[Nuggiebean]

So i Have two different foods I give my rats. I first gave them pellets for young rats but a friend ave me some food that was for adult rats (6 months and up) but I was pretty sure my rats were over six months old so I decided to give them the adult pebbles also with the young rat pellets. my rat bean was eating the pellets but once I fed her both of the foods, she would much rather have the pebbles. When I feed my rats, I hold the food out in my hand so they will grab it. My other rat nugget rats whatever I give her. Bean never eats the pellets she use to eat and would only eat the pebbles, but recently, she won’t eat either. im Not sure if she eventually eats when I’m not looking/ on her free time, but I am worried so I started giving her things like fruit to eat so I know she won’t be hungry. She eats the fruit, but I am worried that she still might be sick. I don’t know if she is just tired of the pebbles and pellets, or she is sick. I also recently got new pellets but she doesn’t like them still. I am worried.

 

[LT_2022]

Did you check the teeth? Overgrown teeth makes it hard to eat pelleted food so soft foods like fruit are easier to eat. Normal rat teeth look like this:

Overgrown teeth can look something like this (picture below may be graphic)

Spoiler: Overgrown rat teeth

A vet would have to trim the teeth. A general wellness check of both rats is a good idea as well. You'll need to find an exotic vet.

If the teeth look normal, your rat may just be picky. What brand of food are you feeding? I'd stick with one type instead of mixing the two different types. Put the food into a bowl so they can eat whenever they want.

 

[Ratty_123]

So i Have two different foods I give my rats. I first gave them pellets for young rats but a friend ave me some food that was for adult rats (6 months and up) but I was pretty sure my rats were over six months old so I decided to give them the adult pebbles also with the young rat pellets. my rat bean was eating the pellets but once I fed her both of the foods, she would much rather have the pebbles. When I feed my rats, I hold the food out in my hand so they will grab it. My other rat nugget rats whatever I give her. Bean never eats the pellets she use to eat and would only eat the pebbles, but recently, she won’t eat either. im Not sure if she eventually eats when I’m not looking/ on her free time, but I am worried so I started giving her things like fruit to eat so I know she won’t be hungry. She eats the fruit, but I am worried that she still might be sick. I don’t know if she is just tired of the pebbles and pellets, or she is sick. I also recently got new pellets but she doesn’t like them still. I am worried.

What brand do you feed them? The best ones to feed are oxbow, mazuri, science selective, and native earth. 💛

 

[Nuggiebean]

i normally feed them oxbow but they didn’t have that at the store so I got kaytee.

 

[LT_2022]

Kaytee products are fine but I don't think the food is thought very highly of. Can you get some Oxbow online?

 

[Ratty_123]

i normally feed them oxbow but they didn’t have that at the store so I got kaytee.

Kaytee isn’t very good quality and has known to be fatal to some rats. Very rare though. I’m not trying to scare you, I just learned that. I would switch back to oxbow as soon as possible. Oxbow is sold online and in most pet stores. 💛

 

[Enya and Sheba]

What brand do you feed them? The best ones to feed are oxbow, mazuri, science selective, and native earth. 💛

I have three very picky eaters too. I never heard of native earth before so i looked it up and found it on Amazon. They only sell it at 40lbs and it's $92.99 OUCH! I can't see paying that much not knowing for sure my rats will eat it. They eat the oxbow garden select and only if i break the piece in half. I'm gonna buy some science selective and mix the two together and see what happens

 

[Ratty_123]

I have three very picky eaters too. I never heard of native earth before so i looked it up and found it on Amazon. They only sell it at 40lbs and it's $92.99 OUCH! I can't see paying that much not knowing for sure my rats will eat it. They eat the oxbow garden select and only if i break the piece in half. I'm gonna buy some science selective and mix the two together and see what happens

I personally think that mixing brands is a great idea! I feed my rats a mix of oxbow adult rat pellets, oxbow adult rat garden select blocks, mazuri rat and mouse food, and science selective rat food. I find that it lasts longer and they eat it and if they don’t like one brand, they eat the other and are still getting all of the needed nutrients! 💛

 

[Enya and Sheba]

I personally think that mixing brands is a great idea! I feed my rats a mix of oxbow adult rat pellets, oxbow adult rat garden select blocks, mazuri rat and mouse food, and science selective rat food. I find that it lasts longer and they eat it and if they don’t like one brand, they eat the other and are still getting all of the needed nutrients! 💛

Exactly!

 

[Nuggiebean]

Kaytee isn’t very good quality and has known to be fatal to some rats. Very rare though. I’m not trying to scare you, I just learned that. I would switch back to oxbow as soon as possible. Oxbow is sold online and in most pet stores. 💛

Thanks! I’ll try to get more oxbow.