amount of persin in the meat of avocados then please feel free to share it, I'm having trouble finding much information on avocados in general that doesn't come from popular health sites (which I have always found to be either vague or biased).


I?m definitely no rat diet professional and have had my rats for just a few weeks now. All I know is that in all the german rat books I read and in all german rat forums avocado is listed as toxic so I just blindly repeated what I read cause I didn?t think that avocado would only be toxic in Germany . But apparently the opinions are very different on the topic. Some say it?s toxic for dogs others say that?s nonsense. Some say only some kinds of avocado are toxic and so on.. so maybe just give your rats small pieces, watch how they are feeling, then increase the amount in small steps and let your rats anwer the question .


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

theratmom said:


> I?m definitely no rat diet professional and have had my rats for just a few weeks now. All I know is that in all the german rat books I read and in all german rat forums avocado is listed as toxic so I just blindly repeated what I read cause I didn?t think that avocado would only be toxic in Germany . But apparently the opinions are very different on the topic. Some say it?s toxic for dogs others say that?s nonsense. Some say only some kinds of avocado are toxic and so on.. so maybe just give your rats small pieces, watch how they are feeling, then increase the amount in small steps and let your rats anwer the question .


I should note that ironically I don't give my rats avocado, I've always been leery about persin in the meat myself, or I just don't trust myself to portion the "safe" meat properly from the meat that's nearest the rind or pit. I have always used other foods which lend themselves to the same purpose as avocado, I always used oatmeal soaked with Ensure for putting weight on a rat when I needed to. I know that avocado is most likely very safe, but I'm liable to mess anything up. ;D


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

From what I was able to find on the subject, most sources say that birds are the most susceptible to toxic effects of the persin in avocado (but apparently not all varieties of avocado have measurable levels of persin). My coworker is a bird owner so I asked him what he knows about it. He just kinda rolled his eyes at the subject. Apparently there's a lot of debate about this in bird circles as well.

Most of the studies I was able to find focused on the effects of the consumption of large quantities of the leaves, skins, or seeds of the avocado. One study (_Inclusion of avocado (Persea americana) seeds in the diet to improve carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in rats_) actually found health benefits for rats who were fed ground up avocado seeds in their food for several weeks. Being that the effects were only measured over the course of 4 weeks, this study doesn't do much to inform us on the long-term effects of persin ingestion but it definitely suggests that avocado isn't going to cause any immediate harm.

I appreciate you bringing this subject up, theratmom. It's all a bunch of stuff I hadn't researched before. I think there's enough there to definitely approach the thought of feeding rats avocado with a bit of caution. I'll still probably let my boys have a nibble of avocado every once in a while but I don't think I'll be telling others that it's a 100% safe food.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Anything can be toxic if you eat too much of it. Most of whats listed in that article is also toxic to people if consumed in large enough quantities. I don't think it means you should avoid these like the plague, you should just be careful. And alot of whats listed is common sense. You wouldn't eat the stone of an apricot, so don't feed it to your animal.

Even if there is a small amount of toxins in the flesh of avocados, I highly doubt it would be enough to harm a rat. Unless you are feeding your rats an entire avocado every day, I don't think you have anything to worry about .

People just see the word "toxin" and blow it all out of proportion. There are toxins in everything.


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Fu-Inle said:


> Anything can be toxic if you eat too much of it. Most of whats listed in that article is also toxic to people if consumed in large enough quantities. I don't think it means you should avoid these like the plague, you should just be careful. And alot of whats listed is common sense. You wouldn't eat the stone of an apricot, so don't feed it to your animal.
> 
> Even if there is a small amount of toxins in the flesh of avocados, I highly doubt it would be enough to harm a rat. Unless you are feeding your rats an entire avocado every day, I don't think you have anything to worry about .
> 
> People just see the word "toxin" and blow it all out of proportion. There are toxins in everything.



Completely agree with this. After all, something like garlic (which is known to have antibiotic properties in small doses) is overall pretty "toxic", yet we can consume small amounts of it with no ill effect. I usually follow the rule of "if its bad for me, its bad for the rats". In most cases, you just need to scale down the doses and it effects the rats just like it does humans.

I remember a while back I read somewhere that caffeine is toxic for rats, but I can say that my rats have gotten into my coffee/tea many times and consumed small amounts with no ill effects. Its all in the dose size, after all, we can consume very small amounts of arsenic without issue, but above a certain amount its considered one of the most potent poison out there. Same thing with stuff like apple seeds, while they do contain trace amounts of cyanide they won't harm you because the dosage is just too low.


I've fed my rats avocado meat before and never seen any adverse issues, but of course the rats never get more than a pawful or so, and its always a rare treat. I'd assume that a small amount won't harm them, beyond perhaps fattening them up a bit.


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## theratmom (Oct 6, 2017)

Fu-Inle said:


> Anything can be toxic if you eat too much of it. Most of whats listed in that article is also toxic to people if consumed in large enough quantities. I don't think it means you should avoid these like the plague, you should just be careful. And alot of whats listed is common sense. You wouldn't eat the stone of an apricot, so don't feed it to your animal.
> 
> Even if there is a small amount of toxins in the flesh of avocados, I highly doubt it would be enough to harm a rat. Unless you are feeding your rats an entire avocado every day, I don't think you have anything to worry about .
> 
> People just see the word "toxin" and blow it all out of proportion. There are toxins in everything.


Although you are right that just because there is a toxin in something it doesn?t mean it will harm you but have to keep in mind that a rat weighs a lot less than you and has a very fast metabolism so although something may not contain enough toxins to harm a human it can still harm your rat. For example you would have to eat tons of apple seeds for them to harm you but a rat can be harmed by much less. So maybe it?s not the case for the avocado but that doesn?t mean it automatically is true for everything that you can eat. You still have to be more careful what you feed your rat than what you put into your own mouth.


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