What kinds of "human" food do you feed your ratties?

[~Lilly's mama~]

I don't know why, but I'm scared to feed my rats human food.  I'm afraid they'll get sick or something, lol.  

So, what do you feed them?  

[Kitwo Coyote]

Wel, every once in a while, I feed my rattie some strange things such as Cinnimon Toast Crunch, a bit of a Rolo, and sme tortillas. =P

[SADCAT]

Well rats can eat practically everything we can... so I usually let my ratties eat just about any leftovers I have. I don't tend to give them anything greasy or covered in sauce (unless it's like soy sauce or cheese sauce or something simple like that), and I won't give them anything too salty, too spicy or too sugary. Use your best judgement, you can usually tell by the look of something if it's going to upset a ratty's stomach. I know there are some websites out there that list foods that are unsafe for ratties, but I don't have the URLs handy. Anybody else have a link?

[amymckee]

I always give them a tiny pice of any bread products I am eating. I also give them the occasional taste of ice cream. They have had teriyaki chicken, pizza, spaghetti and mexican food, but definitely not on a regular basis. (About once a month.) They get oatmeal pretty often.

[RatStalker]

Mine get people food all the time.  It's part of their staple diet of dog food, lab blocks, etc.  I mix dry pasta in it, unsweetened cereals, banana chips and oatmeal.

3 times  a week they get stuff like carrots, apple, seedless grapes & other fruits, cottage cheese, yogurt, wheat germ, tofu, crumbled Nutri Grain bars, spaghetti, chicken, cheese, scrambled eggs, bits of toast with jam, ... all kinds of things.  They love it all.

[Nellybird]

I don't know if this is the link you were referring to, but it has a food recipe, some foods that are safe, and a list of foods that arent.
http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

[SADCAT]

I don't know if this is the link you were referring to, but it has a food recipe, some foods that are safe, and a list of foods that arent.
http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

Thanks! Yup that's a perfect source to check out if you're not sure, new2rats.

[Rat-love]

I feed my rats lab block as well as something fresh every day.  Since rats need more protein during their growing stage, I think up to about six months, I started out giving them "rat omelette"--free-range eggs, organic peas and a little olive oil--(I feed them better than myself!) on a daily basis.  According to Suebee, though, too much protein can cause health problems, so I'm slowly tapering off the protein treats as they get on toward three months of age.  
But, I give them something each morning and evening, and am probably too generous with it; for instance, yesterday, since there have been recent posts about wheatgrass being a big hit, I got some and oh, man!  I couldn't believe how much they liked it!  they were ripping it out of the little plant pot, or pulling it down and nipping it off at the pot edge so they could hold it and eat it, which I thought was kinda clever, and I let them eat as much of it as they wanted.  
Anyway, if they're nearby and interested in the smell, they generally get at least a little bit of any people food which is not salty, fatty, or generally fairly bland in flavoring.  They've eaten grits, dry pasta, chicken soup (when they were sick--hey, it's supposed to have anti-viral properties), tiny bits of hamburger, pita bread, and most often get raw vegetables--carrots, sugar-snap peas, frozen peas... and now wheat-grass!  
You may want to experiment in small quantities with any foods that contain or cause gas, such as broccoli and bright green vegetables, because while rats certainly can fart (heh heh), they cannot belch and the gas may cause them discomfort.  About a week ago Sapphy knocked over a bottle of seltzer water and licked some of it up before I got to her, but she didn't seem to suffer any ill effects.  She really liked it, too...

[WS]

I try not to feed my rats anything I wouldn't eat myself. - With the exception of lab blocks and Oxbow (which I've tasted!)   Rats can pretty much eat everything that we can but you should avoid giving them junk food or lots of sugar.   - A little "people food" in moderation is just fine.

My rats eat additions of fruits and veggies and other "healthy" people foods like grains, yogurt, turkey, chicken or other meat (from meat eating relative's leftovers) tofu, veggie patties, pasta, etc.  

Sometimes they get tastes of pizza, pasta with toppings, little bites of cake or muffins, a corn or potato chip, crackers, fried chicken bits and other unhealthy things... but only in little rat-sized amounts and not on a regular basis.   On holidays though, my ratties get mini-plates of everything on the holiday table     -they also get a very fancy gourmet meal on their birthdays.  It's fun to serve different foods and see what they pick out to eat first.

[rogermerriman]

What ever is around and I think they will like. Today they had the remains of a chinese which a mate could not finnish. Lots of hangovers in Wales! Most things bar fruit I remove after a day to prevent ill rats from food poisoning.

[~Lilly's mama~]

Thanks guys!  I'm going to note this all down.  I'm sure my ratties will be thankfull to you, LOL!

