[CosmicKat62]

So just like the title says, Remy hasn't been eating his seed mix recently. I use Oxbow Regal Rat and Reggie Rat food and have been since I got him, and he ate everything in it except the thin seed things (I don't know what they're called). He still eats the Oxbow and his fruits and vegetables, but he will literally pick through his foodbowl to make sure not to take any Reggie Rat food.

His behavior hasn't changed, except becoming a little more lazy, but he's a little over a year old so would probably be mellowing down a bit anyways... I think?

So is this concerning? Or do I just have a very picky rat?

 

[moonkissed]

He is probably just being picky. it is very common with seed mixes, which is why they are not reccomended. Rats will often pick through eating what they like leaving the rest so they don't get a balanced diet & on top of it is is just a waste of money.

Since u also feed oxbow its fine but still a waste of money IMO lol

 

[CosmicKat62]

Okay, update. Tonight I went to feed him I noticed that that most of his food, including the Oxbow, was still there. While I was watching he picked up one piece of Oxbow and started to eat it, but when I moved closer to the cage he dropped it, licked his paws, picked it up again, and started eating it. Was that just because I surprised him? And could there be a real problem because he isn't eating as much food?

I'm leaving to go on vacation in 3 days and will be gone for two weeks, so I want to make sure this isn't serious.

Thanks.

 

[mimsy]

is he having issues holding his food, hows his balance? Have you looked as his teeth to see if anything unusual is going on?

 

[MomToRats]

Crafty Rat has a good organic mix that I order , I usually order 4lbs heres her site , I order the organic rat mix
http://www.thecraftyrat.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=TCR&Category_Code=FS

 

[CosmicKat62]

Um, today he took most of his food (I don't know if he ate it or if its stashed somewhere) including the seed mix. Did he just not want to eat for a couple of days or something?

His teeth seem fine, but when he eats he seems to lean slightly to the left. I don't think its a head tilt because its his whole body that leaning but its really very small, hardly noticeable. He balances fine.

MomToRats, does the Crafty Rat organic rat mix have peanuts? I'm allergic.

 

[Rat Daddy]

I've had rats that suddenly refuse to eat pizza... as long as they don't lose weight, I don't worry about finicky eating. They get block food and table scraps and they eat what they want and leave what they don't and they do just fine... One of our rats wouldn't eat anything she didn't dumpster dive out of the kitchen trash for a while if it wasn't moldy she wouldn't eat it... that was a little concerning, but she got over it.

Some years back we used to eat dinner with our rats, and even though we more or less ate the same foods every day our rats made different food choices. One day they would eat mostly meat, the next they chowed down on the veggies. On any given day their food choices weren't very good, but if you looked at their diet over time, they actually picked and chose a healthier and more varied diet than we did. Rats just seem to know what their body needs.

Best luck

 

[CosmicKat62]

Thanks everyone!