# What fresh foods are your rats' favorites?



## ChloeJ (Sep 27, 2017)

Hello! I've been trying to purchase a ton of fruits, veggies, etc. to see what my two male rats enjoy most for treats. I know they can eat *basically* everything, so my difficulty hasn't been in finding food in general. I just would like to know some favorites. So far, this is what I've gotten for my rats likes/dislikes: Likes: banana, apple, lettuce, carrots, crickets, mealworms, pistachios Dislikes: blueberries


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## Ratologist (Nov 24, 2016)

Really, ours are not picky. Several years ago we had a pair of rats that had been kept previously by someone who always gave them sweet treats, and they were VERY picky. We're shocked by how much our current pair LOVE spinach, kale, carrots, and broccoli! They also really love chickpeas, mushrooms, and almonds. We only give nuts in the shell. So, they have to work to get them out. We try *not* to give them too many empty calorie foods, but we do sometimes give them rice puffs (especially when trying to teach them a trick) or pieces of tortilla chips. They don't really care for apples, but they will eat them. Usually they take the apple piece, go hide it, and come back hoping for something better.  My list could go on and on...


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Mine love spinach


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Baby spinach I might add. They aren't to keen on the regular one.


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## OscarandAxel (Dec 6, 2017)

One of mine loves spinach while the other loves grapes!


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## MischiefUK (Dec 12, 2017)

Mine absolutely adore coconut and sweetcorn! They also like blueberries, carrots, peas, rocket, avocado, the occasional grape, and courgettes if they're cooked. They HATE apple, no idea why, mine won't even touch the stuff. 

Mine also get other fresh foods since they don't get pellets. So in terms of carbs they love pasta (obviously) and couscous. They are kinda meh about quinoa, and they like rice as long as it's cooked correctly (they literally won't eat it if it's even slightly undercooked and they don't like it when I rinse it after it's cooked - such divas). Chicken and egg yolk are big hits. They've tried just about every single variety of nut, and pecans are definitely the favourite. Almonds are the least favourite, but they'll still eat them. 

But by far the most prized foods of all are yoghurt and coconut oil. Obviously I never feed those in large amounts but my rats go absolutely crazy for the stuff.


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## raqathta (Sep 16, 2015)

OscarandAxel said:


> One of mine loves spinach while the other loves grapes!


I've read that spinach isn't good for rats--forget whether raw or cooked is bad. Check it out.


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## ChloeJ (Sep 27, 2017)

raqathta said:


> OscarandAxel said:
> 
> 
> > One of mine loves spinach while the other loves grapes!
> ...


I’ve read that raw spinach gives rats gas. It’s not gonna kill them or anything, it’ll just give them some minor discomfort. Cooking the spinach is always recommended before feeding, but making the mistake of not doing it won’t do them much harm


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## Sarah-Marie (Dec 18, 2017)

My two boys love most vegetables and fruits I've given them, but are particularly keen on corn and peas! I keep a bag of each frozen and just run them under a little water to soften them a bit before they eat them. But they also really enjoy carrots, cucumber and zucchini, romaine lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower. Oh, and they go wild for bananas too! For treats they are obsessed with those rice puffs made for babies - right now I have blueberry flavour, but they haven't tried any other types yet.


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## Phoene (Dec 21, 2017)

Actually you are not supposed to feed rat spinach. Apparently "Due to the high levels of oxalates, spinach can cause urinary tract problems and stones in the bladder and kidneys."


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