My ratties.

[whyhellothar]

Im not gonna argue anymore. My rats are fine, and if you will just stop bugging me about pine, ill use newspaper, because the only thing i have in my town that sells pet supplies is walmart and they dont have a variety of choices.

[ema-leigh]

Were not bugging you or arguing. You made an ignorant statement on a public forum, that other people come to for advice. Our members have to jump onto it so other members are not getting incorrect information and harming their rats. I am also a rescue and have seen first hand what pine does to the rats - its not something to be taken lightly!

Newspaper is a good choice, you can shred it and make a fun bedding for them. You can also buy Yesterdays news cat litter, which is a litter made from recycled newspaper, at Walmart. Its safe to use with the rats.

What rat food do you feed them? because store bought mixes are actually really bad for them. Would you be open to hearing suggestions on ways you can give them a good healthy diet?

[whyhellothar]

My rat food just says premium pet rat and mouse food. I talked to my friend. She said pines questionable but her rats are fine, and shes been raising her rats the same for five years and never had problems. Im open to any food suggestions, though.

[Kiko]

Does it have seeds? Nuts, and anything like that?
If so it is bad for them. Has no nutritional value.

Are you by chance willing to order food online?
Harlan teklad is great for rats, and very affordable at just 1$ per pound.
So 5$ plus shipping for a 5 pound bag of food that would last a while and keep your rats healthy.

[whyhellothar]

It depends on if my moter would be willig to buy online until i have money. But, probably. Theres no seed or nuts in it.

[ema-leigh]

Its not questionable, its proven toxic. Of course her rats seem okay, the damage is all in their organs. Ask her how old her rats live to be on the pine, does she ever have any necropsy's done to determined cause of death? I bet her rats don't have gorgeous shiny coats and some are wheezy. To be honest, any moron could breed rats, theres a difference between doing it, and doing it right.

Any seed mix is garbage, its all fatty seeds and nuts. Instead of carb based grains - which is what they need. A REALLY great food which provides all the nutrients they need, yet is still readily available and a good price is Hamsters Living World Extrusion (the only hamster food thats good for rats!) If you can, I would highly suggest switching to this food, its a lab block and will give them all the nutrients they need to thrive!

You could also pick up some ensure or infant milk replacer and give them small amounts, because honestly these babies look like they are under 1 month old to me. Either way, they are small and it will help them grow a bit. Additional protien treats such as chicken, salmon and boiled egg would also be great for them right now!

[Kiko]

Is it Kaytee blocks?

[whyhellothar]

Its in block form, in a way. Its made with alot of grains. Anyway, my rats seem happy and they often vibrate and make that weird purring type noise that i forget the name of. They seem happy.

[ema-leigh]

It depends what type of grain it is, some are very poor quality. Read the ingredients. What protien percentage does it say on the package? What is the name and brand of the food? What are the ingredients?

[Kiko]

If it is Kaytee then it is bad.
Thats the only store bought block I can think of.
Unless it is Mazuri which is a good food.

[ema-leigh]

Theres carefresh and forti-diet....

The only good blocks are Harlan, Oxbow, Mazuri and Hamsters Living World Extrusion.

[Kiko]

If none of those are  available to you then a high quality dog food with lots of fresh foods can be a good substitute IF no other food can be obtained.

[ema-leigh]

Feeding dog food full time can be hard on their kidneys. In the event you can't find any decent food I would just make a basic mix from grains brought at the grocery store. I could help you out with that if you need a list of ingredients and how much to use etc.

[whyhellothar]

Its not a brand name. Its just the box I got at walmart the says "Premium pet mouse and rat food" the ingredients list is too long, so the basics are corn, wheat, vitamins, etc. Grains and vitamins. That cant be bad.

[Em]

This is why I always research a new pet. I get my first rescue Rats next week, and I have learnt so much before hand. I knew about the shavings, I suggest an old towl to line your babies cage good luck,, and perhaps pop them back to Mummy for a few weeks just to be sure ...