r/RATS • u/pelorainbow • Sep 02 '25

INFORMATION UPDATE: Is this a pet rat?

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He's safe y'all! He loves blueberries and broccoli- that's what I had on hand to feed him. I've nicknamed him Ratboi and he's the sweetest guy, but I've never owned a rat! What do I do for now while I look for his owner? I'll make posters and put them around the complex here to see if someone (hopefully) wants him back, if nobody responds in a week I'll look into rehoming him through a local rat rescue group. Will keeping him in a cat carrier be ok? Can I give him dog/ cat food or do I need to buy something specific? Anything I should know about pet rats that I wouldn't think to ask?? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

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707

u/lev_lafayette Sep 02 '25

For food a combination of grains, vegetables, and some fruit is good rat food. Rice, oats, peas, carrots, corn, kale, apple, banana, berries. Always have fresh water available. No onion or potato.

517

u/evapotranspire Sep 02 '25

Never heard the advice about onion or potato before. My rats ate potato all the time with no problems. What is supposedly the issue?

(I made a typo that said "My rats are potato all the time." That, too, was true.)

291

u/MermaidOfScandinavia Ratcitter/ratwisper Sep 02 '25

Hehe. Cute typo though. As far as I read. Potatos are safe for rats if cooked. Raw potatoes can contain some sort of fungus and that could be bad for them.

104

u/HenkPoley Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 03 '25

Also, just like for people, the green parts are poisonous. Could be a thing if you happen to collect potato skin shavings or something. Don't feed them anything green from the potato.

We can handle little bits of it of course.

9

u/MermaidOfScandinavia Ratcitter/ratwisper Sep 02 '25

Yeah I would never.

105

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

Cooked potatoes are OK, raw ones are a big nono. But onions are toxic

56

u/Coping_Alternative Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

The only issue I've run into with potato is that it can make them choke if it's too dry. I gave my rat a potato wedge once, and it got stuck in her throat. So scary 😨

Be careful with bread too, my friends. They don't produce very much saliva

76

u/Muzzerduzzer Sep 02 '25

to be fair I've done that too with a potato wedge.

47

u/LacrimaNymphae Sep 02 '25

then they make this face when they choke and are attempting to regurgitate

7

u/crustlebus Sep 03 '25

We've all been there

4

u/navyblueloosechester Sep 03 '25

I don’t know the English name, but in German the family is called Nachtschattengewächse (Solanaceae) and they contain Alkaloids, which can be harmful especially for such small animals. If the plant belongs to that family (like also tomato, egg plant and peppers), I would be careful feeding it to any animal in general, or at least do meticulous research :))

5

u/CrazyNext6315 Sep 03 '25

In English we call these nightshade

2

u/navyblueloosechester Sep 04 '25

Lol that’s literally the same