Any self-respecting pet-lover knows how precious and lovable pets rats make. They’re little and adorable, perfect for people who don’t have a lot of space to devote to training a dog or raising a kitten, and don’t want a lot of noise. To give an enriched life to your pet rat, the first thing you should do is invest in the best rat food in the market.
Rats do not live very long. In fact, even when you’re feeding them well and treating them with utmost love and care, they’ll only live up to 2-3 years. They live such a short life, it would be a crime to not provide the best resources so they stay healthy and happy.
Now, admittedly, you’re gonna have to choose from quite a few brands and types of rat food. Thankfully, since rats are often experimented on, there’s a lot of information on what to feed and what not to feed. Based on that, I’ll be giving you pointers on which ones might be good for your rats.
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Only the Best Quality Rat Food: The Crunchiest Choices
Rat foods come in a couple of different types; pellets and seed mixes. In this guide, I’ve mentioned the best choices in both types. Let’s see which one catches your fancy!
Top 3 – Best Rat Foods
| IMAGE | NAME | FEATURES | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Supreme Petfoods |
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 | Oxbow Adult Rat Food |
| Check Price |
 | F.M. Brown’s Rat Food |
| Check Price |
Here Are the Best Rat Foods Review 2021
- Supreme Petfoods Science Selective Rat Food
- Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat Food
- F.M. Brown’s Tropical Carnival Rat Food
- Mazuri Rodent Rat and Mouse Food
- Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Rat Food
- Nesom Distributing Envigo Rat Food
- Oxbow Garden Select Rat Food
1. Supreme Petfoods Science Selective Rat Food
This affordable Supreme rat food is also quite popular. I’ve seen quite a few of my friends raise rats on this pellet type food. Most of their rats, even the picky eaters, seem to love this food.
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Aside from rats liking the taste, owners also tend to gush over the fact that this food makes their pets’ coats shiny and thick. This food constantly ranks among the best rat foods review, no matter where I look. So if you’re looking for something simple but solid, this is a good rat food.
Also Read: Best Hamster Cage for Your First Hamster
2. Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat Food
Oxbow is a formidable name in the world of rodent products, and their class shines in the good quality of this adult rat food. Manufacturers claim that this was formulated by professionals who have experience in laboratory, animal science, zoo and wildlife nutrition. Impressive, huh?
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That might not be the only reason this rat food is special, though. What matters is that people who buy this food also love this best rated rat foods. Some even claim that it caused less tumor in their rats, but I’d suggest you take that with a pinch of salt.
3. F.M. Brown’s Tropical Carnival Rat Food
This fun-looking F.M. Brown’s product is also the best cheap rat food I could find in my searches. It has an interesting mix of fruit, vegetables, seeds and grains of various kinds. Rats seem to love the variety, however this might prompt selective feeding in some picky eaters.
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When you are raising a few mice together though, you can give this to them so each can pick out their favorite bits. You can also try hand feeding so nothing gets left out. Aside from normal blocks or pellets, you can give this food as a fun treat to your rats.
4. Mazuri Rodent Rat and Mouse Food
Despite being of the pellet type, this Mazuri rat food is surprisingly affordable, and is in fact the best rat food that doesn’t skimp on quality. The food is made up of large, uniform blocks, so it’s good for your rat’s dental health. This pellet is quite wholesome, considering it is made of all vegetarian options.
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As long as you’re supplementing your rats’ diet with fresh food, including lean meat and mealworm, you can feed this without worrying about malnutrition. You can easily give this to any rat, including males. It is said to offer complete nutrition for rats. As a bonus, it is said to reduce odor from excreta.
5. Higgins Sunburst Gourmet Rat Food
This Higgins is another exciting rat food that has a huge variety of ingredients in it. The assorted fruits and vegetables will make your rats pretty happy. There’s also Yucca schidigera in this food, which significantly reduces the smell of excreta.
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On the other hand, this rat food contains corn, which is, quite frankly, a filler ingredient. It also contains cane molasses, and sugar. So I’d say you could give this top rated best rat foods to your rat as a treat, infrequently, but definitely not as a staple.
Also Read: Best Gerbil Cage for Your Adorable Little Rodent Pal
6. Nesom Distributing Envigo Rat Food
You must’ve heard of the term ‘Lab Blocks’ when asking around about rat food. Well, the Envigo (formerly Harlan) Teklad rat food is one of the original lab blocks and they offer stellar quality, if I may say so.
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The Envigo food is easily the best rats food for the money. As it is formulated carefully in the laboratory, you can let go of all doubts about the constituents and quality of this rat food. It maintains strict proportions, such as 14% protein, which is ideal for a rodent diet.
7. Oxbow Garden Select Rat Food
Once again we are looking at an Oxbow rat food because of its unique and desirable characteristics. If you’re feeling worried about all the sugar and GMO-materials present in your rat’s food, this Garden Select rat food from Oxbow is the best rat foods you can get.
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This rat food is made up of uniform pellets with ragged edges, so your rodent pals can gnaw on them easily. This is a plant based rats food, consisting of garden products such as tomato, spinach, carrot, yellow pea and even banana. In fact, it contains ingredients that a rat would be foraging for in its natural habitat! What more could you ask for from a rat foods?
