Are Apple Seeds, Oranges, Grapefruit, and Lemons Deadly for Rodents?
While this blog focuses on particular pet rodent, rats, it is generally a good idea to avoid these dangerous foods along with many others when it comes to hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, mice, and gerbils. All four of these foods are bad for pet rats, and can cause varying health issues in steady amounts.
Apple seeds can contain trace amounts of cyanide which can poison or kill rats. It is an unsafe seed for rodents to eat. The apple fruit itself is fine.
Apple Seeds Can Slowly Poison Your Pet Rat with a Cyanide Compound
Apple seeds contain a trace amount of a cyanide compound. While one or two rare seeds shouldn’t hurt your pet rat, regular feeding of apple seeds could become potentially deadly in the long run. Rats are not the only ones who can suffer from them. It is even strongly advised against giving apples with seeds in them to dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, and more. Instead, give them Wood Small Animal Apple Orchard Chew Sticks
How Dangerous Are Oranges for Rats?
Never feed a male rat oranges or other citrus fruits. These acidic foods contain d limonene and are believed to cause reproductive cancer in male rats.
Currently, it is highly risky to feed oranges to male rats. The oranges actually have a particular chemical that is found on the skin of this citrus fruit which has been linked to cancer. This chemical, D-Limonene, has not been shown to cause cancer in female rats. While the potential is still there, it is not going to endanger female rats like it will male rats. In either case (whether or not it proves to be truly dangerous for females), I do not recommend feeding any rats any oranges. It’s just the safer thing to do. If you have fed your rats oranges, do not panic- just remember to avoid feeding this citrus fruit to them in the future.
Are Grapefruits Dangerous for Rats as Well?
Grapefruit also contains d limonene along with other citrus fruits, which is bad for male rats.
Grapefruits are highly acidic, and very sugary. They are also a part of the citrus territory, making them a not so ideal food for rats. Honestly, it would be best to steer clear of all grapefruit as well as oranges. This fruit contains the same chemical that oranges do.
Can I Feed My Rats Lemons?
Feeding rats lemons is a bad idea as well, as it contains d limonene just like oranges and grapefruit. Avoid it at all costs to keep your rat healthy.
I’m going to start this one off with a quick question: “Would you sit and eat an entire lemon by yourself?” I bet your answer would be something like, “There’s no way!” The first thing I’d like to mention now is: D-LIMONENE. In addition, lemons are acidic and very sour. They do have a delightful flavor, but this is usually infused with other foods. In a sense, lemons are used as more of an “herb”, if you will. Biting into a lemon is generally a slightly unpleasant experience, and I’m sure your rat will think so too. On top of this, the juice of a lemon could irritate their eyes by quite a bit. This alone supports my short and simple answer: nope!