| Hello. - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Bunny |
Hi, everyone. I was "Googleing" (or do the spelling rules apply.. the
one about drop the e then add ing?) rats and wanted to chat with other
ratters. I haven't had any for a while, but just bought a young one
this past weekend. I have a terrier mix (Delta), and a 2 year old son.
I work mostly in construction fields, but am working on starting my own
bussiness.
Anyhow, hope to "meet" you all soon.
TTFN... Jenny
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| Joanne |
Bunny wrote:
> Hi, everyone. I was "Googleing" (or do the spelling rules apply.. the
> one about drop the e then add ing?) rats and wanted to chat with other
> ratters. I haven't had any for a while, but just bought a young one
> this past weekend. I have a terrier mix (Delta), and a 2 year old son.
> I work mostly in construction fields, but am working on starting my own
> bussiness.
>
>
>
> Anyhow, hope to "meet" you all soon.
>
> TTFN... Jenny
>
Hi Jenny, well you've certainly come to the right place to chat about
rat. lol
My first suggestion to you is to go and get your little guy a buddy.
Rats are extremely social animals and will be healthier and happier with
a same sex cage buddy. They will bond together as well with you and your
son.
If you have any pictures, we love those too... You can view my crew
here: http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
--
Joanne
Owned by 13 rats.
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| Tania |
Nice to meet you Jenny :-)
Joanne is very right when she says your new addition needs a pal :-) This is
a fab group and I am sure you will feel totally at home!
--
Tarn ...............
Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben, Neptune,
Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
"Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote in message
news:1144669227.190035.172500@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
> Hi, everyone. I was "Googleing" (or do the spelling rules apply.. the
> one about drop the e then add ing?) rats and wanted to chat with other
> ratters. I haven't had any for a while, but just bought a young one
> this past weekend. I have a terrier mix (Delta), and a 2 year old son.
> I work mostly in construction fields, but am working on starting my own
> bussiness.
>
>
>
> Anyhow, hope to "meet" you all soon.
>
> TTFN... Jenny
>
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| Bunny |
Hi, Joanne and Tarn.. I will get him a friend this week end. It's just
that I was worried about fighting between males. And I certainly don't
want to breed them. Do you think he might do well with another species?
I had an apricot teddy bear hamster that lived with a white mouse when
I was a kid.
Now, I used to feed my rats prior hamster and rabbit or guniea pig food
(depending on whay I had available) and once I even fed a bunch on
sweet horse feed. Those were some hyper, shiny rats! But this guy's had
Kaytee rodent pellets and fresh produce. This morning he had a
strawberry and last night dry oats and tonight we gave him a few sweet
peas from supper. Along with the pettets. We've been changing his cage
2-3 times a day. Now, I heard on tv that they don't do well in clean
cages. (I admit, I heard it from someone on a network tv court show...
) But I've always cleaned my rats' areas daily, or at least everyother
day, and now that I have on around my son, I want to do it more often.
He seems fine. Any opinions would be apprieciated.
Thanks- Jenny
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| Tiger Spot |
On 10 Apr 2006 16:11:40 -0700, "Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM>
wrote:
>Hi, Joanne and Tarn.. I will get him a friend this week end. It's just
>that I was worried about fighting between males. And I certainly don't
>want to breed them.
Young male rats get along well, and older males usually take to
younger ones all right if they're introduced carefully. Neutering is
also an option if the males are aggressive to one another. I'll let
folks with more male experience cover the details; I've always just
had females, and they're no trouble at all to introduce.
>Do you think he might do well with another species?
>I had an apricot teddy bear hamster that lived with a white mouse when
>I was a kid.
Rats will kill and eat mice. No other rodents are anywhere near as
social as rats are anyway, so it wouldn't really help.
>Now, I used to feed my rats prior hamster and rabbit or guniea pig food
>(depending on whay I had available) and once I even fed a bunch on
>sweet horse feed. Those were some hyper, shiny rats! But this guy's had
>Kaytee rodent pellets and fresh produce. This morning he had a
>strawberry and last night dry oats and tonight we gave him a few sweet
>peas from supper. Along with the pettets. We've been changing his cage
>2-3 times a day. Now, I heard on tv that they don't do well in clean
>cages. (I admit, I heard it from someone on a network tv court show...
