Ideas on care for pet rats?

Question

hey does anyone else have a rat, i just got 2 baby boys and would like to find out more about them, specifically what i can and cannot feed them. right now they are eating gerbil food and some guinea pig food, which they don't seem to mind but i know to many nuts and seeds could give them skin problems and fur loss, and i know you can feed them some people foods, any ideas? your friend, trish

Answer 1

rats like cheese

......or is tht mice??

Answer 2

I used to have a pair of female rats (now sadly gone to the wheel in the sky) and in my experience they will pretty much eat anything - including things that are not food, like lip salves and vaseline! - didn't seem to harm them, not that I ever OFFERED them these things, you understand.

I used to feed them on Reggie Rat Mix from the pet shop and if I ran out used to give them Weetabix with water. According to the book I consulted when I got them, they can also have dry dog food, but I never gave them this. They also used to love cream cheese.

Answer 3

"Your pets’ main diet should consist of rat blocks, a high-quality pellet chow formulated for rodents. Look for a brand that lists soy meal as the main ingredient. This food should be available at all times.

The ASPCA recommends offering small amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables to your rats every day. Peas, broccoli, carrots, apples and bananas are good foods to start with, but it’s fun to try new things and find out your pets’ favorites. Rats love people food, and you can give yours the occasional table scrap, such as cooked pasta, small pieces of egg or chicken, or a bit of pizza crust. Treats need to be limited to prevent obesity.

Do not give your rats chocolate, corn, candy, caffeinated and carbonated beverages, onions, sticky foods such as taffy and peanut butter, and junk food.

Fresh, clean water should be available at all times. A water bottle with a drinking tube that attaches to the side of the cage is the best way to go."

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pag...

More on rat care:

http://www.ratsrule.com/ratcare.html

http://ratguide.com/care/

http://ratfanclub.org/helpinfo.html

Answer 4

Rats are omnivorous. Most of their diet should be in grain form however. They also need a source of protein and calcium. If you find a lab block food made specifically for rats, this should cover all of their needs.

Is the gerbil food in lab block form, or a seed mix? Seed mixes are quite possibly THE worst food for any rodent. Most rodents hardly eat any seeds, but grains rather. Seeds are very different from grains, and do not provide them with the same nutrition, and are basically like junk food for people. So great that you are avoiding them.

Guinea pigs however are herbivorous. There is virtually nothing found in guinea pig food that rats need, besides fibre at least. Most of their fibre should be obtained from fresh veggies. Offer them anything dark green and other veggies like squash, carrot, etc. You will find more people foods you can offer in these sites.

http://members.aol.com/juliesrats/health...

http://www.ratz.co.uk/feeding.html

http://www.petratscanada.com/ratcare.htm...

http://www.ratfanclub.org/helpinfo.html (under Diet section)

http://ratguide.com/care/nutrition/diet....

http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/#Food

http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/articles.... (under nutrition)

Foods to avoid will also be listed in those sites. Chocolate, citrus, blue cheese, raw beans, a number of certain vegetables if raw, and a number of certain fruits/veggies if green and unripe.

Just to add, a great treat for rats are yogurt drops. Not only are these very tasty, but also a decent calcium suplement. Another thing to avoid is plain dairy products, like milk or yogurt. Rats initially should not be able to digest dairy. Some do okay with it, but others will have indigestion. 'Yogies' are safe for them though.

Answer 5

I've had 13 rats and as omnivores they will eat most food. Here are some do's and dont's

Dont:

-give them cheese, this isn't a cartoon, though they love it and can its not poisonous to them having it too often gives them tummy aces

-Give then junk food candy, chocolate, fizzy drinks, anything sugary and unhealthy.

-Over feed them, rats can get very fat very easily and it'll usually be because one of them is hogging to food, watch out for that.

Do:

-Buy a proper rat food, they are MUCH better for them, its like giving a cat, dog food it has some of the same stuff but they could get sick.

-Give them crusts, pasta,spagetti, grapes they love and need the fruit, veggies also but remember not to give them too much of anything or they can get sick or fat. But bread, toast, pizza crust(only the crust),Bananaa, grapes,broccolii are allfavoritess.

- Nut and such are found in treats you can buy rat treats in pet shop (Remember to buy rat ones notgerbill or mice or whatever) but also given directly to them is fine.

-Mix things together to make your own food and someresearchh online as to what else you can give them.

Ok just a couple more things, unlike mice and guinea pigs and such rats love to climb, they need to be kept in a tall bared cage and have lots ofhammockss and woodenplankss to climb on. hammockss can be made yourself with old pieces of cloth)

Good luckxxx