In their natural habitat rats will scavenge for their food and will eat almost anything. Rats are omnivores and need protein to keep them in good condition.

What to feed your rat

Rats need feeding once a day, every day. A good quality, heavy, earthenware food bowl is essential to keep the food dry and clean, and prevent the rat from tipping the food on to the floor of the cage. Their bowls must be cleaned after every use.

Rats need a good quality rat mix that does not contain nuts or seeds as these can cause spots and skin problems. Too much green food will cause diarrhea. If you feed your rat human food, remember to avoid foods that are high in calories, sugary or contain too much fat or dairy.

REGGIE RAT FOOD

Reggie Rat is a complete diet which means that all the nutrients your rat requires are in one handy bag. Reggie Rat has been formulated to keep rats fit and healthy. It contains protein (for growth), carbohydrates (for energy) and vitamins and minerals (to keep teeth and bones strong). Feed the recommended daily amount for your rat, to avoid over-feeding, selective feeding or obesity. You must check where your rat hoards food and remove any old and stale food from those areas.

Rats teeth grow continuously so they need to gnaw hard material to prevent them from becoming overgrown. Special wood gnaws can be purchased from pet shops to encourage gnawing; also apple wood, seed sticks such as Apple and Cranberry Stickle Treats, and crunchy biscuits, dog biscuits or Reggie Rat Cheese n Crackers Treats are ideal.

TREATS

Treats are so called because thats just what they should be a treat. If fed correctly they are not detrimental to a rat and they will love them. However, treats are designed to be an extremely small element of the animals diet, and overfeeding may lead to health problems such as obesity, dental problems and heart disease.

Some natural treats you can give your rat include cooked chicken, scrambled or boiled egg, carrot, broccoli, cabbage, beans, parsley, banana, grapes, swede, peas and apple.

Supreme Petfoods also provides a range of natural treats for your rat, made from high quality ingredients. Find out which is your rats favourite.

Reggie Rat Cheese n Crackers

A tasty mix of crunchy crackers, bursting with cheesy flavor that rats love. A pleasurable treat that is both wholesome and fun and helps wear down a rats teeth. (Contains no dairy - so there is no need to worry about digestive upset.)

Frankie Ferret Straw-nilla Treats

Succulent, semi-moist treats bursting with strawberry and vanilla flavors that your rat will really enjoy.

Root n Fruit Treats

Scrumptious bars bursting with natural goodness and energy. Each bar is packed with plump raisins mixed with crispy carrot and tasty apple pieces bound to make your rat feel special.

Supreme Petfoods also provides a range of tempting Stickle Treats. Each stickle is bursting with a blend of delicious ingredients all baked on to a special holder for easy handling.

Popcorn n Carrot Stickle Treats (rats really love this one!)
Sweetcorn n Honey Stickle Treats
Wild Fruit n Nut Stickle Treats
Banana n Honey Stickle Treats
Apple n Cranberry Stickle Treats (good for his teeth!)

Go on spoil your rat (but not TOO much!).

Changing your rats diet

If you are not feeding Reggie Rat food at present but would like to try it, you must introduce it gradually into your rats diet. Mix about one quarter of the new food with three quarters of the old food on the first day and then gradually increase the new food and decrease the old food over a 10-day period. This should make sure that your rat has no tummy upsets.

Selective feeding

You should try to ensure that your rat eats all his food from a very young age by carefully calculating the daily requirement. However, if you notice that your rat tends to leave some of the ingredients in coarse mixes, reduce the amount you give him until he is eating all of it. Then slowly increase the amount again to the recommended daily allowance.

Ensure there is fresh drinking water available at all times.

Drinking Bottle

The best way to provide fresh drinking water is to use a gravity-fed water bottle, attached to the front of the cage. Use one of the large ballpoint bottles to prevent dripping and ensure a constant supply is available. Water bowls are not suitable as they are easily tipped over and can get contaminated.