>) But I've always cleaned my rats' areas daily, or at least everyother
>day, and now that I have on around my son, I want to do it more often.
>He seems fine. Any opinions would be apprieciated.
The only thing that might be trouble with cage changing that often is
that there are certain vitamins that rats don't digest the first time
through, so they need to eat a certain amount of waste to get all the
nutrients they need. (This is called coprophagy; rabbits do it too.)
As long as you're just scooping up wet litter ever so often rather
than removing every bit of waste as soon as it's produced he'll be
fine.
--Theresa
http://tiger_spot.mapache.org
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| Kate |
Bunny wrote:
> Hi, Joanne and Tarn.. I will get him a friend this week end. It's just
> that I was worried about fighting between males. And I certainly don't
> want to breed them. Do you think he might do well with another species?
> I had an apricot teddy bear hamster that lived with a white mouse when
> I was a kid.
>
> Now, I used to feed my rats prior hamster and rabbit or guniea pig food
> (depending on whay I had available) and once I even fed a bunch on
> sweet horse feed. Those were some hyper, shiny rats! But this guy's had
> Kaytee rodent pellets and fresh produce. This morning he had a
> strawberry and last night dry oats and tonight we gave him a few sweet
> peas from supper. Along with the pettets. We've been changing his cage
> 2-3 times a day. Now, I heard on tv that they don't do well in clean
> cages. (I admit, I heard it from someone on a network tv court show...
> ) But I've always cleaned my rats' areas daily, or at least everyother
> day, and now that I have on around my son, I want to do it more often.
> He seems fine. Any opinions would be apprieciated.
> Thanks- Jenny
>
Hi there and welcome to the group of Rat Addicts..:) I have only ever
had Boy Rats..:) The most I ever had at one time was 21 and they all
lived in their purpose built house. I have never had any problems. I
would thoroughly recommend getting a companion as its a long lonely
night when you have no one to play, groom and cuddle up with. IF you
get a baby Boy Rat you will have no problems at all. The older one will
look after him and teach him how to be a rattie..LOL. Good luck. As
for cleaning..?? well we do it daily as we have 9 boys now. We don't
change the layout of their house very often but we do give them lots of
boxes and tissues and material and hammocks so they can decorate
(destroy) to their hearts content. Feel free to look at the pictures in
the link below, it shows the house etc.
Regards Kate
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| Tracey |
"Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote in message
news:1144669227.190035.172500@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
> Hi, everyone. I was "Googleing" (or do the spelling rules apply.. the
> one about drop the e then add ing?) rats and wanted to chat with other
> ratters. I haven't had any for a while, but just bought a young one
> this past weekend. I have a terrier mix (Delta), and a 2 year old son.
> I work mostly in construction fields, but am working on starting my own
> bussiness.
>
>
>
> Anyhow, hope to "meet" you all soon.
>
> TTFN... Jenny
>
Hi Jenny! Welcome to the group!
I've always had male rats (with the exception of one female about six/seven
years ago). As the others have said rats are happiest when they are not
alone. I've never had any problems with introducing rats, and I've even
introduced two male adults before without any problems. Just introduce them
on neutral territory at first, like the couch or bed, and see how things go.
If problems do occur, there are different things you can try so all is not
lost if the introduction doesn't happen to go smoothly, but I'm sure it
will!
You mentioned mixing species: there may be the odd rare occurance where a
rat and other species will tolerate each other, but it is that - a rarity -
in most cases putting a rat with a mouse, hamster or gerbil for example,
will result in the death of the smaller rodent, so don't even try it.
I thought I'd post you a few links to some really good rattie websites. One
of *the* best sites is the RMCA:
http://www.rmca.org/
Here's a couple of my other favourites:
http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/
http://www.ratbehavior.org/rats.html
And a good diet reference can be found here:
http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/diet.html I don't recommend feeding rats
hamster food or foods made for other rodents. The healthiest choice is to
feed rat lab blocks, although they are not easy to get hold of here in UK
(not sure where you are) so I feed mine Suparat to which I add broken up
dried wholewheat pasta, cereal and raisins. Fresh fruit and veggies are
also fed daily.
