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How much should your pet eat?

Pick who lives with you. Calories and the amount of its food for dogs and cats; for the others, what they eat, how much and how often, from vets’ care sheets.

Who lives with you?

Dogs and cats

DogCat

Small mammals

RabbitGuinea pigHamsterPet ratFerret

Birds

CanaryBudgiesCockatielLovebirds

Reptiles

TortoiseRed-eared sliderLeopard geckoBearded dragonCorn snakeBall python

Fish

GoldfishBetta fish

Spiders

Tarantula

Dog

For your dog there are the calories and the amount of its food, read from the label.

Go to the calculator

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Cat

For your cat there are the calories and the amount of its food, read from the label.

Go to the calculator

Its full pageCreate your cat’s page

Rabbit

What it eats
hay and grass: about 85% of the diet
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
Every day, a pile of good hay as big as your rabbit, and hay always available (85% of what it eats); a large handful of washed leafy greens (10%); pellets only 25 grams, about an egg cup, per kg of body weight (5%).

What the rabbit can eat, and what not

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Guinea pig

What it eats
hay, fresh pellets and vegetables every day
How often
  • Juveniles, up to 6 months (alfalfa hay and pellets for young guinea pigs): every day
  • Adults: every day
How much
Grass hay always available: it's the biggest part of the diet. Every day, fresh vegetables and a new portion of guinea pig pellets, as the bag says (don't just top up the bowl: vitamin C breaks down). Vitamin C: at least 10 mg per kg of body weight a day, 30 mg if pregnant.

What the guinea pig can eat, and what not

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Hamster

What it eats
hamster mix and a few vegetables
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
Hamster pellets as the base (better than mixes, where it picks only the sweet bits), plus a teaspoon or two of vegetables, fruit and herbs a day, and timothy hay. Not much fruit: sugar makes it fat. Remove leftover food every day.

What the hamster can eat, and what not

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Pet rat

What it eats
rat pellets plus a little fruit and vegetables every day
How often
  • Adults: every day, 2 meals a day
How much
Rat nuggets weighed out every day, following the amount on the bag, split between morning and evening. Only a little fruit and vegetables, as part of the day's allowance, not on top of it. If food is left over or the rat is getting fat, give a bit less.

What the rat can eat, and what not

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Ferret

What it eats
meat-based ferret food, always available
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
Meat-based ferret kibble (35–40% protein, low in carbs and fiber): weigh out the day's portion and leave it out, so it can eat whenever it wants. Treats only meat or egg, like a bit of cooked chicken or hard-boiled egg. No sugar, fruit, vegetables or dairy.

What the ferret can eat, and what not

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Canary

What it eats
1–2 teaspoons of seed a day, plus vegetables and cuttlebone
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
One to two teaspoons of good-quality seed per canary a day (or complete pellets, which the RVC says are better balanced), plus fresh herbs and vegetables, very little fruit, a cuttlebone for calcium and a little grit. Remove old food every day.

What the canary can eat, and what not

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Budgies

What it eats
budgie mix, vegetables; never avocado
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
Budgie pellets always available (about 80% of what it eats) plus a few seeds every day: on pellets alone, budgies can get kidney problems. The rest fresh vegetables (kale, carrot, sweet potato): fruit and veg no more than a quarter of the diet. Never avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol or salty food.

What the budgie can eat, and what not

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Cockatiel

What it eats
pellets and seeds, with fresh vegetables and fruit every day
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
Cockatiel pellets for 60–80% of what it eats, plus a few seeds every day (on pellets alone they can get kidney problems). The rest fresh vegetables (peas, broccoli, kale, carrot): fruit and veg no more than a quarter of the diet. Never avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol or salty food.

What the cockatiel can eat, and what not

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Lovebirds

What it eats
pellets and fresh vegetables every day, few seeds
How often
  • Adults: every day
How much
Small-parrot pellets always available as the base (about three quarters of the diet) plus a few seeds every day: on pellets alone they can get kidney problems. The rest fresh fruit and vegetables, no more than a quarter. Never avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol or salty food.

