RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:45 pm

Can rats have cauliflower and beansprouts?
We mixed some up in their moist food bowl with some brocalli and spinich.
They love brocalli and spinich, as they have had it before, but we havnt given them their veggies today yet, as we didnt know if they could have the other two. We have no fruit at the mo to mix in.
Is all this too much? Theres definatly more than a teaspoonful there, cos they had a teaspoonful the first two times they had veggies, and I know we got to gradually increase it. They only got small food bowls anyway and they only have it twice a week.
They are 7 weeks old now and we've had them for two weeks. Candy weighs 4 and a half ounces and Mia weighs 4. Theyve gone up half an ounce in a week. Is that good or bad?
Could you please tell us how much food they should be having (everyday food and veggies) in ounces please so we can weigh the food first. And what amount for what age for when they get older please.
Also, can they have cheese? We gave them both a tiny cube each of edam cheese today.

Got them some milk drops and fruit shaped tidbits today which they seem to like.
They also have a hammock...and rat nuggets, but while the rat nuggets seem to have scored a point the hammock hasnt. Candys been in it, then hopped straight out and Mia nearly fell out cos she couldnt get out fast enough.
We are hoping they will get to like it. Candy keeps walking up to it and nipping it then running off and doing it again. She's funny.
When Candy is out on me she cant get off me fast enough. Its impossible to do anything with her, and if she gets scared by a sudden noise she runs to Steve.
I have been trying with her from day one and while she's more than happy to crawl onto either of us and we can pick her up, she doesnt seem to have bonded with me.
Im worried as, even though we wanted them to be used to us both, we very much wanted our rats to seem like ours.
How can I get her to stay on me cos she keeps running off and wont sit still or eat any treats while on me.

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Life is only what you make it

Sat Feb 18, 2006 8:21 am

It's almost easier to say what NOT to feed them. Cheese should only be given as an occasional treat. Veggies are fine daily, but better to feed frequently small amounts than more twice a week. Try to remember that their stomachs are about the size of a....thumb I think it is, and that you want them to have a variety of high-quality (fresh, organic) foods apart from their staple diet of lab blocks and grain/cereal mix. Cauliflower is fine in small amounts. I would skip the mung bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts you find in stores and stick to sprouting your own--sprouts are almost always near spoiling by the time they are in stores and can cause problems in people. My rats prefer grains and beans when they are just beginning to sprout, so it is easy to soak some organic grain mix (whole wheat berries, whole oats, lentils, chick peas, etc) in a jar for two days, rinsing frequently and give them those. Don't worry about weighing the food. They can have free access to their staple diet, which should be a lab block like Harlan Teklad (most probably buy it online) to which people often supplement with organic puffed and flaked cereals, whole grain pasta, etc. Don't give uncooked hard beans. Just go easy on treats and sugary fruits because overweight rats, although cute, probably live less long than lean rats.
http://ratguide.com/care/nutrition/diet.php [there are lots of links here to nutrition articles]
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=18&cat=1804&articleid=1616 [supposedly plants poisonous to small animals, but some things here like parsley I wonder about--my rabbit has had parsley for 11 years now in huge amounts]

They like hammocks better when hung near the top of the cage and with a "ceiling" over the cage top--a blanket or piece of cardboard provides the darkness they like. Many prefer pocket hammocks or a hammock with a little fleece blankie on top to crawl under. They'll catch on wink