If you'd like to have a look at my ratties, past and present, click on the
link below!
Tracey
http://community.webshots.com/user/tcsarah
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| Tania |
Hi Tracey,
I haven't been TOTALLY un-observant all this time have I?? You haven't
always had your Webshots link with your sig have you? I only spotted it
today! LOL.
How cute is Jake the woofer?? :-) He is a spaniel too eh? Have you seen my
recently updated pups? x
--
Tarn ...............
Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben, Neptune,
Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
"Tracey" <tracey7370@ukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4a1b47FqlrsoU1@individual.net...
>
> "Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote in message
> news:1144669227.190035.172500@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
>> Hi, everyone. I was "Googleing" (or do the spelling rules apply.. the
>> one about drop the e then add ing?) rats and wanted to chat with other
>> ratters. I haven't had any for a while, but just bought a young one
>> this past weekend. I have a terrier mix (Delta), and a 2 year old son.
>> I work mostly in construction fields, but am working on starting my own
>> bussiness.
>>
>>
>>
>> Anyhow, hope to "meet" you all soon.
>>
>> TTFN... Jenny
>>
>
> Hi Jenny! Welcome to the group!
>
> I've always had male rats (with the exception of one female about
> six/seven years ago). As the others have said rats are happiest when they
> are not alone. I've never had any problems with introducing rats, and
> I've even introduced two male adults before without any problems. Just
> introduce them on neutral territory at first, like the couch or bed, and
> see how things go. If problems do occur, there are different things you
> can try so all is not lost if the introduction doesn't happen to go
> smoothly, but I'm sure it will!
>
> You mentioned mixing species: there may be the odd rare occurance where a
> rat and other species will tolerate each other, but it is that - a
> rarity - in most cases putting a rat with a mouse, hamster or gerbil for
> example, will result in the death of the smaller rodent, so don't even try
> it.
>
> I thought I'd post you a few links to some really good rattie websites.
> One of *the* best sites is the RMCA:
> http://www.rmca.org/
>
> Here's a couple of my other favourites:
> http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/
> http://www.ratbehavior.org/rats.html
>
> And a good diet reference can be found here:
> http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/diet.html I don't recommend feeding rats
> hamster food or foods made for other rodents. The healthiest choice is to
> feed rat lab blocks, although they are not easy to get hold of here in UK
> (not sure where you are) so I feed mine Suparat to which I add broken up
> dried wholewheat pasta, cereal and raisins. Fresh fruit and veggies are
> also fed daily.
>
> If you'd like to have a look at my ratties, past and present, click on the
> link below!
>
> Tracey
> http://community.webshots.com/user/tcsarah
>
>
>
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| Bunny |
Tracy- this is short because it's time to get ready to go to work...
pics are CUTE! I've been inspired. I can't wait to add tubes and create
a hammock from this torn plastic canvad I have. Just cut it down and
attatch it to a couple of rods, or something. Or I used to hang a metal
Coors pail from the top of a ferret cage, voila. Swing and sleeping
spot all in one. It'll come.
Oh the food info helpped.
"It has been demonstrated that the incidence of mammary tumours in rats
increases substantially with diets high in total and saturated fat."
This explains why a pet shop I shopped at always seemed to have
tumourous rats. Dhe fed (and recommended) dry dog or cat food! That was
a loooong time ago though. I know better.
More soon. Work calls....
Jenny
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| Tracey |
"Tania" <tania.hewitt@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:GiL_f.16572$NN4.16164@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...
> Hi Tracey,
>
> I haven't been TOTALLY un-observant all this time have I?? You haven't
> always had your Webshots link with your sig have you? I only spotted it
> today! LOL.
> How cute is Jake the woofer?? :-) He is a spaniel too eh? Have you seen my
> recently updated pups? x
> --
> Tarn ...............
> Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
> At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben,
> Neptune, Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
> http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
>
Lol, no I don't usually include my webshots link. Hey thanks for the
comment on Jake (yep he is a spaniel - a Springer), he is a smashing dog,
not just to look at but he's so loving and obedient. We took him to the
coast for the first time on Saturday and he had a field day going in and out
of the sea playing with a ball - I'll have to add the photos to webshots.
I've not seen your updated pups yet, just off to have a look now..... ok
back again.... awwww, they are just gorgeous!!!
Tracey
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| Tracey |
"Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote in message
news:1144757939.196488.31190@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Tracy- this is short because it's time to get ready to go to work...
> pics are CUTE! I've been inspired. I can't wait to add tubes and create
> a hammock from this torn plastic canvad I have. Just cut it down and
> attatch it to a couple of rods, or something. Or I used to hang a metal
> Coors pail from the top of a ferret cage, voila. Swing and sleeping
> spot all in one. It'll come.
> Oh the food info helpped.
> "It has been demonstrated that the incidence of mammary tumours in rats
> increases substantially with diets high in total and saturated fat."
> This explains why a pet shop I shopped at always seemed to have
> tumourous rats. Dhe fed (and recommended) dry dog or cat food! That was
> a loooong time ago though. I know better.
>
> More soon. Work calls....
> Jenny
>
Rats love hammocks so that's a fab idea! I use cheap face cloths/flannels
and attach them to the cage with a metal paperclip on each corner - no
sewing involved so suits me! Sometimes if you look around the dollar/pound
store or in charity shops you can pick up really cheap kids toys that make
excellent rattie toys/cage accessories!
Tracey
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| Tania |
Phew! Thought that was beastly of me! :-)
I can't wait to see your updated pics of the beach. He sure sounds as though
he had an excellent time! :-) I really look forward to being able to take
the girls out to places like that too! x
--
Tarn ...............
Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben, Neptune,
Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
"Tracey" <tracey7370@ukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4a250pFqv352U1@individual.net...
>
> "Tania" <tania.hewitt@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:GiL_f.16572$NN4.16164@newsfe7-win.ntli.net...
>> Hi Tracey,
>>
>> I haven't been TOTALLY un-observant all this time have I?? You haven't
>> always had your Webshots link with your sig have you? I only spotted it
>> today! LOL.
>> How cute is Jake the woofer?? :-) He is a spaniel too eh? Have you seen
>> my recently updated pups? x
>> --
>> Tarn ...............
>> Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
>> At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben,
>> Neptune, Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
>> http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
>>
>
> Lol, no I don't usually include my webshots link. Hey thanks for the
> comment on Jake (yep he is a spaniel - a Springer), he is a smashing dog,
> not just to look at but he's so loving and obedient. We took him to the
> coast for the first time on Saturday and he had a field day going in and
> out of the sea playing with a ball - I'll have to add the photos to
> webshots. I've not seen your updated pups yet, just off to have a look
> now..... ok back again.... awwww, they are just gorgeous!!!
>
> Tracey
>
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| Bunny |
Tracy:
Hi! Thanks for the links. I'm a little confused. I"ve been told (and
strongly agree) that dog food and meat protiens are bad for domestic
rats. But on http://shunamiterats.co.uk it recomends :
Approx 45-50% by volume Alpha herbal Deluxe Rabbit food or substitute
Approx 10% by volume dry (uncooked) pasta spirals
Approx 5-10% by volume Alpha Lite Dog Kibble or substitute
Approx 35-40% by volume mixed human breakfast cereals from list.
Rabbit food was something I used to feed many rats back years ago, when
I had them and bred dwarf and lop rabbits. I also switched to horse
sweet feed(various brands). I even fed them a large quantity of chick
"Start - and - Grow" that I had great success with.All of these were
just the basis of their diet and were mixed with other things. But,
basicly, whatever I was purchaing in bulk for another veggetarian pet,
would usually get fed to my rats too. Problem is that I now have one
rat and a dog. I don't want to fed him the dog's food, but then I don't
think I want to find a place to store a large sack of chicken or horse
feed. The site reccomends dry cereal, and I have given him dry instant
oats, and bits of fruit, and the Kaytee. I even gave him the outter
leaves of a cabbage ( of course he didn't eat them all before I cleaned
his cage out again. But I think he ate some of the cabbage. I don't
want to give some types of lettuces since I realize they cause the
runs... and I know he seems to like peas. (Cooked and thawed frozen raw
ones.)
