What Do Small Pets Eat? A Diet Guide by Type
🤎 The short version: “small pet food” isn’t one thing. Hayfold’s animals fall into five diet types, and feeding the wrong one causes real disease. Grazers live on hay; omnivorous rodents eat a species mix plus a little fresh food; ferrets are meat-eating carnivores; hedgehogs are insectivores; sugar gliders need a specialist nectar-and-insect diet. Match the food to the type, and always check your species’ care guide for the specifics.
1. Grazers — hay first (rabbit, guinea pig, chinchilla, degu)
These are the hay specialists. Good-quality hay makes up the majority of the diet and must be available at all times — it wears down their continuously-growing teeth and keeps the gut moving. On top of that:
- a small measured portion of grass-based pellets (never a muesli mix, which causes dental and gut disease),
- appropriate fresh greens/veg.
Two species have an extra rule: guinea pigs need a daily source of vitamin C (they can’t make their own), and degus must have no sugar at all (they’re diabetes-prone — no fruit, nothing with molasses).
2. Omnivorous rodents — a proper mix (rat, mouse, hamster, gerbil)
These eat a complete species-specific food (a proper mix or pellet made for that rodent — not a generic “small animal” bag) as the base, plus small amounts of fresh food as part of the ration, not on top. Feed some by scattering to encourage foraging, and provide gnaw items for their ever-growing incisors. Avoid sugary, fatty extras (dwarf hamsters and gerbils gain weight easily — go easy on fatty sunflower seeds).
3. Carnivore — meat (ferret)
Ferrets are obligate carnivores: high animal protein, moderate fat, very low carbohydrate, from a good commercial ferret food. They can’t live on dog food long-term, and sugary foods, fruit and dairy are dangerous — sugar can trigger and worsen insulinoma.
4. Insectivore — insects and more (hedgehog)
Hedgehogs eat a commercial hedgehog/insectivore food (or a quality cat/dog food) as the base — rationed, because they get obese easily — plus daily insects and a little protein. Never feed raw meat, raw egg or milk.
5. Specialist omnivore — nectar and insects (sugar glider)
Sugar gliders are the hardest to feed: roughly half the diet a formulated nectar (Leadbeater’s/BML), the rest a glider pellet plus calcium-dusted or gut-loaded insects, with only a little fruit/veg. Get it wrong and they develop fatal metabolic bone disease, so a glider vet should set the plan.
The universal rules
- Feed the right species’ food — don’t swap one animal’s diet for another’s.
- Change diets gradually over days to weeks; sudden changes cause dangerous gut upset, especially in grazers.
- Know the toxins — grapes, raisins and rhubarb for rodents; onion, citrus, walnuts and chocolate for rats; lettuce for mice; raw meat/egg/milk for hedgehogs.
- Fresh water always.
The honest takeaway
Figure out which of the five types your pet is, feed for that, and you’ve got the single most important part of its care right. Use the safe-food checker to check a specific food, and each animal’s care guide for its full diet.
Sources & further reading
- Hayfold — species care guides and the safe-food checker — per-species diets and toxins.
- RSPCA — pets and the Merck Veterinary Manual — feeding guidance behind each diet type.
Common questions
What do small pets eat?
It depends on the type. Grazers (rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, degus) eat mostly hay. Omnivorous rodents (rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils) eat a species-specific mix plus a little fresh food. Ferrets are meat-eating carnivores, hedgehogs are insectivores, and sugar gliders need a specialist nectar-and-insect diet. Feeding the wrong type causes disease.
Can small pets share the same food?
No — species-specific food matters. Rabbit food lacks the vitamin C a guinea pig needs; degu food must be sugar-free; ferrets need meat, not rodent mix. Feeding one species another’s food is a common cause of illness.
What foods are dangerous to small pets?
Sugary foods for degus and ferrets, muesli-style mixes for grazers, and specific toxins: grapes, raisins and rhubarb for rodents; onion, citrus, walnuts and chocolate for rats; lettuce for mice; raw meat, egg and milk for hedgehogs. Always check your species’ care guide.
Why do so many small pets need unlimited hay?
Because grazers have continuously growing teeth and a gut that needs constant fibre to keep moving. Unlimited hay wears the teeth down and prevents gut stasis — which is why it makes up the majority of a rabbit, guinea pig, chinchilla or degu’s diet.