Homemade Rat Diet
by Debbie “The Rat Lady” Ducommun

Reprinted with permission from The Rat Fan Club

This is the most recent version of my homemade diet. Please note that there are some supplements that have been added since I first published it.

I worked hard to formulate this homemade diet which meets the requirements set for rats by the National Research Council. Because my diet contains only fresh foods I feel that it’s the best diet for rats. It takes only a little more time to prepare than the blocks with fresh foods. If you wish you can also feed a mix of my homemade diet and blocks. Even if you don’t want to make the whole diet, it will give you ideas for the best fruits and veggies to supplement your rats’ commercial diet.

All the foods in this diet contain valuable nutrients or cancer-prevention compounds, or both! Each rat has his or her own preferences, and not every rat will like every food in this diet at first. However, you must follow the diet closely for it to be balanced (see menu note). Most rats will eventually come to like most foods if they are given enough time. If your rat doesn’t like raw vegies, you can cook them lightly. The beans and sweet potato must be cooked. Purple grapes have more cancer-prevention phytochemicals than green grapes.

You might have to buy some of the ingredients for the molasses mix at a health food store. You can use any type of cooked dry beans (such as pinto beans) in the diet (canned is fine). Give a variety of different beans to take advantage of their different nutrients. My rats love garbanzo beans.

You can use canned or fresh sweet potato (yams) cooked in the microwave. You can also microwave pre-sliced liver; you don’t need to add oil. Then cut the liver into serving sizes and freeze individually. Or you can offer freeze-dried liver. You can also freeze oysters spread on a cookie sheet, then store in a container. Frozen foods are as nutritious as fresh as long as you use them before they get “freezer burn,” so you can use frozen fruits, beans, vegies, etc.

My homemade diet is not vegetarian, because rats are not naturally vegetarian, and I believe a diet is most healthy when it most closely matches an animal’s natural diet. However, if you feel strongly that you want to feed your rats a vegetarian diet, you must add 5 mg of copper (for example, as copper sulfate) to the molasses mix for adults.  For babies, you must add 10 mg of copper.

Serving Sizes

The serving sizes are for a 1-lb. rat. If your rat is smaller or larger, you should adjust the portions accordingly. This diet is for adult rats. For babies offer adult portions and let them eat as much as they want. Babies need additional amounts of either liver or oysters, as they have a higher requirement for copper, and these are the main sources. Give them the liver or oysters four times a week until they are 4-6 months old.

Homemade Rat Diet Recipe
all foods raw unless otherwise indicated
(t=teaspoon, T=tablespoon, g=gram, mg=milligram, mcg=microgram)

Daily
about 3 T molasses mix (see recipe)
one serving of fruit (see menu)
2-3 servings of vegetables (see menu)

Twice a week (see menu)
1 serving cooked beef liver (organic is best) or canned oysters

Serving sizes
cooked beans(2 t, use a variety of types)
cooked sweet potato(3/4" cube)
broccoli floret(1 1/2" across (cooked or raw)
leafy greens(about 2" square)
other vegies(1" square)
cooked beef liver(1" X 3/4" X 1/4")
canned oysters(one average)
fruits(1/2" cube)

Recipe for Molasses Mix
(will last two rats about a week depending on size--for more than two rats, you can multiply the recipe)
1500 mg calcium from chewable tablets or liquid calcium with vitamin D
2000 mcg chromium picolinate
250 mcg vitamin B12
40 mg manganese (from capsules)
3/4 C Total cereal
1 lb packaged (not bulk) soft tofu
4 t shelled raw sunflower seeds
1 T flax seeds
3 T raw oatmeal
4 t pearled barley
4 t millet
3 T cooked brown rice
4 T toasted wheat germ
2 1/4 T nutritional yeast flakes (5.6 g)
2 T blackstrap (dark or full flavor) molasses

Soak the chromium picolinate, calcium, and B12 tablets in a tiny bit of water and when soft, crush. Coarsely crush the Total in a plastic bag. Mash the tofu in a bowl. Add all ingredients together with warm molasses and mix thoroughly. Store covered in the refrigerator or freezer.

Menu

The oysters or liver, beans, sweet potato, brocolli, kale, and bok choy are required. (If bok choy isn’t available, substitute brocolli or collard greens.) The other vegies and fruits can be substituted with others if you like.

Mon            Tues            Wed            Thurs            Fri            Sat              Sun

berries      banana      grape/raisin      melon      prune/plum      banana        apple

kale            broccoli      bok choy      broccoli            kale        broccoli      bok choy

sprouts      tomato            parsley      corn            squash            peas            carrot

beans       sweet potato      beans      liver/oysters    beans      sweet potato       liver/oysters