I have a male pet rat and was wondering what are the appropriate things to feed him? Also...?

Question

he has contracted lice and no matter what I've tried I can't seem to get rid of them! They seem to multiply every time I've washed him! I've tried lice shampoo and what not but to no avail. Any ideas?

Answer 1

rabbit,hamster or ferret food are good. do not use human lice poison like RID they can kill him. go to a local pet store and got lice medicine there . and change his bedding before putting him back in his cage. also if he has any stuffed toys or blankets wash them.

Answer 2

You should have found out before you bought him, or from the pet shop.
Get the skin condition treated immediately by the vet because it may not be lice, it could be a fungal condition which needs an entirely different treatment that you can't get from the pet store. Plus the cage will need treating.
Rats need a high protein diet, have several tiny food dishes around the cage, the type that hang on to the wire. Give him dry cat biscuits in one for the protein, vitamins and to keep his teeth in good condition, rat mix in another, and then offer a variety of things like a few pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, fresh apple and carrot, fresh canned cat or dog food, hard boiled egg (just crack the shell, it'll give him something to do), wood gnaw chews for his teeth, a mineral lick and a water bottle.
You can also get a small litter tray, add some cat litter, put it in the corner that he uses as a latrine, add some of his droppings and he'll quickly be litter trained making his cage easier to clean.

Answer 3

Rats are omnivores which means they eat everything that human does. However, the best thing to feed a rat is a complete dried rat food. Pet rats are often bred from lab stock and are therefore prone to cancer. Supplementing the diet with fresh fruit and veg can help to prevent cancer, just like in people. Cut it into small chunks for your rat.

The lice are a problem. You need to clean and disinfect his cage with a pet safe disinfectant so it is spotless or alternatively buy a new cage. Your rat will need to see the vet so they can recommend a prescription only treatment for the lice.

Other common illnesses in rats are respiratory infections, again the rat need to see the vet for some antibiotics if he gets a cold. You will be able to tell he has a cold because red coloured mucus will come out of his nose and maybe collect around his eyes. Don't worry too much this is not bloood, just rat snot.

Answer 4

You can feed a pet rat, anything under the sun but to keep him healthy you have to buy rat food at your pet shop.
Please do yourself a favor first of all clean your cage with Jeyes Fluid, and do not return the rat to the cage until you have bathed him in the humans head lice shampoo, please also wash everything in his cage in jeyes fluid or in bleach, once everything has been disinfected then you can replace your rat, do this every second day until the lice are gone and off your rat

Answer 5

Ok, Don't hate me but I raise rats to feed my snakes and I keep my rats healthy. I feed them Rat pellets from a farm store, but If I can't get a bag or run out, I feed them Purina dog chow. It's not a bad dog food and its not very expensive. I don't know about lice but if my snakes get mites the vet told me to treat the cages with Frontline spray. Frontline is a flea and tic spray for dogs. Use any chemical with caution. He said to spray it in the empty cage, let it dry and wipe out with a paper towel. Put the snake back in with the substrate and put the water bowl in a day later. Don't know if it works for lice.

Answer 6

my male rat has got lice. You will have to take him to the vets. If you are in uk expect to pay about £7 for a course of three injections. But he must have all of them or they will come back. As to feeding, try a good rat muesli supplemented with apples, carrots green veg, mash potatoe and the occasional scrambled egg. My rats like the occasional bit of milky bread.

Answer 7

I have 2 pet rats, thankfully no lice, so can't help you there. My rats love lettuce, cucumber, babycorn. Small amounts of cheese. They love apple and all salad stuff. They go seriously psychotic for a hard boiled egg. They nibble at shop bought dry rat food, much preferring salad. Giving them too much protein also gives them dry, irritated skin - are you sure there are actually lice, not just dandruff?
Hope that helps. :) Rats are actually quite fussy and have gourmet tastes despite their reputation for feeding on garbage.

Answer 8

Sarah C is VERY WRONG> Rats DO NOT need a high protein diet. Too much protein is bad. IT leads to serious skin complaints which can turn to open sores.

Rats will eat almost anything. Feed them with rat pellets and supplement will small amounts of fresh food. They a very partial to live Mealworms.

Answer 9

Have you totally cleaned out his cage, toys, and any utensils as well each time you wash him?

Do you keep him anywhere where wild animals or rodents can get access to his cage?

Rats will eat ANYTHING. But if you don't want him to get fat limit the amount of fatty stuff you give him and make sure he gets enough exercise. That means little or no chocolate! XD

Little bits of fruit and veg go down well, hamster food, rabbit food etc... bird seed, small bits of table scraps now and then. (Watch stuff like breakfast cereal as it seems innocent but can be quite sugary and high in salt.)

Answer 10

They eat anything. My friend used to feed hers what ever she was eating that night. She used to put a spoon in his little bowl and he used to climb out of his cage and eat it and then go back in. she cave him pellets to snack on. He used tohave a skin problem and the vet advised a TCP bath. he used to Swim around in warm water with TCP in this big bowl she had form him. Try that also ask the vet first but Tea Tree oil diluted in water is good or vinegar, I was a nursery school teacher and we used to get the parents to rinse the kids hair in diluted vinegar or Tea Tree oil and it worked as the lice dont like the smell