[Tracy]

mmmmm...pizza. Mine absolutely adored deep dish cheese pizza. And chinese lo mein and tostitos chips.
*ducking head as breeder punches me for feeding such bad things to her baby*
I swear they got it sparingly.  *ducking head again*
Tracy

[Ensie]

Since I'm vegan (I don't consume anything that is derived from an animal in any way or in any amount; that means no meat, no dairy, no egg) and since I try to buy as much organic food as I can, my diet consists of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. So I pretty much give my rat everything I eat, except for stuff that I've heard is not good for rats, such as orange juice or chocolate. The only exception to the no-meat rule is the liver treats that are designed especially for rats. Plus, each evening, the rats get a healthy spoonful of organic baby food and I add a drop or two of liquid vitamin supplement for rats. I try to pick out flavors that I know they'll like and sure enough, they suck it down as soon as I give it to them. Happy, healthy rats . . . who could ask for more?

[DebW]

Mine get "human" food every morning as part of their regular diet.  This includes: broccoli, cooked beans (soy, lima, pinto, garbonzo, navy, kidney etc...), cooked sweet potato, squash, carrots, peas (they love them), strawberries, mango, banana, grapes, blueberries, all melons, brussel sprouts, hard boiled egg, sprouts, kale, and a few other things I've probably left out.

They also love spaghetti noodles with a little sauce and rice noodles you find in Pad Thai.    (a Thai dish with noodles, egg, shrimp, chicken, and onion.)

[Ladyveg]

Mine get my leftovers every night.  It's gotten to the point where I can hardly eat with all the little eyes staring at me, waiting for me to finish and hand out the dinner.  Here's some of my rats eating my leftovers:  http://www.geocities.com/soywoman/rats.html

[Ross]

Mine eat any veggie leftovers and love pasta and soup and they get the occasional bit of pizza they especially love the one from Pizza Hut with the cheese in the crust. But I think they would eat anything even on occasions my toes Ouch

[Ratty Corner]

We had to move the cage from the dining room to the living room because the children were spending the whole mealtime feeding the poor starving rats.
Although to be honest, it was more because it was stressing Daddy out than that the rats were being a problem. He thinks they (the children) should sit facing the table and eat quietly. Which still doesn't happen often!

[Suebee]

Just a note on wheatgrass -- don't let them eat as much as they want. A small amount each day is fine.

http://www.petgrass.com/

"We recommend that you feed small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, rodents, reptiles, and turtles, small amounts of Pet Grass per serving. Do not let your small animals eat an entire container of Pet Grass at one time. Be sure to monitor their feeding and give small clippings per serving."

[Ruckers Ratties]

Ours gets veggies everyday, plus whatever we eat that day, pizza, porkchop or chicken bones (with meat of course!) And LOTS of baby food , especially the green kinds (peas, greenbeans....) stuff my daughter won't eat, sigh. I also feed the kids' cereals as a treat once in awhile. Basically whatever we have that is yummy

[starvinart]

Every morning I eat a bowl of oatmeal and the boys always get the last spoonful.  When they hear me coming down the hall in the morning they get all excited cuz they know oatmeal is coming!

~Laura, Cobalt & Phthalo

[SCRAPPYSMOMMY]

 :)My ratties get samplings of just about eveything I eat, except for the things I know are not good for them.  Such as raw sweet potato, chocolate and orange juice.  They especially love tostitos tortilla chips dipped in jalapeno cheese sauce!!! I noticed that they were intentionally picking the little bits of peppers out of the cheese and nibbling them with delight.  they adore the jalapeno peppers believe it or not.  I started picking out the occasional hot pepper from my parrots diet, and giving it to my ratties, and they love it.  I never would have though such a sensitive animal would like a piping hot treat, but they do.  I have also tried giving them bits of salsa, which they also like.  On a milder note....they really like trying different varieties of cereal that they do not get as a normal part of their diet(rice krispies and cheerios are part of their food mix). Fresh yogurt is relished and quickly disappears from their bowl, and they love an occasional tablespoon of soy based infant formula mixed with infant cereal.  Feed dairy and high protein foods in moderation of course, unless they are very young or pregnant/nursing.  Have fun experimenting.  Your ratties will love you for it.

[1happybooker]

Pizza, scrambled eggs, cheese, crackers (with or w/out a SMEAR of peanut butter), pecans, peanuts, greens, corn, any type of unsweetened cereal, small bits of cookie (I know -- bad me  ), macaroni & cheese, any other type of cooked pasta, chicken bones, bread, sandwich meat, peas, beans, any other type of veggie (cooked), croutons (they LOVE ranch dressing!), anything else I think they would enjoy.

I have 2 females & give them a little bowl of mixed food every day -- probably about 1/4 - 1/2 c. Just what they will clean up overnight. This is in addition to their dry food which is available all the time: lab blocks, grain mix, & lite dog food kibble.