Handy Tips to Pick Out the Top Rat Food
Now, I must tell you something very important: do not only feed your rat store-bought food, no matter what type it is. You should also supplement your rat’s diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Aside from those, you can actually feed your rat some table scraps too, such as little bites of cooked pasta, bread, cooked liver, lean meat, cooked beans, brown rice etc. But beware of things that are harmful, such as citrus fruits, chocolate, onions and garlic, etc.
In fact, since rats are omnivores, you can also feed them mealworms. Your rats would be delighted to have some variety in their diet. Keeping that in mind, let’s look at the other factors you should consider while picking what to feed your rat.
Ingredients
Like I just mentioned, you should supplement your rat’s diet with fresh food, aside from giving them pellets. Make sure you look at the ingredients so that you don’t end up feeding your rats high calorie, high sugar food.
Additionally, I would recommend you not feed them something that contains Corn and alfalfa too much. These two ingredients don’t offer much in terms of nutrition to rats, and can cause stomach issues.
Another reason I’d say it’s a good idea to read the ingredients, is to see if there’s any vitamin-C involved in the feed. If there is, then do not feed it to male rats, as it can cause kidney tumors. Especially if the feed contains any citrus fruits, just buy something else.
Quality
How do you know if a rat food is good quality or not? Well, looking at reviews is a good way to pick a quality rat food. Ones that say they’re laboratory formulated are usually good. They come in uniform pellet form, which is good for rats’ teeth and also prevents selective feeding.
Some people tend to use rabbit food, or guinea pig food to feed rats, but that’s not a good idea. Remember, these foods are made for that specific species’ nutritional needs, and your rat will likely not benefit from it. So stick to feeding rat food to your rat. That said, personally, I prefer pellets over loose mixes, such as the Envigo pellets.
Taste
I’m not asking you to take a bite of rat food, promise! So how can you tell if your rats will like the taste of a new type of rat foods? Well, you should first introduce the food to your rats, and then see if they like it or not. The proper way to introduce a new rat food is not to make the swap suddenly, but gradually over a few days.
Mix a bit of new food into the old pellets, and slowly increase the amount of new food everyday. If you see your rat turning up its nose at the new food despite a slow introduction, maybe he’s not loving the taste. This is why I suggest not buying pet food in bulk the first time.
Only do so after your pet is accustomed to the new food and wouldn’t mind eating it regularly. Sometimes giving them mixed food such as the Higgins is a good idea, if they’re bored with eating pellets. But make sure this doesn’t turn your rats into fussy eaters.
Value for Money
I’m not outright going to talk about the price of the best rat foods, but instead the value it will provide for said money. You need to consider that you’re going to spend on pellets as well as fresh food for your rats. Even if you decide to give them a moderately expensive food, if you balance it out with fresh food, the pellets would last a while.
Aside from that, you need to also think about any additional value you’re looking for. Do you want there to be less smell wafting from the rat cage? Are you looking for a food that would grow a shiny coat on your rat? Maybe you just want to use this store-bought food as a treat?
Sometimes your rat might be in need of a specific diet, like pregnant does, or young rats. Their nutritional requirements, especially protein requirements, are different, and you might need to spend on something that’s more specific than a standard rat pellet.
Also Read: Best Guinea Pig Food – for Your Picky Cavy
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What Type of Food Kills Rats?
A: Rats are pretty delicate, and anything that can affect their lungs might be fatal for them. When you’re feeding them grains, make sure no fungi are growing on the food because even a little might cause harm to your rats. Peanuts, lemons, citrus fruit juices, corn, etc., can cause problems in their kidneys. A female rat’s paws can get clogged by sticky peanut butter, so it’s hazardous for rats. In fact, it can also choke rats.
Q: How Often Do You Feed Your Rat?
A: Twice a day. You should leave out food for your rat once in the morning and once in the evening. Check after a while to see if any food remains uneaten, and discard it. Monitor your rat’s food intake so you can adjust the amount.
Aside from food, make sure you leave out ample water for your rats. They tend to drink during nighttime and feed during dawn and dusk. Use ceramic bowls with an open design so your rats can handle the food. This action encourages their natural feeding habits.
Q: Is It Cheaper to Make Your Own Rat Food?
A: Yes, it is. Commercial rat food might have ingredients that you don’t want to give to your rats, and you might also want to keep track of precisely what your rat is eating. The easy way to go about is to mix a few commercial mixes to achieve a better result.
Another way to do this is to make your rat food from scratch. With a base grain mix combined with processed grains, protein, vegetables and fruits, seeds, and supplements, you could come up with a custom mix just for your rats.
Q: What Is a Good Treat for a Rat?
A: Rats might get bored of their regular food, and it helps to keep them entertained with occasional treats. Good choices are cooked chicken bones, roasted monkey nuts, squashes (cleaned and cored), hard-boiled eggs, and curly kale. Some human food can also be given to rats in moderation, such as popcorn, baby food, soups, rice pudding, yogurts, and cheese.
Conclusion
The best rat foods is something that when used in addition with fresh vegetables, fruits and clean water, contributes to keep your rats healthy and happy throughout their lives. In that regard, my pick would be the Oxbow Essentials. It ticks all the boxes a good rat foods should tick.
Were you able to make up your mind about which rat foods you’ve set your eyes upon? Comment and show your appreciation for the one you like if you’re already a rat mom!
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