Rats are known to enjoy caffeine, especially in the form of coffee, so you could very well find your rats pinching a sip or two of your morning coffee! But what should you do if it happens?
Can Pet Rats Have Caffeine?
Firstly, your cup of coffee or tea isn’t poisonous to your pet rats. In fact, rats are known to love caffeine, especially in the form of coffee.
It’s definitely less of a worry if your rat keeps pinching your cup of tea as oppose to your coffee.
While studies have shown that caffeine can have minor benefits in rats, such as improving memory retention and retrieval (although, surprisingly when caffeine is given after the training rather than beforehand), and there was a study that showed rats even become tolerant to caffeine, much like many of us rat parents!
Surprisingly, Caffeine Has Some Health Benefits for Rats
Rats that were part of a research study, published in 2018, show that consuming caffeine may actually reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes.
In the study, Researchers gave rats doses of caffeine equivalent to an adult human drinking four cups of coffee. They discovered that the protein p27 was more efficiently pushed into the cells’ mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of the cell, resulting in significantly improved heart cell function.
Amazingly, the caffeine caused the mitochondria to work as well in the older rats as the mitochondria did in the younger non-caffeinated rats. Essentially meaning they reversed the signs of an aging heart, making the hearts of the older rats young again.
Although this can bring a little relief, I’m not suggesting you start giving your pet rats regular doses of caffeine!
Does Caffeine Increase The Risk of Cancer in Rats?
Anyone who has bought coffee in California may have noticed warnings on coffee about its link to cancer.
Due to the high temperatures needed to roast coffee, the chemical acrylamide is produced. This chemical has been linked to causing cancer in rodents.
Studies have shown that acrylamide only increases cancer in rats after long-term use of coffee. So you don’t need to worry if your pet rats have only had a cheeky sip of your coffee, however because of the way your pet rat’s metabolism processes acrylamide, you want to keep their coffee intake low and infrequent.
Thankfully, acrylamide isn’t present in caffeinated tea, so they can have it more frequently, but you want to keep doses really low. If your rat’s in good health, then a little sip here and there will be fine!
How Much Caffeine is Too Much for a Pet Rat
Sharing your coffee or tea with your rat isn’t going to harm them, unless they are sensitive to caffeine, or have a medical condition that means they mustn’t have caffeine at all.
Here is a caffeine guide to help you check if your rat has had a safe dose of caffeine.
This chart outlines the maximum amounts for particular rats. For an average male pet rat, with no health conditions, a 0.2 of a teaspoon of instant coffee grounds is safe, 0.5 of a teaspoon is a mild overdose, and 1.5-2 teaspoons of instant coffee grounds will lead to a severe overdose.
For an average female pet rat, 0.125 of a teaspoon of instant coffee grounds is a safe amount, 0.25 of a teaspoon of instant coffee grounds is a mild overdose, and 1-1.5 teaspoons is a severe overdose.
A young pet rat, both male or female, can handle much less caffeine. You want to be much more cautious about whether your caffeinated drink is within their reach, but young rats are quick so accidents happen!
The amount of caffeine safe for a young pet rat is 0.037 recurring of a teaspoon. 0.04 will cause symptoms of a mild overdose, and anything above 0.125 – 0.25 is a severe caffeine overdose.
All pet rats are likely to recover from a mild caffeine overdose within 12 hours without medical intervention, although it’s completely understandable if you’d still prefer to take them to a Vet.
A severe overdose, however, can be fatal and urgent medical intervention is required to give your pet rat the best chance of survival.
How to Spot The Signs of Caffeine Toxicity in Pet Rats
While a sip of coffee or tea won’t give your rat an overdose of caffeine, it’s a different story if they manage to get hold of a lost caffeine tablet, drink from a strongly caffeinated energy drink, or have a lot of coffee throughout the day (it would take a lot); all of these are much more likely to lead to caffeine toxicity.
Caffeine toxicity is really rare, but it’s important to know the signs so you can get your pet rat to the Vets quickly as caffeine toxicity can be lethal to a rat.
The signs to watch out are very similar to a pet rat having a non-threatening caffeine boost, so it can be difficult to establish a caffeine overdose.
Symptoms of a mild caffeine overdose include:
- An elevated heart rate, (normal heart rate for adult rats is 330-480 bpm)
- Hyperactivity and jittery behavior
- Pacing
- Vocalizing more than usual
- Urinating more frequently
Symptoms of a severe caffeine overdose include:
- An elevated heart rate
- Hyperactivity and jittery behavior
- Pacing
- Vocalizing excessively
- Excessive urination
- Diarrhea
- Loss of muscle control leading to tremors or seizures
An elevated heart rate is to be expected when any animal consumes caffeine, but if it exceeds 480bpm, you need to monitor it regularly until the overdose has subsided or your rat is with a Vet.
Your rat is likely to become hyperactive and jittery, and is likely to start pacing and vocalizing much more than usual. In severe overdoses, your rat may lose control of their muscles and begin to have tremors or seizures.
Due to caffeine’s affects on the gastrointestinal tract, your pet rat may start to suffer from diarrhea. The emesis effects of caffeine can be seen more in rats than other animals such as dogs and cats, due to a rat’s inability to vomit. While this is stressful for both you and your pet rat, and a sure sign that they require Veterinary attention, the emesis effects are actually a helpful side effect in getting the toxin out of their body.
Caffeine is a diuretic meaning your pet rat is likely to be urinating more after consuming some caffeine. If they have too much caffeine, they’ll be urinating excessively.
Symptoms will begin around 30 minutes after ingestion and last for at least 12 hours, although the affects can last longer.
A mild overdose doesn’t always require medical attention, but a severe caffeine overdose always permits medical help.
Your pet rat’s Vet will need to know how much caffeine your pet rat ingested, whether sugars or other stimulants were present, the age of your rat, and if they have any medical conditions.
The main reasons a caffeine overdose can be fatal to pet rats is because it raises their blood pressure and causes cardiac arrhythmias.
Most Pet Rats Survive Caffeine Overdoses
The majority of pet rats survive caffeine overdoses so long as they are given treatment urgently.
However, even with successful treatment, a dangerous level of caffeine can cause long-term damage to your pet rat’s major organs such as their heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.
So it’s critical that you get your pet rat to a Vet if you suspect a severe caffeine overdose, and I highly recommend getting them to a Vet if they’re suffering from a mild caffeine overdose.
