Rat info needed

**king2005** · 05-30-2006, 08:08 AM

Its been nearly 6yrs since I have owned rats. I want to make sure I haven't forgotten how to care for them. So any advice on foods & toxic foods like orange rindes (sp) would be great

Also which shavings/bedding/litter is best? <-- has completely slipped my mind

What juices can I give & how much.. I plan to buy a small water bottle for juices

**Miss Z** · 05-30-2006, 11:46 AM

Rats can eat a lot of stuff, veg, fruit, meat and dairy products. Tia loves meat, and she also likes cheese, egg and plain yoghurt. I don't give her too much of this stuff as it is quite rich and fattening, she'll usually have one of the above about once every 1-2 weeks. Rats seem to love banana too. I read somewhere that they shouldn't eat tomato leaves as they can be poisonous. Basically, don't give a rat anything you wouldn't eat yourself

Tia just has normal wood shavings, but some rats have allergies to it and you can keep them on wood based cat litter. Sawdust isn't recommended as rats are prone to respiritory problems, and never use cedar wood shavings. You can put hay or fluff in a place where they sleep to keep them warm and cosy, but straw is too stiff and can scratch them. Tia doesn't like having any bedding where she sleeps, I attatched a small plastic plant pot to the bars of her cage and she loves to sleep in there!

I don't know about giving them juice, I've never given Tia juice before, but I expect you can give it too them.

**Chilli** · 05-30-2006, 07:46 PM

Zara seems to have covered the extra food well, and I'll add in my advice on the bedding^^. Its reccomended, to help controll odor and absorb the urine, to use Yesterdays News. Its actually made for cats, and found in the cat litter section of petstores. It works really well. I like for my ratties to have something more softer to make their bed with, so I either give them some Carefresh, or some shredded computer paper (no ink) to put in their hammock to curl up with.
I don't know anything about juices either... so I'm no help when it comes to that.
I hope I was of any help.

**luckies4me** · 05-30-2006, 11:18 PM

Having been a rat hobby breeder for going on ten years now, I can personally say that Yesterday's News is not a good rat bedding. You can use it for litter boxes, but as for odor control it does nothing to help. It's not fluffy, and it's just plain unnatural. Rats need something they can dig in, such as Carefresh (try the ultra as it tends to be less dusty), Aspen shavings, or hemp. Cedar and pine contain toxic phenols which can irritate the respiratory tract, and since rats are so prone to upper respiratory infections please don't use those types of bedding. Plus, they are more prone to carry ectoparasites such as mites/lice.

As far as juice, if you get male rats please stay away from orange juice. Plus, citrus is a no no anyway. Dairy is also something to stay away from, especially if a rat is having any URI issues. Meats are ok in limited amounts. I would stay away from hot dogs, though I do admit to giving my rats little pieces of it every month or so. Basically keep it healthy. My rats are fed a mostly organic based diet. Lentils, puffed corn and rice, spiral colored pasta, cheerios (plain), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, split and green peas, millet etc. I also mix in some dried fruit in limited amounts as well as some nuts. I stay away from peanuts. Filberts are especially yummy to rats and here in Oregon they are plentiful.

Fresh fruits and veggies are a must. My rats love apples, pears, bananas, grapes, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, kale, bok choy (spelling?) etc. As far as treats I usually give boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, cooked pasta, spaghetti, tuna casserole, toast. Sometimes I think they eat better than me! They also enjoy pork and chicken bones. Unlike dogs they do not pose a threat to rats. They gnaw their food therefor do not have to worry about splintering or choking. I also give my rats salmon (cooked) and raw oysters. They love them!

Any other questions?

**Suki Wingy** · 05-30-2006, 11:26 PM

Hey, I was wondering if you might be able to use swheat scoop for rats, becuase it is wonderful for covering rabbit urine odors.

**luckies4me** · 05-30-2006, 11:28 PM

Originally Posted by Suki Wingy

Hey, I was wondering if you might be able to use swheat scoop for rats, becuase it is wonderful for covering rabbit urine odors.

Swheat scoop is awesome! It's the coolest cat litter invented.

haha. As far as rats, with what I've seen in regards to it clumping I don't know if it would be too safe to have around rats in case it was accidently ingested? It's great at odor control though! I know there are a few breeders out there who have used it and say it's wonderful though.