So heres the deal, Piggle was very appropriately named because she will eat or atleast taste anything infront of her face, including fingers; But Lulu on the other hand only seems to eat her store bought food, i've tried her on veggies, the odd small piece of cheese, hard boiled eggs, even peanuts and nothing... could she just be picky or is this a bad sign?! I'm kinda worried, but not quite sure because they've proved to be so different in so many other aspects, maybe their diets is just another difference between the two?!
eating habbits
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What are you feeding them besides? Some of my boys do not like things the others go mad for, like doggie biscuits, kale, oil and bread, etc. It could be that she's too shy to take it... Have you just left it in there or does the other one snatch it all up?
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Rats learn what's okay to eat from watching what their cagemates eat. I've had rats turn their nose up at ALL kinds of food when they're in quarantine by themselves. Once I introduce them to my big group (who inhales everything, by the way), they immediately start trying new foods and develop new tastes. You could try 'showing' her rat to eat by eating it yourself and then offering her some.
i've left food in there only to be touched by piggle, and i've made sure to leave it in enough quantities so that piggle couldn't possibly eat it all... and she still wont eat, but i agree with the whole shy thing, it wouldn't surprise me, although piggle is much more timid, lulu is quiet and calm so maybe she is shy in that sense.
i don't know, i just find it really strange because the other rats i've owned were hogs, like grab the food and run, and piggle is like that but lulu acts like she has so much class, like a real high class snob almost. She puts her nose up in the air and just turns away, its pretty frustrating
Oh, I know exactly what you mean! All my boys EXCEPT Guinness want foooood fooood fooooooood! It worries me to death half the time, but I know he's eating...
ETA: I've gone so far as to put him in his own cage to monitor his eating. And he does eat. On his own time.
ETA: I've gone so far as to put him in his own cage to monitor his eating. And he does eat. On his own time.
Haha, I was actually going to try that, its funny i know shes been eating to because she has gained some weight, but you can definately notice the weight difference between lulu and piggle, lulu's body is long and slender, and piggle is a bit on the pudgey side, which has led me to start believing that she may be a bit on the pregnant side, pet store rats, you never get exactly what you think you're buying... i really hope she isn't, but if she is, i've dealt with it before, I'd keep the females and I'd try to find homes for the males, I'm a bit sexist when it comes to rats lol.
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my girls may be quarelling but the one thing they agree on is they want a bit of mario...poor boy he is not interested in the slightest. is it possible to have gay rats? in all seriousness...i don't think he'd be fussed by the girls at all...he wanders near their cage but doesn't sniff or anything whilst they bang against the bars offering themselves! dirty little hussies!!!Poppyseed said:
I've read several places that it's possible for animals to be homosexual, and if it's prove to be true, I see no reason why a rat couldn't be gay. Though I doubt Mario is gay, it isn't impossible.
Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate
James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
July 23, 2004
Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. So go the lyrics penned by U.S. songwriter Cole Porter.
Porter, who first hit it big in the 1920s, wouldn't risk parading his homosexuality in public. In his day "the birds and the bees" generally meant only one thing—sex between a male and female.
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But, actually, some same-sex birds do do it. So do beetles, sheep, fruit bats, dolphins, and orangutans. Zoologists are discovering that homosexual and bisexual activity is not unknown within the animal kingdom.
Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo have been inseparable for six years now. They display classic pair-bonding behavior—entwining of necks, mutual preening, flipper flapping, and the rest. They also have sex, while ignoring potential female mates.
Wild birds exhibit similar behavior. There are male ostriches that only court their own gender, and pairs of male flamingos that mate, build nests, and even raise foster chicks.
Filmmakers recently went in search of homosexual wild animals as part of a National Geographic Ultimate Explorer documentary about the female's role in the mating game. (The film, Girl Power, will be screened in the U.S this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m PT on MSNBC TV.)
The team caught female Japanese macaques engaged in intimate acts which, if observed in humans, would be in the X-rated category.
"The homosexual behavior that goes on is completely baffling and intriguing," says National Geographic Ultimate Explorer correspondent, Mireya Mayor. "You would have thought females that want to be mated, especially over their fertile period, would be seeking out males."
Well, perhaps, in a roundabout way, they are seeking males, suggests primatologist Amy Parish.
She argues that female macaques may enhance their social position through homosexual intimacy which in turn influences breeding success. Parish says, "Taking something that's nonreproductive, like mounting another female—if it leads to control of a resource or acquisition of a resource or a good alliance partner, that could directly impact your reproductive success."
Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate
James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
July 23, 2004
Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. So go the lyrics penned by U.S. songwriter Cole Porter.
Porter, who first hit it big in the 1920s, wouldn't risk parading his homosexuality in public. In his day "the birds and the bees" generally meant only one thing—sex between a male and female.
Email to a Friend
But, actually, some same-sex birds do do it. So do beetles, sheep, fruit bats, dolphins, and orangutans. Zoologists are discovering that homosexual and bisexual activity is not unknown within the animal kingdom.
Roy and Silo, two male chinstrap penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo have been inseparable for six years now. They display classic pair-bonding behavior—entwining of necks, mutual preening, flipper flapping, and the rest. They also have sex, while ignoring potential female mates.
Wild birds exhibit similar behavior. There are male ostriches that only court their own gender, and pairs of male flamingos that mate, build nests, and even raise foster chicks.
Filmmakers recently went in search of homosexual wild animals as part of a National Geographic Ultimate Explorer documentary about the female's role in the mating game. (The film, Girl Power, will be screened in the U.S this Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m PT on MSNBC TV.)
The team caught female Japanese macaques engaged in intimate acts which, if observed in humans, would be in the X-rated category.
"The homosexual behavior that goes on is completely baffling and intriguing," says National Geographic Ultimate Explorer correspondent, Mireya Mayor. "You would have thought females that want to be mated, especially over their fertile period, would be seeking out males."
Well, perhaps, in a roundabout way, they are seeking males, suggests primatologist Amy Parish.
She argues that female macaques may enhance their social position through homosexual intimacy which in turn influences breeding success. Parish says, "Taking something that's nonreproductive, like mounting another female—if it leads to control of a resource or acquisition of a resource or a good alliance partner, that could directly impact your reproductive success."
maybe your females just aren't in heat so he's not interested, if i'm not mistaken they're most likely to come into heat during the night hours so maybe he shows interest in them when you're not looking. Also maybe your females are a bit more curious than your male... I owned a male and female a few years ago and the male was much more calm than the female, only showing interest in her when he had to, (like some men of our own species) but he got her when she came into heat alright.... just don't get overly confident and put them together, because instincts will eventually prevail i'm sure.
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renay: you make an interesting point about not getting too confident that he is not interested...i sometimes wonder if they could play together under supervision but i am not going to take the chance!
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