What is a rodent’s natural diet?

Rodents are able to digest lots of food types and they are thus called omnivorous animals. They can basically digest about every type of food and will accept any available food source. This is why they can so easily get poisoned-they take about everything that is digestible. The rodent categorization includes so many species which have a presence globally. They can include beavers, rats, mice and squirrels. The rodents such as rats and mice have a diet that is very flexible and there is the ability to adapt to different kinds of environments. There are yet others like the beaver and the squirrel that have got very specific requirements in terms of the environment and food.



Plant diets
Rodents such as beavers eat plants exclusively. They eat grass, bark and twigs and the kind of trees which are available. The mice and rats also consume plants regularly. They may also eat small twigs, grains and grass. Porcupines eat fir cones while the squirrels will eat the bark and cones too. Rodents usually consume seeds gotten from plant sources.

Nut diets
Many rodents eat nuts. Squirrels are the primary consumers of nuts and they can actually rely on these all through the year. The mice, rats and porcupine also eat nuts. However, they feed on these opportunistically.

Meat
Rodents also eat meat. The rats are actually prone to fish and meat eating. The rays are able to digest meat which is rotten and can consume the scraps from trash. Carcass scavenging can also occur after animals are left over.

Berries and fruits
Rodents eat berries and fruits especially to the natural and wild settings. They can capitalize on the human trash so as to get fruits when there is no other food available. Fruit is quite regular as a food for the rodents especially in the tropics.

Waste and scraps
Rodents can also feed on the leftovers from humans. The pet food and livestock feed are usually a great favorite for different kinds of rodents. They are also attracted to salt and can target worn clothes as well as shoes to get their content of slat.

Many rodents will consume food left by people. Domestic dog, cat and livestock feed is a favorite for rodents. They also eat dairy, bread, leather products and bird food. Rodents are attracted to salt and they will target worn clothes and shoes for the salt content.

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