This guy (?) also reccommends pasta... and I suppose rice. But I know
that rice swells when it gets wet, (pasta too) and if it's eaten then
the rat drinks water, I am pretty sure it'll just swell in it's gut and
cause problems.
But the site did recommened bannana and grapes and strawberries, all
stuff I have on hand. And I can easily get Gerber baby cereal. I used
to pepper a dog's food with dried goat milk powder, because a breeder
assured me it would improve bone density. I guess powdered milk would
accomplish that in rats. Just sprinkle a little over the fruit.
That's one thing that's so neat about rats is their versatility.
Thanks for the sites. I'll get pics up soon.
TTFN- Jenny
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| Tracey |
"Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote in message
news:1144828917.527440.166420@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Tracy:
> Hi! Thanks for the links. I'm a little confused. I"ve been told (and
> strongly agree) that dog food and meat protiens are bad for domestic
> rats. But on http://shunamiterats.co.uk it recomends :
> Approx 45-50% by volume Alpha herbal Deluxe Rabbit food or substitute
> Approx 10% by volume dry (uncooked) pasta spirals
> Approx 5-10% by volume Alpha Lite Dog Kibble or substitute
> Approx 35-40% by volume mixed human breakfast cereals from list.
>
> Rabbit food was something I used to feed many rats back years ago, when
> I had them and bred dwarf and lop rabbits. I also switched to horse
> sweet feed(various brands). I even fed them a large quantity of chick
> "Start - and - Grow" that I had great success with.All of these were
> just the basis of their diet and were mixed with other things. But,
> basicly, whatever I was purchaing in bulk for another veggetarian pet,
> would usually get fed to my rats too. Problem is that I now have one
> rat and a dog. I don't want to fed him the dog's food, but then I don't
> think I want to find a place to store a large sack of chicken or horse
> feed. The site reccomends dry cereal, and I have given him dry instant
> oats, and bits of fruit, and the Kaytee. I even gave him the outter
> leaves of a cabbage ( of course he didn't eat them all before I cleaned
> his cage out again. But I think he ate some of the cabbage. I don't
> want to give some types of lettuces since I realize they cause the
> runs... and I know he seems to like peas. (Cooked and thawed frozen raw
> ones.)
> This guy (?) also reccommends pasta... and I suppose rice. But I know
> that rice swells when it gets wet, (pasta too) and if it's eaten then
> the rat drinks water, I am pretty sure it'll just swell in it's gut and
> cause problems.
>
> But the site did recommened bannana and grapes and strawberries, all
> stuff I have on hand. And I can easily get Gerber baby cereal. I used
> to pepper a dog's food with dried goat milk powder, because a breeder
> assured me it would improve bone density. I guess powdered milk would
> accomplish that in rats. Just sprinkle a little over the fruit.
>
> That's one thing that's so neat about rats is their versatility.
> Thanks for the sites. I'll get pics up soon.
> TTFN- Jenny
>
It's ok to use dog food as part of a rat's food mix if it is low in protein,
so dried diet food (like Alpha Lite mentioned on the shunamite site) made
for overweight dogs is ok - a couple of other examples are Eukanuba light
dog food or Nutrolite dog food.
I feed dried pasta (wholemeal or the three coloured ones) - the pasta won't
swell in their stomachs and cause prolems, same with rice - that's just a
myth. Raw grains are one of the healthiest things you can feed your rat -
full of nutrients which are reduced when cooked and because they are so hard
they are good for rattie teeth.
All my rats have loved bananas, strawberries and grapes. Another rattie
favourite are blueberries. My old rattie Max has a grape a day - he loves
them. Grapes and blueberries are good for hot summer days too when you can
freeze them and give them as a cooling treat.
