[Alyssa_Rat]

So like Alyssa is drinking alot ((and i mean alot)) of water... her water bottles about the size of my hand and she goes through it every 1-2 days.. and she doesnt like leaving her cage anymore.. she gets really skidish and scared.

Also TempleTon.. ive never seen a rat eat so much in my life of owning rats.. so i usually give them both ((Alyssa and TempleTon)) 5 rat blocks to last usually 5-7 days.. with Alyssa one can last 2 days but with TempleTon those 5 dont even last 3 days.. Alyssa will scatter hers and hide them around her cage.. but TempleTon eats them! i know this cuz i dont find any remains or hidden food in ((or around)) his cage.

Are any of these behaviors odd... can anyone help me out??

 

[DarkDesires814]

5 lab blocks for a week? Each of my rats can go through more than that in one day. Him eating 5 in 3 days actually seems like he's not eating enough to me

 

[Forensic]

Seems like he's eating just fine. He's a growing boy...

As for Alyssa, that much water consumption could mean she's sick.... Or your water bottle's leaking.

 

[lilspaz68]

Is the bottle an 8 oz bottle? Put something under it to see if its leaking. 8 oz's in 2 days is too much water if she's drinking that much. Is she older? Older rat may be going thru kidney failure which is a normal thing sadly.

Okay the average adult rat eats 3-5 lab blocks per day. The higher the quality of the lab block the less they will eat because low quality labblocks are full of fillers and not as much nutrition.

I free-feed my lab blocks, I just make sure they are low protein and low fat.

Are you restricting their diet for some reason?

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

No firstr Alyssa only a couple months old so there should be no kidney failure.. then TepleTon is reaching his adult hood ((acording to the Rat aging Chart)) so maybe that could be why hes eating so much.. im not restricting there diet at all.. i just figured the blocks should last.. TempleTon eats twice at much in on week as Alyssa so of course hes getting more food than her.

Alyssas water bottle could be leaking.. ill watch it i guess.

 

[OnlyOno]

how large are the blocks you're feeding them? rats generally don't overeat, they know when to stop and will stop when they have gotten enough nutrition out of their feed. rats get fat when there is more fat than they need in the amount of food they eat to meet their other nutritional needs. i'd see how much your rats eat if you just give them unlimited blocks. it honestly doesn't sound to me like they're getting enough.

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

ummm idk there pretty big blocks.. and its only TempleTon that eats alot.. and its not that hes getting enough cuz whenever i se that he doesnt have anymore food i give him more food. He gets more than i think he should get.

And yea i think Alyssas water bottle is leaking cuz the bedding under her water bottle is a lil damp.. but not wet.

 

[Forensic]

He gets more than you think he should get?

Give him a bowl full. COUNT the blocks. Count how many he eats in a week (eats, not hides). That's how much he should get, plus a bit.

 

[DarkDesires814]

I don't understand why you think they should only have one block a day. Did you read that somewhere or did you just look at the size and think they should last longer? What brand are you feeding them?

 

[Poppyseed]

I think my smallest rat eats around 4 or 5 a day, I make sure everyone has 7 a piece per day at least. Sometimes they won't eat it all, others they do. It's just better to keep them plentiful so you know they never hunger.

Are Alyssa's poops runny? If her poops are runny, then I would worry about her water. The tiny amount she eats worries me.

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

Ok im only ganna say this one more time.. TempleTon does not hide his food he eats it all. I give him food when he runs out and obviously ive learned that i need to give him extra food whenever i feed them.

No Alyssas dropping are not runny, there normal and Alyssa just doesnt eat her food as quick a TempleTon, she likes to hide each peice of food in different places and eat them gradualy.

 

[DonnaK]

I don't feed rat blocks, but 1 a day does sound very little. Are you feeding her anything else on top of the blocks? Could it be that she is filling herself up on goodies and so she's not eating as much of her normal food?

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

No.. Alyssa eats fine.. Its TempleTon eating so much, so i filled his bowl up completely but it holds 30+ rat blocks so today i did fill it up to 30 peices and still by the end of the day half of that was eaten... hes a pig.

 

[Poppyseed]

No, one a day is too little. What type of block do you feed them? I wouldn't worry about Templeton, you should free feed lab blocks like crazy if you can. One a day isn't enough food for a rat to live off of.

Like I said 5-7 a day is normal. 15 is a little high but he may be incredibly hungry from only eating a couple a day because that ISN'T enough. So yeah free feed as much as possible, if he wants to eat 15 lab blocks, let him eat 15 lab blocks. I would worry about Alyssa only eating one, that's scary because that just doesn't contain enough calories for a rat too properly live off of.

 

[kancerr]

your rat should drink on average 1 oz of water a day.(you should still change it often even though it holds more). if there is no hole in the bottle and everything is the way it should be, you have to remember to fill the water bottle all the way to the top(completely full) and screw it on tight. (i made the mistake of fillin it up half way once and it leaked all the way out). and as far as the food, if theyre not gettin fat theyre eating is fine(as long as its not too little, if theyre barely eating you might wanna get em checked out). but as everybody else said, rats are great at rationing their food.

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

Ok again Alyssa fine.. she eats plenty, she just doesnt eat it as fast. TempleTon is fine also, ill free feed them from now on and how you got the "1 block a day" thing is beyond me, I seid "5 Blocks usualy last them the week but TempleTons been eating alot more lately" i never seid i feed them 1 block a day.
And im feeding them:
Classic: Mouse & Rat Food ((Essential Daily Nutrition)) the 4lb. bag

When TempleTon was in his smaller cage he would take the cloth and push it up against his water bottle licky thing and it would soak through all the fabric... but i think Alyssas is leaking. I figured out how much water her water bottle holds and its a 4-5 oz. one ((its long and sorta thin)).

 

[Forensic]

5 blocks in a week is less than a block a day. That's too little.

Is that the stuff with molasses in?

I think I used to have that, maybe it's a different brand, though.

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

Idk if it has Molasses in it.. it rat blocks.. its the only king the pet store had and that ive ever seen.

They obviously get more than 5 blocks a week.

 

[Forensic]

But you said that's all they eat. Were you simply exagerating?

As for the food, maybe it's a generic brand... my old kind probably was too... We stopped feeding it... figured it was probably too sugary.

 

[Alyssa_Rat]

Its all Alyssa eats plus a few i feed her through the cage as a pretend treat ((she doent know the diff.)) when im out of treats for her, if i give her more than that she'll have a few laying around her cage when i clean it.
Now TempleTon eats way more than that but when i got him the 5 would be fine for him, maybe hes eating more cuz hes growing into a medium sized rat, Alyssas still a small size.

Idk it could be genaric.