The Forbidden Foods List!

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Moon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
11,962
Location
GTA, Ontario
The FORBIDDEN FOODS LIST can also be found Here:

http://ratfanclub.org/diet.html

Forbidden Foods
Generally, if you would eat a food, you can give it to your rats. Here are some exceptions and notables:
raw dry beans or peanuts—contains antinutrients that destroy vitamin A and enzymes needed to digest protein and starches, and causes red blood cells to clump
raw sweet potato—contains compounds that form cyanide in the stomach
green bananas—inhibits starch-digesting enzymes
green potato skin and eyes—contain solanine, a toxin
wild insects—can carry internal parasites and diseases
raw bulk tofu—can contain bacteria; packaged raw tofu is safe
orange juice—forbidden for male rats only, d-limonene in the skin oil, which gets into the orange juice during squeezing, can cause kidney damage and kidney cancer due to a protein that only male rats have in their kidneys. Pieces of the orange fruit are okay if you wash the orange-skin oil off of it after peeling it.

Foods to Feed with Caution
carbonated beverages—rats can’t burp (but they can fart!)



Dried corn can contain high levels of fungal contaminates which has been shown to cause liver cancer in rats. Corn also contains high levels of both nitrates and amines. These two compounds can combine in the stomach to form nitrosamines which are carcinogenic.
Other foods high in nitrates include beets, celery, eggplant, lettuce, cucumber, radishes, spinach, collards and turnip greens. Therefore, I suggest you limit the amount of these foods in your rat’s diet. Some fresh corn is fine, but if you feed your rats blocks, try to avoid brands which have corn as the first ingredient.



Mold Warning
Spoiled or moldy food can contain deadly toxins. Never give nuts, grains, vegies or other food that looks or smells odd or spoiled. Don’t buy too much food ahead. Molds can grow even in sealed plastic bags. When cutting up veggies, cut off the dried part that has been exposed from previous cutting and throw it away. If you see mold growing on a food, throw the whole thing away. Do not attempt to cut away the moldy section. Invisible mold filaments penetrate deep into the food.

It's generally advised to remove the pit of any fruit that you are giving.
 
I was told that tomatoes are toxic to rats but Debbie Ducommon's book says that tomatoes are ok. Goes to show ya, research for yourself don't pay heed to pet stores.
 
I stick to a few rules when it comes to feeding any animal i own:

No added sugar,
No added salt,
None, or very limited amount (if it can't be avoided) of additives, preservatives and colourants.
No pips/seeds (or pits as you seem to call them :) )
Nothing greasy or fatty
No chocolate
No caffein of any sort
No sweets/candy

I generally avoid any food that is man-made and not naturally grown... unless i make it myself.
I also check the fat content and the protein.

I am rather strict with what i feed them. Like i said in another post, i have lists on my refridgerator of foods that my pets can and can't eat
 
Here is one the confuses me....dried corn. It's in nearly every prepackaged food you buy from a pet store and most recently I spoke with a vet about dried corn. He told us there is no solid evidence leaning for or against feeding dried corn. He said there hasn't been any link to a rat who has had it dying etc.
 
hyklyst said:
Here is one the confuses me....dried corn. It's in nearly every prepackaged food you buy from a pet store and most recently I spoke with a vet about dried corn. He told us there is no solid evidence leaning for or against feeding dried corn. He said there hasn't been any link to a rat who has had it dying etc.

Better to be safe than sorry. If you want to feed corn then use fresh or frozen corn. Look at the actual ingredients in the prepackaged foods. What kind of preservatives are being used??
 
hyklyst said:
Here is one the confuses me....dried corn. It's in nearly every prepackaged food you buy from a pet store and most recently I spoke with a vet about dried corn. He told us there is no solid evidence leaning for or against feeding dried corn. He said there hasn't been any link to a rat who has had it dying etc.

It would be hard to pinpoint a rat dying due to moldy dried corn. Not too many people bring their rats into the vet for postmortems and such. :(
 
They can, best to get raw or shelled no salt or seasoning. All nuts are very high in fat so if you feed it's a very rare treat.
 
*covers mouth in shock* Oops! I've fed my boys a bit of licorice before! *bashes head on desk* Bad, bad, bad Onyx.... bad! Well, I'm never doing that again...
 
Moon said:
http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm

Just a small portion of the wonderful Pet Rats Canada website... check it out!

**The page mentions avocado pits as having a high level of toxins, but it's generally advised to remove the pit of any fruit that you are giving.


Thanks buddy for sharing the forbidden foods list here . I appreciate your work.
 
It says feed them chocolate with caution...can anyone reccomend a weekley or monthly amount for me? my girls need cheering up and I want to spoil them!
 
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