need help w/ feeding my rats

[rattiluvr]

i have another problem with my rats. whenever i try to feed my rats, one of the rats(hamilton) always eats his food first then he takes chester's food away from him. chester is more shy than his brother, and he never even tries to get his food back. i have tried several times to feed chester, but hamilton always gets all the food. i don't wanna havta take chester out of the cage everytime i go to feed him. so what should i do?????

[wolfsoul]

Why not feed them seperatly?

[rattiluvr]

well, wat i mean is i have tried to feed them seperatly, but i don't want to have to take one out of the cage and put him somewhere everytime i go to feed them. i'm not sure that chester is doin ok also. chester is the one that gets his food stolen, and latley he has been sneezing more and almost like coughing. he acts just fine though.

[Breezy Top Cat]

The sneezing thing.....my son had a pet rat Mikey and he would get raspy and sneezy when I put cedar chips into his cage. I had to switch to the regular pine. They didn't help with the odor, but I'm sure Mikey was allergic to the cedar ones.

I would put a divider in the cage or have a small container to put Chester in so he can eat. It sounds like both are males by their names and I'm not so sure two male rats would ultimately get along and as in any type of animal there is always a pecking order. It is your responsibility as their owner to be sure each gets his own share of food. You would do that with your children. You wouldn't let one starve because the other was older and stronger and stole the food. Maybe a seperate cage is needed. We purchased a large clear plastic storage box--like a rubbermaid container about the size of a laundry basket. We drilled holes in the plastic lid with a drill and it made a wonderful inexpensive cage and Mikey never got out. It was also easy to clean.

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by Breezy Top Cat
The sneezing thing.....my son had a pet rat Mikey and he would get raspy and sneezy when I put cedar chips into his cage. I had to switch to the regular pine. They didn't help with the odor, but I'm sure Mikey was allergic to the cedar ones.

I would put a divider in the cage or have a small container to put Chester in so he can eat. It sounds like both are males by their names and I'm not so sure two male rats would ultimately get along and as in any type of animal there is always a pecking order. It is your responsibility as their owner to be sure each gets his own share of food. You would do that with your children. You wouldn't let one starve because the other was older and stronger and stole the food. Maybe a seperate cage is needed. We purchased a large clear plastic storage box--like a rubbermaid container about the size of a laundry basket. We drilled holes in the plastic lid with a drill and it made a wonderful inexpensive cage and Mikey never got out. It was also easy to clean.

Actually, both cedar an pine shavings are bad -- they contain toxic aromatic oils called "phenols" which cause damage to the lungs and airways when inhaled. Cedar is the worst though, as it also has microscopic barbs that slice the airways and get caught in the lungs.

Male rats get along just fine, as long as they have both lived with rats before. I had a male that had been without another rat for over two years, and he accepted and loved the babies I gave him. They are very social animals. I agree that they should be housed seperatly when fed, but not forever -- they become very depressed if they are left alone for too long.

[rattiluvr]

well i thought that it was the litter at first, but i heard that most rats go through a sneezing stage when they go to a new home. i also have a natural bedding, that is, i believe, the number 1 recommended brand to use. so it was prolly just their way of getting ajusted to their new environment. also my rats have been with other rats since the time they were born, these two came from the same cage and i believe the same litter. they get along fine, except for feeding. thank you for your advice i definatly needed it i will try to feed them seperatly from now on. thanx