# Rats wont eat food I bought!



## frankieandroland (Jul 24, 2010)

I have two bald rats (double rex rats), male, we bought them around a month ago now, and have given them a varied diet of reggie rat and meat, pasta, egss, fruit, veg etc. 

But we found they were picking at the reggie rat food, so we were worried they werent getting enough vitamins, we stopped feeding the reggie rat once it was all gone, and instead bought pets at home rat pellets.

But since we put them in, they are refusing to even touch them! They maybe nibble a little bit on it but then leave it and eat the treats we put in instead. 

We stopped putting treats in to see if this made them eat their proper food which they need to get all the nutrients they need, but they are just ignoring the food and not eating it at all despite there been no other food in there!!!

This has been going on for a couple of days now, and we find ourselves giving in and putting meat, pasta etc in there cause we're worried about their health if they refuse to eat at all!

What should we do??? I cannot afford to keep buying £3-£4 bags of food for them which they simply refuse to eat! Will they eventually eat it if they get no other food given to them (so we basically have to the stubborn and not give in to them when they beg for treats!), or will this more than likely damage the rats health??

The food is rat food, not dog pellets or anything like that, so its not like they're "bad" for them and they have tried it but it makes them sick, but I want them to eat these pellets so I know they're getting everything they need from their food and then the treats which they get on top (scraps usually from what we are eating if suitable for them) are just extras and not sustaining them. 

Any advice at all would be realy good as Im starting to get really stressed with them now and Im worried about their health! I feel guilty leaving them without extra food if they wont eat that, but i know with kids if they refuse something because they want treats like sweets or crisps you refuse to give them anything else til its all gone...I dont know if this would work with the rats and if they're basically been spoiled and fussy cause they know they'll get extras??????


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## Nicky87 (Apr 25, 2010)

Ive kept rats for about 5 years but lost my last 2 last year. I found that giving them a mixture was always the best. I got some rat nuggets and the rat muesli from pets at home and mixed it all together in a icecream tub and added some dried pasta to it which they loved. I did put them on the rat nuggets to start off with but they didn't eat it so decided to give them a mixture and they did eat that. The dried pasta i got was the 17p bags from tesco so was not that expensive and the muesli was about the same price as the nuggets but as you put abit in of each it should not be to expensive


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Rats get very bored eating pellets as they like variety, why not get some decent rabbit food then add some dried dog food, dried pasta ,rice crispies and other healthy things to make your own mix. This can then be adjusted for young, old, fat or thin rats
One of the ratty people will be along soon to give you better advice
Have you tried giving them curly Kale as a treat, most will kill for it.
I certainly wouldnt force my rats to eat something they obviously dont like


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## rachel001 (Jan 28, 2009)

Its natural for rodents not to eat a new food straight away if you suddenly change to a different type. I read somewhere that rodents will only nibble new foods to start with and wait to see if they feel ok after eating the new food a couple of days later! I'm not sure if thats what yours are doing tho! 

I find its better to gradually introduce a new type by mixing it in with the old food to start with until they get used to it. Mine are just as fussy as yours and I find the mixing in works well when I want to swap to a new type of food. Mine also have the nuggets but they are mixed in with various things to make it a bit more interesting as mine soon get bored with one type of food. I tend to mix different things in each day to keep them interested!


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## amylls (Sep 18, 2009)

I totally agree that the pellets should be mixed with other things,but i dont know any animal that will eat any [email protected] pellet food! Try supreme science selective its the best food i have found and do versions for most small animals so thats what i feed them all.They all like it and it makes them look healthy with shiny coats:no1:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I agree with Shell, buy a good quality rabbit food and then add extras, apart from what Shell has said (dried dog food, pasta etc) you can also add broken up Ryvita, rice cakes, bits of millet, generally bits of anything that they'll eat.


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## Kare (Mar 9, 2010)

I agree if they dont like it change it, look up Shunamite rats Shunamite Rats and there is listed ways to use the rest of the bag you have as a base of a good diet along with many things listed above. 

Where it says BASE 40%-60% I would use the rat nuggets as say 20% by volume (for example 2 cups) and rabbit food as say 30-40% (say 3-4 cups) if you think your rats have lost weight from not eating then make it all up to 100% without the pasta and then add a half or full cup of pasta on top of that.


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## blade100 (Sep 26, 2009)

reggie rat is full of crap,its like feeding a child mac donalds everyday.

i always fed mine beapher extra vital rat mix along with various seeds,sunflower seeds,pumpkin and hemp seeds,porridge oats,weetabix,james wellbeloved dry dog food,dried pasta,unsalted rice cakes.this was all mixed up in one big tub.

fresh veg and fruit was given everyday and some cooked dinner at night.


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

I have three 'boarder' rats here, they've been here for months and arent' going back until October, they will only eat [email protected] pellets and nothing else.

My lot will eat al and everything I put in for them but they do get a mix of a good rabbit mix/pellet with pasta, dog complete, ferret complete, cat complete, noodles, cereals and in fact any dried foods we have in the cupboard so the 'mix' is rarely the same from one batch to the next.
They do get treats like tofu, chicken, bones, fruit and veg in fact almost anything we are eating each day.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Shell covered it perfectly, nuggets are crap, as is Reggie Rat, you're much better off buying a bag of a good quality rabbit food, and adding low sugar unsalted cereals and crackers to it, a bit of pasta if they're not too fat, and a handful of dog food.

You can add much more - there's details of what I feed mine on my website: www.bohemianrats.co.uk

If you cant be bothered making your own, I'd go for the Xtra Vital or PAH muesli. Any nuggets (including Science Selective) are generally pretty crap, the SS has way too much sugar in it, the other big name brand nuggets (which PAH ones are also made by) are thought to increase the risk of cancers by some folks.


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## Daisyy (Jan 15, 2010)

Rats are clever, they know that you'll put tastier treats in  If they are that hungry, they will eat the nuggets, mine do:lol2:

Stop giving them treats for a week or so xD


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## CollaredLizardGal (May 17, 2010)

Mine had a mix of foods as most of the aboves a healthy bunny mix with extra bits of cereals , they love fruit and veg as a treat especially corn on the cob! When our family have had corn cobs we usually each leave a bit on the cobs and they love rolling it around and picking off the bits, really cute to watch too. They also love the occasional piece of hard boiled egg. 
I try to avoid giving them too much meat as I don't think it is entirely good for them and I avoid too much dry pasta (as it swells in their bellies)
Oh and they love left over weetabix with warm milk! 
i try to vary the treats so they dont get too picky and I dont treat every day so they eat a massive variation of stuff. 
I also gave them one of my lizards locusts each and that went down a storm , but that was a one off.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Pasta does not swell in their bellies. Rats grind their food down to a powder.


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