What the lovebird can eat, and what not

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Tortoise

What it eats
wild weeds, flowers and grass; little supermarket produce
How often
  • Juveniles: every day
  • Adults: every 2 days
How much
Mostly pesticide-free wild weeds and flowers: dandelion, clover, plantain, chickweed, sow thistle, white dead-nettle. Very little fruit; no peas or green beans (too much protein), no cabbage, broccoli or spinach; no lettuce. Calcium: cuttlebone grated over the food; vitamin and mineral powder on the food 2–3 times a week (the RSPCA says a light sprinkle every day). Clean water at all times, in a shallow dish.

What the tortoise can eat, and what not

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Red-eared slider

What it eats
every day when young, every 2–3 days as an adult
How often
  • Juveniles: every day
  • Adults: every 2–3 days
How much
Only what it eats in a few minutes (the RSPCA says 5, ARAV up to 15), then net out the leftovers: it always begs and gets fat. More protein when young; as an adult, half or more chopped greens (kale, dandelion, watercress, zucchini) and the rest turtle pellets plus earthworms or small fish. Feed it in a separate tub. Cuttlebone for calcium.

What the red-eared slider can eat, and what not

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Leopard gecko

What it eats
insects, every 2–3 days as an adult
How often
  • Juveniles: every 1–2 days
  • Adults: every 2–3 days
How much
Live insects (crickets, locusts, worms) no longer than its head and about half as wide: only as many as it eats in 15 minutes, then remove the rest. Feed the insects for 24 hours before offering them and dust them with calcium at least 3 times a week; twice a month use a multivitamin instead of calcium. Waxworms only now and then: they're fatty.

What the leopard gecko can eat, and what not

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Bearded dragon

What it eats
insects no bigger than its mouth, plus greens; adults about 60% greens. In the morning
How often
  • Babies: every day, 2–3 meals a day
  • Juveniles: every day, 1 meal a day
  • Adults: every day, 1 meal a day
How much
In the morning. When young, about 65% insects and 35% greens; when grown (over 30 cm, about 12 in), about 40% insects and 60% greens. Insects no bigger than its mouth, that is, no longer than the space between its eyes; for adults 3–4 times a week. Mixed leafy greens (dandelion, arugula, watercress), very little fruit, no spinach. Remove leftovers every day.

What the bearded dragon can eat, and what not

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Corn snake

What it eats
thawed frozen prey, every 7–14 days as an adult
How often
  • Babies: every 5–6 days
  • Juveniles: every 5–7 days
  • Adults: every 7–14 days
How much
One frozen-thawed mouse of the right size, slightly wider than the widest part of its body: a newborn pinkie when small, then bigger as it grows. Now and then a quail or a rat for variety. Offer food with tongs and don't handle it for 48 hours after a meal.

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Ball python

What it eats
thawed frozen prey, every 7–14 days as an adult
How often
  • Babies: every 5–6 days
  • Juveniles, up to 2-3 years: every 7–10 days
  • Adults: every 7–14 days
How much
One frozen-thawed prey item (mice or rats) per meal, about as wide as the widest part of its body: the RSPCA says slightly wider, ARAV says no wider. Never live prey. Offer it with tongs and don't handle the snake for 48 hours after a meal, or it may bring it up.

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Goldfish

What it eats
food made for goldfish
How often
  • Adults: every day, 1 meal a day
How much
Once a day, only what it eats in under 2 minutes: it would eat all day, but leftover food poisons the water. Goldfish food; for fancy goldfish (short, round body), sinking pellets, not flakes. With several fish, put food in two spots. Below 8 °C (46 °F), feed less.

What the goldfish can eat, and what not

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Betta fish

What it eats
a little, once a day
How often
  • Adults: every day, 1 meal a day
How much
Once a day, only what it eats in under 2 minutes: leftover food fouls the water. Betta pellets or flakes, and now and then small live or frozen foods (daphnia, bloodworms).

What the betta fish can eat, and what not

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Tarantula

What it eats
live insects, once or twice a week; remove leftovers
How often
  • Adults: every 4–7 days
How much
Farm-raised live insects, like crickets and locusts, no longer than half its body: 3 to 5 at a time, once or twice a week. Remove the ones it doesn't eat (after about 10 minutes, or an hour at most): hungry insects can bite it. No pinkie mice or meat.

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Always ask your vet: this site helps you understand, it doesn’t replace a checkup.

Sources

All 60 sources, pet by pet