I've found these other links concerning diet, which you may find handy:
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/homemadediet.htm
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/ratmix.htm http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html
http://www.boardmanweb.com/rattery/nutrition.htm
Looking forward to the pics!
Tracey
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| Bunny |
Tracey wrote:
Grapes and blueberries are good for hot summer days too when you can
freeze them and give them as a cooling treat.
Great idea! I live in Florida in the US and it gets sweltering down
here. I used to put ice in their water. One last thing this morning
before work:
Potatoes? I gave him a few pieces of cooked white potato this miorning
left over from dinner. Okay?
Jenny
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| Joanne |
Tracey wrote:
> "Bunny" <BONITABUNNY69@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote in message
> news:1144828917.527440.166420@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
>>Tracy:
>>Hi! Thanks for the links. I'm a little confused. I"ve been told (and
>>strongly agree) that dog food and meat protiens are bad for domestic
>>rats. But on http://shunamiterats.co.uk it recomends :
>>Approx 45-50% by volume Alpha herbal Deluxe Rabbit food or substitute
>>Approx 10% by volume dry (uncooked) pasta spirals
>>Approx 5-10% by volume Alpha Lite Dog Kibble or substitute
>>Approx 35-40% by volume mixed human breakfast cereals from list.
>>
>>Rabbit food was something I used to feed many rats back years ago, when
>>I had them and bred dwarf and lop rabbits. I also switched to horse
>>sweet feed(various brands). I even fed them a large quantity of chick
>>"Start - and - Grow" that I had great success with.All of these were
>>just the basis of their diet and were mixed with other things. But,
>>basicly, whatever I was purchaing in bulk for another veggetarian pet,
>>would usually get fed to my rats too. Problem is that I now have one
>>rat and a dog. I don't want to fed him the dog's food, but then I don't
>>think I want to find a place to store a large sack of chicken or horse
>>feed. The site reccomends dry cereal, and I have given him dry instant
>>oats, and bits of fruit, and the Kaytee. I even gave him the outter
>>leaves of a cabbage ( of course he didn't eat them all before I cleaned
>>his cage out again. But I think he ate some of the cabbage. I don't
>>want to give some types of lettuces since I realize they cause the
>>runs... and I know he seems to like peas. (Cooked and thawed frozen raw
>>ones.)
>>This guy (?) also reccommends pasta... and I suppose rice. But I know
>>that rice swells when it gets wet, (pasta too) and if it's eaten then
>>the rat drinks water, I am pretty sure it'll just swell in it's gut and
>>cause problems.
>>
>>But the site did recommened bannana and grapes and strawberries, all
>>stuff I have on hand. And I can easily get Gerber baby cereal. I used
>>to pepper a dog's food with dried goat milk powder, because a breeder
>>assured me it would improve bone density. I guess powdered milk would
>>accomplish that in rats. Just sprinkle a little over the fruit.
>>
>>That's one thing that's so neat about rats is their versatility.
>>Thanks for the sites. I'll get pics up soon.
>>TTFN- Jenny
>>
>
>
> It's ok to use dog food as part of a rat's food mix if it is low in protein,
> so dried diet food (like Alpha Lite mentioned on the shunamite site) made
> for overweight dogs is ok - a couple of other examples are Eukanuba light
> dog food or Nutrolite dog food.
>
> I feed dried pasta (wholemeal or the three coloured ones) - the pasta won't
> swell in their stomachs and cause prolems, same with rice - that's just a
> myth. Raw grains are one of the healthiest things you can feed your rat -
> full of nutrients which are reduced when cooked and because they are so hard
> they are good for rattie teeth.
>
> All my rats have loved bananas, strawberries and grapes. Another rattie
> favourite are blueberries. My old rattie Max has a grape a day - he loves
> them. Grapes and blueberries are good for hot summer days too when you can
> freeze them and give them as a cooling treat.
