[thehonestpirate]

So I have had my rats for a few months now and it seems like there is one mean one (caramel) she is both mean to me and the other rats it seems, however, there are times when she can be a sweetheart and just be nice to the other rats and me. Recently i've noticed that they have been hording most of their daily food in a corner which I assume is normal. The problem is that Caramel will watch the horded food and when two of the three other rats take the food she chases them down and squealing erupts from the cage, i've noticed that one of them she will let take the food. Is this normal or should I be doing something about this?

 

[About Pet Rats]

I've seen this happen with rats I've had in the past. There almost always is a dominant rat. Because of this, I started feeding them separately in the morning and evenings. For example, I feed a special breakfast on individual dishes while my rats are with me in the morning and then, again, a special dinner for each of them which I supervise while they eat in the evening. Other than that, I make sure to hand them, individually, a lab block each evening and morning which they can place wherever they'd like. I also hide a few lab blocks (Harlan Teklad) and pieces of kibble (Oxbow) throughout the cage so they can find extra helpings if they're hungry. (Here's a little bit about how I feed my rats each day: http://aboutpetrats.com/nutrition/a-typical-days-diet)

Just be careful that all of your rats are receiving adequate nutrition. You don't want Caramel causing anyone to be missing out on getting enough daily nutrition.

 

[thehonestpirate]

I have harlan teklan, I am wondering how many blocks I should feed to each individual rat? I have decided to give them the blocks personally from my hand to avoid Caramel's wrath. Lol.

 

[About Pet Rats]

My rats usually eat around two HT lab blocks each per day. The amount you'll feed may be different from mine, depending on age and activity level. A good way to figure out how much to feed is to give them a set number of lab blocks, ideally more than you'd think they'd eat in a day. Then, after 24 hours, count how many are left over. This will give you a good idea of how many they eat in a day.

BTW, I don't leave lab blocks in my rats' cage for longer than 24 hours. If any are uneaten, I throw them out and start over with new blocks each day.

I don't know what type of cage setup you have, but you could have Caramel spend part of each day with just the one rat she allows to take food from the stash. That way the other two won't be worried or scared when they try to get some food from the stash. On the other hand, if the two Caramel doesn't allow to take food aren't skinny, they're probably fine.

 

[Isamurat]

I’d try scatter feeding, which is essentially hiding there blocks around the cage (ideally at different levels). This needs you to work out how much they should eat a day which is easily done (packets don’t take into account individual rats), just put a known amount into the cage (I do this by weight as I feed a mix but you could count pieces) then before feeding the next day count up how many are left (probably removing caramel first). Then you need to look at your rats and decide if there on average a bit fat, thin or just right. If they are a bit fat take about 5-10% off (unless they are obese then about 25% off), If they are a bit thin then add a little, if they are right then this is the perfect amount.

Once you’ve done that then next time you feed sprinkle bits of food everywhere, hide some in more challenging places like scrunched up in paper or maybe check out some of the parrot foraging toys out there (these are often very cool). This will then mean that one rat can’t defend all the food. You will just need to keep an eye on it for a while going forward and adjust the amount to reflect any additions or losses and when there activity levels or needs change.

I do think you may need to do something about Caramel though, if shes aggressive towards you and other rats. How old is she out of interest and is she spayed?