BABIES! What a night

[IRescue452]

I don't know enough about rats to know what they need. I just saw you two discussing about eggs and thought I'd share the study. I plan to have at least one guinea pig after I graduate and move so I'll probably be mixing my own food because I saw this study. I hadn't thought past dog and cat processed food before then.

[DrKym]

Jess your diet sounds great for them! I would however add the cottage cheese or yougurt. I realize axle needs healthy food also and my babies come out so nice and plump. I am not sure at what stage pinky hopper jumper etc he eats at but it may help him to gain his weight. also as a preventative as you said earlier any toxin in his diet would be very damaging (im sure you already do this but,) sterilize their water bottles at least once a week in the dishwasher and freeze all potentially harmful foods (like eggshells) so that the pets you breed are healthier and her their babies are also! again if I can help you any other way about the rats pm me. I have never lost a snake due to food related issues and have always raised their dinners.

[molucass]

http://ratsrule.com/diet.html

This is actually a good diet for rats, and what I fed mine when I had them.

If you can't find all the ingredients where you live, add some different things that you want to put in there. I did that too.

Instead of the innova senior dog food that she puts in it, I used another high quality brand of senior food.

The raw diet sounds like a great plan, but I also wanted to offer this up incase you still wanted to feed them a grain mix.

I've found that most premade mixes you can buy at pet stores for ratties aren't that good for them.

[DrKym]

agreed thats why i use just the pellet for teeth and add all the rest lol

[king2005]

Thanks for all the great info guys!! Its awesome!

I'll defently be going to that site later today! I used the last of the mixed food, so I'll have to buy raw foods prob by sun or mon (I have a huge dog dish & i just fill it 1/2 with food & it lasts for many days).

List of what I'll feed them (may change after i go to that site), let me know if you dissagree with anything.

-12 grain bread
-egg with shells
-frozen veggies - left frozen if its hot, otherwise thawd
-cooked chicken
-cooked chicken bones (can they eat the leg bones? cause chicken legs are cheaper as I can get them in bulk)
-cottage cheese (I ALWAYS have it in the house, I eat so much of it lol)
-Potato (would the starch be good for them when they have babies?)
-Mixed bird seed, with sunflower seeds & peanuts (I used this with my old rats & they liked it)
-Alfalfa (sp?) - only a small handfull when I clean the cages, as I know its very fatning.

Hows that so far?
I will update the list as I go on & learn..

All the wet foods will be in a different dish, then the dry foods, so they don't make the dry foods mushy & gross. I was thinking of slowly buying several of those hanging dishes, so each type of food can stay in its own dish & then I cam just change & fill that one kind of food. Would this be better? It wont be for some time, as those dishes cost 8.00 each & I just bought Mango's new tank. its a 70g for 100.00 with a stand!! My poor fish can finally have a large tank again!! My poor baby has been so mad in his tiny tank (his 55g tank blew up a couple weeks ago, been saving up for a new tank & found one yesterday!)


I'll take pictures tomorrow (going to the bar tonight with the girls to rate the guys hehehe) I did take a video of Bailey giving birth (kinda), you cannot see a baby, but you can see her contractions & her eatting a plensenta (ewww).. This was my first birth that I got to see, so I was a typical family member, HAD to take a video & ooo & aww I'm still all gitty from seeing it & helping out.

However there is some bad news. Bailey wasn't able to care for her babies & only 5 survived. I had to end one as its hips were dislocated & there was internal bellding & it was in a lot of pain This is why I check on the babies daily. A rats first litter doesn't always go well, as the mother isn't sure what to do & I know from the past, they accidently hurt the babies. I have a total of 13 babies (I removed 2 from Vodka's first litter, as they were not eatting & sickly looking & 10 was too much for Vodka's first)..

Vodka must have been teaching Bailey how to care for the babies, as BOTH females are in the 1 nest feeding the babies & they are also taking turns. The 13 remaining babies are SOOOOO fat with milk & look good

I checked the other 3 girls & 2 of them should be due next week, as they are tubby & putting on weight fast (I really noticed it lastnight when i was chasing them around my room (darn things love to get out when I'm cleaning & make me chase them lol).

oh I have trained them all to respond & come to me when I say "rat rat rat".. I started saying that when I added food, so now they are all coming to that, so when they get out & run off, they come when i say "rat rat rat" hehe Far easier then trying to teach them all their names & remembering which one i'm chasing lol

[molucass]

You can't give rats alfalfa because they cannot digest it. Most of them won't eat it anyway, so its usually just left in the food bowl.

[king2005]

You can't give rats alfalfa because they cannot digest it. Most of them won't eat it anyway, so its usually just left in the food bowl.

Did not know that. I wont give them the last bag I got for free.. I'll give it to someone with a bunny