>
> I've found these other links concerning diet, which you may find handy:
> http://www.rmca.org/Articles/homemadediet.htm
> http://www.rmca.org/Articles/ratmix.htm http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html
> http://www.boardmanweb.com/rattery/nutrition.htm
>
> Looking forward to the pics!
>
> Tracey
>
>
The problem with grain mix and dog food is the lack of nutrients,
vitamins and minerals specific for rats. Rats require a different daily
amount than humans and dogs. Dog food and human food are also not energy
dense enough for rats. Although they are good as a supplement to their
diet, they really should have a food formulated for rats which do
contain the amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to sustain them.
--
Joanne
Owned by 13 rats until this coming Friday!!
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| Buck House Crew Jackie |
Hi Jenny
> I'm a little confused. I"ve been told (and
> strongly agree) that dog food and meat protiens are bad for domestic
> rats. But on http://shunamiterats.co.uk it recomends :
> Approx 45-50% by volume Alpha herbal Deluxe Rabbit food or substitute
> Approx 10% by volume dry (uncooked) pasta spirals
> Approx 5-10% by volume Alpha Lite Dog Kibble or substitute
> Approx 35-40% by volume mixed human breakfast cereals from list.
The Shunamite diet is a mixture of different ingredients.
Imagine you have a box which hold 10 litres. When you make the mix
roughly half is the rabbit food, one third is the human cereals, one tenth
is uncooked pasta, one tenth is dog kibble. So you'd have 5 litres of
rabbit food, 3-ish litres of human cereals and so on.
The Shumanite diet is recommending dog biscuit, not tinned dog food.
> Problem is that I now have one
> rat and a dog. I don't want to fed him the dog's food, but then I don't
> think I want to find a place to store a large sack of chicken or horse
> feed.
You will be able to give your rats some of your dog's biscuit and you can,
more or less, give any fruit and veg you and your family normally eat.
You will need a basic mix as a base, I use rabbit mix, then you can add
other human foods like cereal, pasta, dried fruit etc.
> The site reccomends dry cereal, and I have given him dry instant
> oats, and bits of fruit, and the Kaytee.
My lads love cooked instant oats, just allow it to cool. They go mad for
it.
> This guy (?)
Her name is Alison ;-D
>also reccommends pasta... and I suppose rice. But I know
> that rice swells when it gets wet, (pasta too) and if it's eaten then
> the rat drinks water, I am pretty sure it'll just swell in it's gut and
> cause problems.
Because rats grind up their food as they eat there is no risk of rice,
pasta or anything else swelling when wet.
I did once hear a horror story of a rat being killed by couscous but it
turned out that the rat had stuffed it's mouth full then choked and the
owner didn't know how to clear the throat.
> But the site did recommened bannana and grapes and strawberries, all
> stuff I have on hand. And I can easily get Gerber baby cereal. I used
> to pepper a dog's food with dried goat milk powder, because a breeder
> assured me it would improve bone density. I guess powdered milk would
> accomplish that in rats. Just sprinkle a little over the fruit.
Some rats are lactose intolerant so I wouldn't use powdered milk. You can
get puppy / kitten milk from pet shops if you want to give milk. Also
soya milk is ok to give rats.
Just one word of warning - be careful if you give red / black fruit.
If your rats are anything like mine they will eat the some of the fruit
and smear the rest all over their cage. When you next check on them the
cage will look like there's been a massacre and then you spend ages
looking for wounds to account for the bloodbath.
It's only after you've checked everyone and been in a total panic about
invisible wounds that you'll find a bit of fruit and remember what you
gave them :-D
HTH
--
Ratty Hugs & Cavy Kisses
Jackie
Ably Hindered by The Buck House Crew
"Don't eat the green wobbly bit."
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Terry Pratchett.
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| Mark Thompson |
> there are certain vitamins that rats don't digest the first time
> through, so they need to eat a certain amount of waste to get all the
> nutrients they need. (This is called coprophagy; rabbits do it too.)
It should be noted that rats only do this out of necessity, eating only
enough to cover the deficiency. If their diet provides all their needs
they don't do it at all.
