Treats Rats are really prone to obesity, so treats for your rats should not exceed more than 5% of their daily diet. It can be very difficult to keep yourself from going overboard with too many treats for your rats. Rats love food and are very cute when they eat. Not to mention that fat rats are very squishy and adorable. However it is VERY important to keep your rats at a trim, healthy weight. An overweight rat will have a shorter life span, be more susceptible to health issues, have more difficulty moving around, and be just plain uncomfortable! (Although some rats still become fat even on a good diet, so keep that in mind. Genetics is a huge factor. If this happens there is nothing much you can do.) When choosing treats, try to stay with low fat, low calorie selections. Here are some examples of what we use as healthy treats and our rats love them... plain air popped popcorn Rice Krispies cereal Cheerios cereal pieces of plain rice cakes plain cake ice cream cones (with out the ice cream) low fat low calorie yogurt plain spinach pasta (uncooked) The following healthy treats can be found at a health food grocery store... Nature's Path Kamut Puffs cereal Nature's Path Synergy cereal Barbara's Bakery Puffins peanut butter cereal (this one your rats will go nuts over, but feed more sparingly, it's a little higher in calories and fat) You should try to never feed your rat junk food of any kind, such as chips, fried foods, sugary bakery goods, etc... unless you are trying to get your rat to take medicine. If you would like to give your rats something special once in awhile choose foods that are healthy for humans. We will usually give our rats a mix of food from our dinners during holiday times. These treats can include rice, breads, nuts, meats, mashed potatoes, and even chicken and beef bones. Really sugary treats we will save for the most special of occasions, such as birthdays. Yogies, or yogurt drops, a product sold in the small animal section of most pet stores, is like a giant piece of candy for your rats. We always give these out on birthdays and I will also give these out more freely to rats that are underweight, sick, or near the end of their life. Keep in mind the size relationship when giving out portions of treats. One yogurt drop to a rat would be equal to a human eating a small pie. Here, Baku receives a birthday yogie.