What is a rat’s natural diet?

Pet rats are given a balanced diet from their owners, but it is not the same for wild rats since they only eat what they are able to find. The rats in the wild may have problems finding food and sometimes they may go for a long period without having any food. However, wild rats are not picky about what they eat.

Rats are known to be omnivores and they are able to consume anything that they can find in their environment. The most preferred foods of the rats are cooked corn kernels, raw carrots, cheese, macaroni and scrambled eggs. Foraging depends on the population and it varies according to the environment and food sources available. The rats that live near a hatchery may eat the fingerling fish.

Rats are able to eat anything that they are able to find, and this includes vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits and grains or other edible things that they may come across. Rats may choose just to eat what is readily available or they may hunt on occasion – they can catch bugs or even small animals. Wild rats may live in or near cities and they can eat things that they may find in landfills or in garbage cans.

Rats, just like other rodents, may be food hoarders. This means that they can take more food than what they are able to eat and will hold on to it for a later stage. They will eat what they see and they will bring back what is remaining so that they can hide it near their homes. The rats will look for food during the night so that they may be hidden or so that they may avoid predators. In the wild, what they eat may have to change depending on the seasons and what’s available. For this reason, rats are accustomed to trying new things and are not stuck in a particular routine when it comes to their food. In order to avoid a food item that may make them sick, the wild rats may use a sampling method. This is trying a small piece of something to ensure that they are able to digest it in a proper manner. Wild rats are known to engage in coprophagy, which is the act of eating their feces so that they may ingest the vitamin K, biotin or folic acid found within them.

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