how much and how often should i feed my rat?

Question

also... these are the things i have been feeding her
purina one kitten food (in place of lab blocks)
and some soft food once in a while
not too many nuts
and ive been giving her fruit and veggies
i just need to know how often i should fed her
and how much at a time
i dont want her to die from overeating
and i dont want her ot die from malnutrition!
for gods sake i love my mocha

i dont feed her mainly kitten food people! i feed her cereals that dont have sugar, oats, things liek that and she loves an occasional yogurt drop once in a while. she really loves the oats and things

Answer 1

First off, rats should be eating rat food, not kitten food. There is way too much protien in kitten food. She may be healthy for a few months but the lack of adaquate nutrition will affect her health.

I suggest getting her a good quality lab block. They are complete in nutrition and made for rats. Lab blocks are better than the seed mixture since the rat cannot pick and choose favorites. As a whole the seed diet is ok, but most rodents just pick out their favorites and leave the rest, making the diet incomplete in nutrition. If you cannot find a high quality lab block then you can feed a diet like Suebees.

On homemade diets you must follow them to the letter. Complete these diets are healthy, but if you add or subrtact they are no longer complete. Kind of like it you cut out one of the food groups from your diet. The homemade diets are mostly half dry dog food. The dog food is an addition to grains, etc. Not just any dog food is acceptable, the protien must be low and the main ingredients quality(Innova, Nutro lite, etc)

Feed fruits in moderation as they are a treat, as for veggies feed dark leafy greens and vary them daily.

Rats are not like people, most will not eat for the sake of eating and if they are on a healthy lab block they will not get over weight. Rats eat when they are hungry and should have food available at all times.

Link to subess diet
http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html

EDIT: She really souldn't be eating ANY cat food. It is not made for rats. However she is your rat and you can feed her what you want, but if youo are asking for info on rat nutrition you should be listening to what people have to say.

Answer 2

You can keep dry food in Mocha's dish all the time so she can eat whenever she likes. Veggies & other fresh foods should be removed if uneaten so they don't spoil & give her a tummyache. Kitten food has too much protein, which can give her skin problems. We give our rats a little vegetarian dog food, but it's about a third of their dry mixture which includes various grains, cereals & a small amount of seeds. They also get fruit & veggies a few times a week & occasional nuts (with the shell--it's a snack! it's a toy!) I keep hearing that rats enjoy uncooked pasta by none of mine have any interest in it. Of course, make sure Mocha always has water. She'll enjoy those little chew blocks made specially for rodents, a hammock (which she'll probably chew up eventually) and the company of another girl rat would be lovely.

Answer 3

Dont listen to them! Rats can and will eat anything. I had my last rat for 8 1/2 years and he got everything. From, cat food (tons of it!), sweets, fruits, veggies, bird seed, blocks, yogurt, everything and anything you can imagine! Not once did I have a problem with my rats health. I was a little over procted over him (as he was my baby) and took him for more then regular "check-up's". He was in perfect health for the whole 8 1/2 years I had him. I fed mine everytime he was out of food! But the thing is, is you cant really tell when they are out of food, as they will also hide some. So what I did was search around the cage and get all the old things (even if it was only a day old) and give him more. They will eat when they are hungery and hide the rest for later, but I never let him keep the food hid cuz I didnt want him to eat old food. Would you? Like I said they will eat when they are hungery! But you must ALWAYS take out day old food.

Answer 4

Rats should have food available to them 24/7. Your rat isnt going to over eat, it'll eat when its hungry. I usually fill my rats bowls in the morning when I wake up, and again at night before I go to bed, if they need it.

You should go to the store and get food especially made for rats, not kitten food. Rats can have treats though. I usually mix one bag of grainy cereal (like cheerios or rice crispies, nothing too sugary) in with the bag of rat food. It adds a yummy treat and makes the food last a little longer.

She wont die from over eating, but if you're worried about her health, make sure she has a rat wheel in her cage so she can get plenty of exercise, and make sure she has fresh water available in her water bottle 24/7, and keep her cage nice and clean (clean it once or twice a week). Fresh fruits and veggies are great treats and provide good nutrition for them.

They sell more than just the blocks of food for rats, most pet stores have bags of rat food that have big seeds, nuts, etc etc in the mixture. Those mixed with some cereal for a treat, plus the fruits and veggies youre giving her should provide her a nice well balanced meal.

Answer 5

well that is kinda good start. i've owned rats for years and mine have all lived long happy lives. that said you should modify your mix. they need more nuts, less protein. t he kitten food is not good for her, neither is rat pellets in my opinon. i feed mine a mix call mardi gras for hamsters and guinnie pigs. it's filled with seeds( not nuts i am rewording sorry for confusion, not nuts seeds) dryed fruits veggies. it has some pellets and stuff in there too. i balso add some kitten choe to the mix not a lot. just a little couse my girls love it. and face it what fun is life if you can even eat what you like. couse god knows i eat all kinds of stuff i shouln't on a daily basis and i love it. i treat my girls with hard cat treats. couse after they are treats and they love them. cut out the soft stuff all together it can damage their teeth they need to eat harder foods to keep their teeth short or you can run in to all sorts of problems. i give my girls freash fruits and veggies too but those are extras. moral of the story is get a good packaged mix that looks like trail mix. couse that means it's got lots of goodys in it. build off of that so you know your giving them a balanced meal. you should feed them once a day. a handful. i have two and they each get their own bowl. and very rarely are their bowls ever both empty when i go to feed them the next day so they aren't starveing, and they are not fat either. though in high school i had a rat that weighted 5 lb he was so fat! he ate people food and peanutbutter cookies. he lived to be 4 1/2. rats life spans are 2-3 years. well i have learned. but yeah keep trying:) you'll find a system:)

Answer 6

Well, people have talked about what to feed your rattie, so I'll mention how often. With my hoarde, I went and figured out where they stash food from their dishes (if they don't just pile things in the dish to hide the food that way). And the dishes don't get refilled until the stash is mostly empty. That way, they're not getting food that'll just go to waste, you know? Just watch Mocha when she eats, you'll get to know how much she wants and when she eats that way. Hope that helped!

Answer 7

Here is a great website all about the care of pet rats. Good luck with your little Mocha! I had a sweet little rat named Odette. She was a lot of fun and a real sweetheart! http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/

Answer 8

Cat food is not balanced for a rat. Please get her rodent block--it is necessary for a long and healthy life! A small scoop of hamster seed mix is Ok for a treat once a day.

Answer 9

about once a day

Answer 10

Good God woman, it's a rat...