As the popularity of keeping rats as pets slowly continues to grow with each year that goes by, we constantly see more and more people reaching out with different questions about caring for their rats.
The most common questions that we see people reaching out about a month in month out is about the diet of their pet rats and what they should be trying to include for a nutritionally complete diet.
One of the more specific questions that we have seen recently is about if rats can eat peas or not.
With so many people reaching out about feeding their pet rats peas as well as peas being very common in most households, we wanted to publish our own dedicated article going over feeding your pet rats peas.
Before we go any further, we just want to say that small pet treats do tend to offer a higher vitamin and mineral count than peas for your pet rat.
This can help offer a more balanced diet for your rat and help to keep its essential vitamin and nutrient intake as close to being nutritionally complete as possible.
Still, peas can make a solid, quick, easy, and cheap treat food for your rat so we will be going over it below.
Can Rats Eat Peas?
Rats can eat most types of peas without issue and the majority of rats do seem to really enjoy the taste of peas and will happily eat them as a treat food.
Just make sure that the peas you offer to your pet rat are defrosted and are at room temperature when fed to your rat to prevent any problems with your rats core temperature.
If you are going to feed your pet rat peas then try to hand feed them to your rat as peas will start to go bad quickly and their small size makes it easy for your rat to hide them in its cage or around your home.
If you hand feed your pet rat its peas then you can make sure that your rat actually eats them while also getting a better idea of when your rat is full as it will stop eating the peas helping to prevent you from wasting them too.
Rats will often eat mush peas too but they do tend to prefer them as whole peas that have not been mushed up.
You are able to try both forms of peas with your rats though as older rats or rats with jaw or teeth problems may be better with mushed up peas.
What Type Of Peas Can Rats Eat?
Pet rats are usually able to eat any type of pea without issue provided they are room temperature.
The most common problem that we see people making time and time again when feeding their pet rats peas is that they will feed them the peas direct from their freezer but this is not recommended.
The majority of people just feed their pet rats garden peas due to them being the most common peas in most households.
You are usually able to also feed your rat maestro peas, snow peas, snap peas, and lincoln peas to add variety as well as other common types of peas that are safe for humans to eat too.
If you do grow peas in your own garden or vegetable patch then you may actually end up having issues with wild rats eating the peas that you grow.
This can be very common as wild rats will take any food source that they are able to find, especially if other food sources are rare and they are able to gorge on a surprising amount of peas, especially if multiple rats find the peas that you are growing.
What Are The Nutritional Benefits Of Peas For Rats?
Peas offer a wide range of nutritional benefits to your pet rats with them being an excellent source of protein for your pet rat.
Peas also contain a wide range of other essential vitamins and minerals with a solid amount of macronutrients too with a large number of carbohydrates to provide plenty of energy to your pet rat.
When it comes to the vitamin and mineral content, peas have great amounts of fibre, vitamin C, iron, phosphorus, and potassium.
Different types of peas outside of regular garden peas also have a number of other essential vitamins and minerals in them too helping to keep your rats diet as close to being nutritionally complete as possible too.
Although peas are not classed as an excellent source of fibre, they do contain moderate fibre with many pet rats being highly deficient in fibre.
Ensuring that your pet rat gets enough fibre in its diet also helps to keep its bowl movements healthy and regular too as well as helping to reduce the chances of impaction occurring in your pet rats.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over if rats can eat peas or not to a close. You are able to feed your pet rat the majority of types of peas provided they have been defrosted and are room temperature with most rats enjoying peas. As we mentioned earlier in the article, you should usually try to hand feed your pet rat peas and only use them as a supplementary food source or treat instead of a primary food source.
