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Yes, rats can eat ripe red tomato in small amounts. A cherry tomato cut in quarters, or a thumbnail-sized piece of a large tomato, a few times a week is plenty per rat. Never give green unripe tomatoes, or the leaves, stalks or flowers of the plant: PetMD lists unripe tomato among foods to avoid.
| Safe? | Yes, ripe flesh only |
|---|---|
| How much | A quarter of a cherry tomato, or a thumbnail-sized piece |
| How often | Two or three times a week |
| Best served | Fresh, washed, seeds scooped out, cut small |
| Watch out for | Green tomatoes, leaves and stalks, sauces with onion or garlic |
Is tomato safe for rats?
Ripe tomato is. Unusual Pet Vets, an exotic animal practice, puts tomato on its "in moderation" list with other watery fruits such as cucumber and melon, and a vet-reviewed guide from The Vet Desk calls ripe tomato a safe, vitamin-rich food. Tomato is technically a fruit and a little sweeter and more acidic than leafy greens, so it sits in the occasional part of the diet rather than the everyday greens.
Why green tomatoes and the plant are a no
Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family with potatoes. The green fruit, leaves, stalks and flowers contain solanine and related compounds, which ripening breaks down in the fruit. Rats are not thought to be very sensitive to it, but there is no benefit in the risk, so PetMD lists unripe tomatoes to avoid. If you grow tomatoes, keep free-roaming rats away from the plants.
If your rat has chewed tomato leaves or a lot of green tomato, take the rest away and watch for drooling, diarrhoea, weakness or a rat who goes quiet and stops eating. Ring your vet if you see any of these, or if you are worried about how much was eaten.
How much tomato can rats have?
Keep it to about a quarter of a cherry tomato (around 3 to 4 g, 0.1 oz) per rat, two or three times a week, inside their normal fresh food. VCA advises that vegetables and fruit together make up no more than about 10% of a rat's diet, with complete nuggets as the rest. Tomato is juicy, so too much can loosen droppings.
Tinned tomatoes, sauce, ketchup and dried tomatoes
Stick to fresh. Tinned tomatoes and passata often have added salt; pasta sauce, pizza and salsa usually contain onion and garlic, which PetMD and RSPCA Australia list as foods to avoid; ketchup is mostly sugar and salt. Sun-dried tomatoes are salty and often stored in oil. A lick of plain tomato from your plate will not hurt, but none of these should be a regular treat.
How to prepare tomato
- Choose ripe. Fully red (or fully yellow for yellow types), never green.
- Pull off the green top. Remove the stalk and the little star of leaves.
- Wash and cut. Rinse well, scoop out the seeds and cut the flesh into small pieces. The vet-reviewed guide advises seed-free pieces to avoid any choking risk.
- Clear up. Remove uneaten pieces within a few hours. PetMD advises throwing out fresh food after about ten hours.
What to offer instead
For more everyday crunch, try cucumber or sweet peppers. For a sweet treat, a piece of strawberry. The full list is on our what can rats eat page, with the bigger picture in our rat diet guide and pet rat care hub.
Questions owners ask
Can rats eat cherry tomatoes?
Yes. Cherry tomatoes are a handy size: cut one into quarters and give one quarter per rat, two or three times a week. Pull off the green stalk and leaves first, and only give fully ripe ones.
Can rats eat tomato leaves or stems?
No. The leaves, stalks and flowers of the tomato plant contain solanine and related compounds. Keep rats away from tomato plants, and if one has chewed a lot of leaf, watch them closely and ring your vet if they seem unwell.
Can rats eat tomato sauce or ketchup?
Not as a treat. Pasta sauces usually contain onion and garlic, which rats should not have, and ketchup is high in sugar and salt. Fresh, plain, ripe tomato is the only form worth offering.
Can rats eat tomato seeds?
The seeds are not poisonous, but a vet-reviewed guide from The Vet Desk advises giving seed-free pieces because small seeds can be a choking risk. Scooping them out with a teaspoon takes seconds, so we take them out.