Another diet help question has come in this week. Let’s tackle it straight away:
Question: Bought two 7 week old male rats a couple of days ago and they seem to be settling in fine, still sneezing a bit but definately settling down I’ve also had them out a couple of times for about 5 minutes a go just to get them used to it. My problem is the woman in the pet shop told me I should keep feeding them what the pet shop fed them for a while which was these rat nuggets that didn’t particularly look too pleasing and she said to mix them with a bit of rat muesli, now of course I’ve been giving them various other bits like fresh fruit and veg and pasta etc but they don’t seem to be eating ANY of the rat nuggets at all. The muesli is supposed to be a balanced diet and everyone says they’ll pick their favourite part out and just eat that but mine are eating all of it and leaving the nuggets. So does anyone with rats think it’s a wise idea to just scrap those nuggets altogether since they aren’t being eaten at all?
Answer: Yes. My rats don’t eat "rat nuggets" either, except for when they don’t have anything else and they’re waiting for dinner time, and even then they still don’t want it! I give them corn or peas, with things like pasta or meat or whatever i’m having (my rats are fond of things like macaroni, eggs, bacon, and many other things like that, but they don’t get very much or have it often).
Pet stores usually have no idea how to take care of their animals. I hate the seed mixes, because dried corn has a fungus in it that can make rats sick, and they usually pick out the unhealthy seeds and only eat those. Plus i’m fairly certain you’re not supposed to give rats peanuts in shells, and a lot of mixes have them. Also, the nuggets usually aren’t that healthy for them, it’s really hard to find a brand that doesn’t have too much protein (i’ve heard some people say no more than 14% and others say no more than 16%) AND one that your rats like. You would be much better off giving them just a diet of mainly veggies with some meat and pasta and a little bit of fruit (fruit can be a little too sugary for them).
Pet stores usually have no idea how to take care of their animals. I hate the seed mixes, because dried corn has a fungus in it that can make rats sick, and they usually pick out the unhealthy seeds and only eat those. Plus i’m fairly certain you’re not supposed to give rats peanuts in shells, and a lot of mixes have them. Also, the nuggets usually aren’t that healthy for them, it’s really hard to find a brand that doesn’t have too much protein (i’ve heard some people say no more than 14% and others say no more than 16%) AND one that your rats like. You would be much better off giving them just a diet of mainly veggies with some meat and pasta and a little bit of fruit (fruit can be a little too sugary for them).
