The main rodents that are kept as pets include gerbils, hamsters, mice, rats and chinchillas. Most rodents are prone to obesity and care should be taken about how much food is offered, especially fatty seeds and nuts.
Gerbils: Agerbil's diet would consist of less fibre and more seeds and nuts than a rabbit diet. Nutritional deficiencies in gerbils appear to be quite rare.
Hamsters:Have a higher Vitamin A requirement than other rodnets.
Mice and Rats: Rats seem to be resistant to nutritional deficiencies. They have fairly high protein requirements, which are increased during breeding but excess protein causes skin problems and can predispose the rat to nephritis (inflammation of the kidney).
Chinchillas: Chinchillas are believed to have a fairly high Viatamin A requirement and like cats, they are unable to make Vitamin A. This means Vitamin A has to be provided in the diet. Chinchillas need high levels of fibre in their diet, so good quality hay and forage should be provided.
These pets must obtain unsaturated fatty acids like linoleic acid in their diet as they are unable to make it themselves and these fatty acids are required to maintain their thick fur.
They can also suffer from zinc deficiency if not enough is provided in the diet and this can result in a poor coat.
