It is likely not hunger but boredom that is causing them to chew. They need a large cage with lots of space to climb, lots of toys, hammocks, baskets, etc.. and a good amount of time outside their cage. Rats are very smart and so they easily get bored if they are not mentally stimulated.

I would also highly recommend a cage that does not have a plastic bottom, so they can not chew out and escape. Once a rat is chewing like that it is unlikely they will stop.

Food wise IMO mixes like that are not great. I personally wouldn't feed any pet anything by kaytee. But mixes suck because they are full of junk and rats will pick & choose what they eat from it so they are not getting a very balanced diet.

I highly recommend a lab block type food such as harlan, mazuri or oxbow.

I feed my rats oxbow myself and feel it is the best choice. I buy 20lb bags on http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16965 it is by far the cheapest place online if u r in the US.
They also get lots of fresh veggies every day.

 

Thank you @moonkissed for the response. I did read they could chew out of boredom which is what my fear was with how small the cage is. I had planned on getting a bigger one when I had more money but guess now will have to be it lol. What toys and such do you use in your cage? I do let them out on the bed as long as I can each day (some days few I'm unable too or it's a short amount of time). Any suggestions on toys and things to help them with the boredom.
And I'll take a look at those foods. I did read about the Ox one. But I'll look into those as well. I just noticed they left a lot of the generic things in there but would eat the seeds and other goodies.

 

Thank you for responding! I'm new the forum and I didn't know how to reply to your via mobile. Any suggestions on toys and such you use in the cage? I'm getting a larger cage should be here by tomorrow (at the warehouse for Petco boo).

 

Yeah it makes sense that they would gobble up the seeds, seeds are quite high in fat so really should only be fed sparingly as a treat. It is like they were just munching on all the junk food!

For toys I use cat balls, little felt balls, hanging bird toys, you can make little treat toys by taking a toilet paper roll and filling it with treats then folding the top and bottom closed.

Here is some more ideas:
http://www.dapper.com.au/toys.htm

 

I also use Oxbow adult rat food, I also mix National Geographic rat food.


For toys, I also use cat balls, and hanging bird rings (i tied them from one corner to a ladder to make for climbing)
I even cut the bottom off a pringles can to make a tube. I have lots of chews for them.

 

like a lot of other people, i feed my ratties oxbow adult rat food. it's pretty cheap and they seem to like it. i also have an array of treats ( gerber graduate puffs, sugar peas, strawberries, etc. ) to feed them instead of yogurt drops all the time, although they do like those too.
always fill the cage with a variety of toys. bird toys work well and so do ferret and cat toys, as long as they are not filled with cat nip. my boys love hanging chews and perches ( try lava ledges. )
i realize money can be tight and cages for rats are pretty expensive. make sure you take them out often so they get plenty of exercise and love.

 

like everyone above i feed oxbow and my rats love it.

 

oh my! Thank you all for your responses! I did get a bigger cage and added a hammock and some hanging chew thing which they liked and i plan on getting more hanging toys for them. I've been looking into ropes as ladders and such so i'll look at the bird rings. Thank you again for helping And i do take them out as much as possible and let them run around my bed when i'm there and ill leave them to make dinner or what not.

 

About the climbing bird toys my rats don't like to climb as much as others (really lazy) so the just have a lot of huts and hammocks. It really just depends on how active your rats are so don't be disappointed if they don't like them. But as for hammocks you really can't go wrong with them.