Reptile & Amphibian Forums

.

you need to do some more research here on this page, as well as the archived old forum.. learn the DIET, CARE, and housing of the animal you keep.. also learn not to STRESS the animals you keep..

you should also listen to the advise given from the other keepers here on the site, instead of asking the same question over and over..

rats eat a NON MEAT DIET.. grains.. nuts.. vegies.. as little or NO meat/animal product as possible.

rats drink WATER.. thats it.. how would you give them milk exactly?.. a bowl?.. wouldnt work.. in their bottle?.. it would probably make them sick.. stick with 100% pure WATER..

no offense or nothing, but do some research into the proper husbandry and care of rodents

best of luck

dan

>>.

I give mine any cooked bones and very, very rarely tiny bits(the size of a mouthful for them) of cooked meats. Not a common thing.
DON'T give them dairy unless you want to make them sick. The only exception is yogurt, but then too, only now and then and a taste. Pasta, cooked rice, oatmeal....grain products if you feel the need to spoil them.
-----
Sonya

Should the oatmeal be cooked or just from the Quaker container (non-instant type plain)? I happen to have some that I bought to feed bugs, but if my rats would like some I will cook it or give it as is like a treat.

>>Should the oatmeal be cooked or just from the Quaker container (non-instant type plain)? I happen to have some that I bought to feed bugs, but if my rats would like some I will cook it or give it as is like a treat.

Mine eat it either way. But cooked they will plaster the walls and themselves and be a lot messier. And since they seem to enjoy it just as much, along with breakfast cereals etc. they get it dry. I only do cooked when I have someone special that is sick and needs extra stuff and rehydrating.
-----
Sonya

Every Sunday I clean out the fridge and anything that looks even remotely edible I put in the mouse/rat bins. Left over meat, noodles, breads, fruits.........just about everything ~No cheese or gravy~ (I even give them potato peels!) I usually drop in bread ends and fruit/veggie peelings anytime I have them, but on Sunday I put in anything that might be messy. (I save chicken bones for Sunday nights too) Monday is cleaning day, and anything not eaten gets dumped with the old litter.

I rarely have to throw away leftovers (if my family refuses to eat meatloaf for the 3rd day in a row, I know the rats will welcome it come Sunday!) and I know the rats enjoy the treat. I also go through my garden and give the rats/mice lettuce that has bolted (I let it keep growing after it has gone to seed and the family won't eat it, I just yank off chunks every week for the rats) and any tomato's or bell pepppers that don't look appetizing to me!

I don't think feeding them Dairy would be a good idea, and I don't think a steady diet of kitchen leftovers would be a good idea, but I have seen no reduction in production since I started treating the rats/mice to "Cleaning out the Fridge Sundays"!

Feed companies spend enormous amouts of money and time finding the most completely nutritous balanced diet for our animals. Why wreck it by giving them unbalanced 'treats' ? Rodents do not require 'treats' to be happy or healthy. If you do give 'treats', I recomend nothing larger than raisin size per rat per week.

DeMak

>
>>

take that pic off.. and resize it and upload it with the same file name.. then it'll be "small" for everyone

Feed companies also charge more for their complete nutrition blocks than I personally would prefer to pay. If I had a huge breeding operation, it would make sense for the convenience, but as I mix my own feed for them, instead I estimate out a balanced diet--mostly grains with a bit of dog or cat food for added protein, and "treats" which are actually nutritional boosters, like bones, greens and veggies, and so on. Rats appear to be perfectly healthy and produce fine litters on such a diet, so all the research in the world apparently can't do better than common sense. Omnivores thrive on variety.

"Treats" that add vitamins and essential nutrients aren't unecessary junk food, but valuable dietary additions.

I agree, if you're feeding lab blocks, there's no need to add anything. Still, occasional fresh greens won't hurt, they contain phytonutrients that lab blocks don't have. No dry formulated diet is REALLY complete. Even in human diets, we discover new things every year about the value of fresh foods.

They're balanced diets perhaps, but that doesn't relieve the monotony of the same food. I've had a few rats that absolutely refused to eat the prepared food from the stores or lab blocks for that matter. They held out until I gave in and started them back on my own mixture. Rats are intelligent and omnivorous...and most of them benefit from changes in diet that don't necessarily depend on what nutrients they're getting. If not physically, psychologically. I realize they're feeders, but it doesn't hurt to vary their diets at all... Just as you would your pets unless they're snakes and even then I tend to give a mixed diet of different rodents... Gerbils, Rats, Hamsters, even guinea pigs if I happen to have a snake big enough to take them. The point, though, is that a varied diet would actually benefit breeders as long as they were getting the proper nutrition as well.

Both of you make good points and JM has had good results for quite a while doing it her way also. Can't argue with results. Common sense will go along way. You're not the first time I've heard of rodents not eating chow, but I think that may be due to old stale feed. I also feed a small amout of cabage each week. I do it to supplement Vit C. Don't give too much though, it makes the poop soft.

They are after all omnivores.

DeMak

I wouldn't give them milk, most adult mammals are lactose intolerant. Cow's milk is not that great nutrition-wise anyhow.

A bit of meat is perfectly fine, just be sure it's lean chicken or something along that line. Some people give them bones as well, which they will eventually eat entirely--gnawing them grinds down their teeth, and the bones provide calcium. They enjoy the bit of meat and marrow attached to them.

Rats are omnivores, so a balance of grains, some veggies, and meat would be the ideal diet. Most people simply offer grains and a bit of dog food to balance out the protein level, with occasional veggies. Breeding rats require a higher protein level than would be provided by a diet of mixed grains only. Sure, soy or some other whole protein source would suffice, but meat works perfectly fine.

A few people claim that feeding them meat will adversely affect their temperment, cause them to eat their babies, or otherwise engage in antisocial behavior. <G> This is ignorant, don't believe it. I actually offer my rats extra protein when they produce a litter.