What I'm trying to say is that they find it just as icky as we do :-)
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| Tracey |
"Tania" <tania.hewitt@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:geS_f.31333$g76.8043@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
> Phew! Thought that was beastly of me! :-)
>
> I can't wait to see your updated pics of the beach. He sure sounds as
> though he had an excellent time! :-) I really look forward to being able
> to take the girls out to places like that too! x
> --
> Tarn ...............
> Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
> At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben,
> Neptune, Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
> http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
Tarn, I've now put the photos on webshots, under 'Jake'. I wish I could
have got better pics at the beach but Jake was too fast for me!
Tracey
http://community.webshots.com/user/tcsarah
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| Tania |
Hi Tracey,
They are lovely pictures! Jake looks SO happy! He looked as though he was
absolutely loving the snow, bet he needed a bath after that?! I laughed out
loud at the picture of "Big Nose!" :-)
I had a peek at your pictures and card designs too, and I have to say, they
are fantastic!! Did you paint the first ones, of the fruit? The cards are
just gorgeous - You are very talented Tracey!
I am so into cross stitch! I find it so relaxing - I have started work on a
mammoth piece, where I am going to TRY and stitch a picture of each rat I
have ever, and currently own! I have got as far as Cookie at the moment but
it is a monster job!!
Happy Easter! x
--
Tarn ...............
Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben, Neptune,
Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
"Tracey" <tracey7370@ukonline.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4aa49sFs36klU1@individual.net...
>
> "Tania" <tania.hewitt@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:geS_f.31333$g76.8043@newsfe2-gui.ntli.net...
>> Phew! Thought that was beastly of me! :-)
>>
>> I can't wait to see your updated pics of the beach. He sure sounds as
>> though he had an excellent time! :-) I really look forward to being able
>> to take the girls out to places like that too! x
>> --
>> Tarn ...............
>> Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
>> At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben,
>> Neptune, Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
>> http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
>
>
> Tarn, I've now put the photos on webshots, under 'Jake'. I wish I could
> have got better pics at the beach but Jake was too fast for me!
>
> Tracey
> http://community.webshots.com/user/tcsarah
>
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| Tracey |
"Tania" <tania.hewitt@nospam.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:iuU%f.7572$H8.1086@newsfe3-win.ntli.net...
> Hi Tracey,
>
> They are lovely pictures! Jake looks SO happy! He looked as though he was
> absolutely loving the snow, bet he needed a bath after that?! I laughed
> out loud at the picture of "Big Nose!" :-)
>
> I had a peek at your pictures and card designs too, and I have to say,
> they are fantastic!! Did you paint the first ones, of the fruit? The cards
> are just gorgeous - You are very talented Tracey!
>
> I am so into cross stitch! I find it so relaxing - I have started work on
> a mammoth piece, where I am going to TRY and stitch a picture of each rat
> I have ever, and currently own! I have got as far as Cookie at the moment
> but it is a monster job!!
>
> Happy Easter! x
> --
> Tarn ...............
> Barney, Yoda, Yogi, Beau & Sebastian <:3_)~~~
> At Rainbow Bridge: Buttons, Patch, Cookie, Fudge, Apollo, Zeus,Ben,
> Neptune, Morpheus,Ulysses, Pluto, Jerry & Smokie <:3__) ~~~
> http://community.webshots.com/user/tarn75
Thanks Tarn - you're very kind! :o) Yep, I painted the fruit ones well over
ten years ago now, I don't tend to do much painting these days as I don't
enjoy it like I used to, only if somebody commissions me to do one or
painting is involved in one of my card designs. Paul has been on at me to
do him a painting of Jake so I may get round to that one day! I love doing
cross-stitch too, I've always got a few on the go - that's a brilliant idea
to do one for each rattie, how wonderful. So do you draw your own designs
out on squared paper or have you got a special computer programme that turns
photos into charts? I would love to see the ones you have already done.
Jake is a happy dog - his tail is always wagging! He adores his walks, and
yes, often needs a good dunking in the bath!!! Bet you can't wait for your
wee pups to have all their shots so you can take them out!
Happy Easter to you too!
Tracey
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