Our pet rats have their set meals, where we give them pellets or other mixes. But it’s always good to give them extra treats and foods to supplement their diet.
Sometimes it’s hard to have new ideas, but I’ve gathered a few pet rat recipes that you can easily make and give to your rodent friends!
These are all very simple, all of them are homemade and easy to assemble. From grain mixes to baked goodies and even birthday cakes for your pet rats! Yes, you’ve heard that right!
It’s really very easy to make these pet rat recipes and I assure you they will love it, so keep on reading!
Homemade Grain Mix For Pet Rats
Grains, cereals, dried fruit, and nuts! There’s a lot you can use for a grain mix for your pet rats and some of them you might even have at home already! Even if you don’t, it’s very easy to find at the supermarket.
These mixes are not intended to replace your pet rats usual diet. It’s more of a supplement, that is very healthy and fun for them to eat.
Grain mixes are always amazing because they’re high in vitamins and minerals, necessary to grow healthy and strong. Remember that pet rats are very sensitive and their systems can become weak very fast.
This is why it’s very important to give your pet rats special treats along with their usual meals once in a while.
But let’s see what can you use for a perfect grain mix for pet rats:
- Rolled Oats: this is very common to have at home. Oats are very good for pet rats, they’re not very expensive and a package will last you for a long, long time!
- Uncooked Pasta: you can feed your pet rat with both cooked or uncooked pasta. The raw pasta is perfect since pet rats love it and it’s good for their teeth as well!
- Puffed Rice: this one can be a bit harder to find, at least it is in our country. Again, it makes for a perfect treat for pet rats and keeps their teeth healthy.
- Pumpkin Seeds: these should be given in moderation to them. Pumpkin seeds can be too fat for pet rats, but as long as they’re not getting it every day it is a good seed to give to them and they’ll love it!
- Dried Bananas: again, these are very tasty but tend to have too much sugar, so it should be given in moderation.
- Raisins: raisins are very good for pet rats. The only problem you might have with them is that raisins can be a bit sticky sometimes. This means that they can get stuck on your pet rat’s teeth for example or it’s possible for them to choke with it. Most of the times, they’re not a problem, but if you’re not comfortable, you can leave the raisins out of the mix.
- Cheerios: or other cereal with no added sugar. Take care that some cheerio cereals will have added sugar. Breakfast cereals are very crunchy, perfect to gnaw at and your pet rats will love them! They’re very tasty and a good addition to the mix!
Now you don’t need to make a mix with all of these. You can just pick 3 or 4 of them and mix it. Some of these ingredients can even be cut into smaller pieces, such as the pasta and the dried bananas.
Mixed the chosen ingredients together and keep them in a plastic container. You can feed your rodent little friends this grain mix at least twice a week and they’ll love it!
Frozen Yogurt Treats
Some time ago I wrote a list with 13 of my favorite treats to give to our pet rats. The very first item is frozen yogurt treats. I cannot stress enough how good these are, especially in the summer when the days become too warm!
These are healthy, sweet, tasty and interesting treats for your pet rat to play with! It is also very easy and cheap to make, here’s the list of ingredients:
- A cup of yogurt (or more depending on the quantity you want to make)
That’s it! That’s all you need. You can either buy natural or flavored yogurts.
Be careful to not buy any yogurt with citrus fruits since these are bad for our rodent friends or flavors that have too much sugar or fat.
For example yogurts with cookies, chocolate and others tend to have too much sugar added so it’s best to avoid them.
We usually buy them natural or with strawberry, other berries or even apple!
Now all you need is a baking tray or a dinner plate and a spoon! Just spoon bits of yogurt from the cup and let them drop onto the tray. These drops should be apart from each other and won’t be bigger than a button.
Once the tray is full, put it in the freezer for a few hours, or leave it overnight. The next day, take them out and fill a plastic container or bag with them. Put them back in the freezer and they’re ready to use whenever you want.
Give these fresh treats to your pet rats on warm summer days and you can even have some you want! These are good for both us and our rodent friends.
If you need help or new ideas for treats, be sure to check the link I mentioned above for more delicious treats!
Birthday Cake For Your Pet Rat!
It’s your pet rat birthday and you want to commemorate it somehow? Then why not give them a birthday cake?
First of all, happy birthday to your pet rat and here are a few ways to make a birthday cake for your rodent friend!
Dried Fruit Cake
You’ll need:
- Almond Butter
- Dried fruit and seeds
This one is very similar to the recipes of energy balls that we see around. Simply grab some dried fruits and seeds, like pumpkin seeds, walnuts, dried banana, and raisins.
You can chop them into smaller pieces, then put them in a bowl. Add a tablespoon of almond butter, since it’s healthier for pet rats, and mix everything.
Now make small balls out of the mixture or add the mixture into Cupcake Paper Holders (link to Amazon). It’s totally up to you and what you prefer. When ready, bring it to the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes.
Let it cool and it’s ready! A very tasty and healthy birthday treat for your pet rats!
Apple Cake
This one is very simple to assemble and you’ll only need:
- An apple slice (or more if you want to make this treat for each of your pet rats)
- Yogurt
- Cheerios (this is optional, but they’ll love to munch on them as well!)
Simply cut a slice of apple. You can peel off the skin or leave it, but do take the seeds out if there’s any. On top of the slice, add 1 tablespoon of yogurt.
Now top it off with 3 or 4 cheerios and it’s done! They might make a bit of a mess eating this one, but they’ll definitely love it and it’s perfect for warmer days.
Pancake Cake
If you like to make pancakes for yourself from time to time, be sure to make an extra, smaller pancake for your rodent friends. This is extremely easy cooking with not much of a recipe!
If it’s their birthday, why not cook a small pancake, top it with some yogurt and give it to them? I’ll assure you they’ll love it and will ask for more!
Even though pancakes have sugar and are a bit too fat for pet rats, giving it to them in small amounts and every once in awhile won’t hurt them.
So remember, next time you make pancakes for breakfast, be sure to share a bit of it with your rodent friends!
Fresh Fruit Salad
Fresh fruit is usually a must at home. Not only for us but because our girls love it as well. Especially apples!
Pick the fruit that your pet rat loves the most (just be careful so it isn’t harmful to them!) If you have some doubts about which fruit to give to them, here’s a small list of great fruit to feed your pet rat:
- Apples
- Cherries (without the pit)
- Grapes
- Bananas
- Strawberries
- Red Berries
- Melon
- Watermelon
- Plums
Simply choose a few of these, pay special attention to your pet rat’s favorites, mix them together and serve them to your rodent friends!
You can chop the fruit into smaller pieces like we usually do in fruit salads and remember to take any seed or pits out.
Pet rats can chew through anything and the inside of the pits is filled with cyanide, which is harmful not only for us but for pet rats as well!
Fruit is always a perfect way to supplement your pet rat’s diet and we don’t need to give them only one type of fruit. Be creative with it!
You can even add dry fruit to the salad or even some seeds. As long as it’s ingredients that they like, they’ll eat all of it. You can also make purees out of the fruit and give it to them.
These are perfect for warm summer days. It’s full of vitamins and it’s fresh and you can even have some of it as well! Healthy treats not only for your rodent friends but for you too!
Back to the Blog
