Tasty rat treats

What's the quickest way to your rat's heart? Through his stomach, of course. While nutritionally complete lab blocks should make up the "meat and potatoes" of your pet's diet, you'd be hard-pressed to find a rat who doesn't appreciate a little (okay, a lot!) of variety now and then. To ensure that your little guy enjoys his snacktime in the best of health, you'll need to know what treats are healthy – and which ones aren't.

Tasty rat treats start with fruits and vegetables

Fruits and veggies are excellent choices, and you should offer your rat small amounts of these fresh foods every day. You may have to experiment to find your pet's favorites, but try the following for starters:

• Carrots
• Shelled peas
• Grapes
• Bananas
• Apples
• Leafy greens

If you want to offer your pet sweet potatoes, cabbage or Brussels sprouts, you must cook these foods first. No matter what's on the day's menu, however, be sure to wash everything first – and never offer your animal companion any food that is spoiled. Also keep in mind that a little goes a long way. Your rat has a tiny tummy, and too many fruits and vegetables can cause diarrhea.

Human food makes for great treats too

It's obvious that rats love food, but they seem to especially love whatever their human friends are eating! On occasion, it's great fun for your pet to have a little taste of what you're munching on. Good choices include spaghetti with sauce, pizza crust, a few sunflower seeds, small bits of cooked egg and chicken, and wheat bread. Avoid junk food and anything high in fat, salt or sugar. If it's healthy for you, it's probably healthy for your pet. Please take care to ration out treats, though; try limiting snacks to the successful conclusion of a training session, for example, or special occasions.

Keep it healthy

Avoid any harmful foods, which include:

• Alcohol
• Caffeinated beverages
• Candy
• Cookies
• Chips
• Chocolate
• Cheese
• Sticky foods, such as taffy and peanut butter, that could cause your pet to choke

We know that many owners indulge their rats with inappropriate treats like cake and candy bars, but we also know that there are many unhealthy rats out there, too. Overfeeding your rat and/or offering him inappropriate foods can lead to obesity, high cholesterol and heart disease – all health problems that can shorten your pet's time with you.

We've got one final word of caution on the topic of treats. It's probably not a good idea to give your rat his treats through the bars of his cage. He may learn that whatever comes to him this way must be something yummy for him to eat, including fingers! This is especially important to consider if you have young children.