# my rats dont chew?



## aang (Feb 7, 2012)

I've put wood blocks, boxes, corks, and the like in my rats cage,
but they won't chew them.
Could this be bad for their health? Why aren't they chewing on them?


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

LOL check to see what else they might be chewing...mine ignore the wooden things I put in there for chewing and decided that their hammocks and litterboxes are much better! 
I also found rats on lab blocks tend to chew less on chewing toys than rats being fed a homemade grain/cereal mix, pellets or kibble. Those lab blocks are like rocks, they are so hard! 
I would just keep an eye on their teeth- if they dont appear overgrown, then I wouldnt worry too much- they are obviously keeping them maintained.


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## aang (Feb 7, 2012)

He only has one hammock he doesn't use, and a red hanging cube that he barely goes in - he prefers the boxes haha.
my baby rat is kept separately for now until i can put them together, and he hasn't been chewing on anything in his cage, either =[
i dont have them on lab blocks - im waiting for them to get shipped in. i'm just so confused!!
i'm not really sure what overgrown teeth look like, although when i hand wrestle with rupert (the adult), i can feel the ends of his teeth.
ill go look up some pictures of overgrown teeth... thanks!


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## aang (Feb 7, 2012)

agh i wish i hadnt googled that D:


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## ChelseaMorning (Feb 28, 2012)

My girls didn't chew much for the first few months I had them. Now, they are destroyers of hammocks and anything that comes within grabbing distance of the cage bars. They are just about 5 months now, and this just started.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Go out for ribs one night and bring the bones home. You will have a chewer in no time! Great for teeth and nutrition.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Come to think of it, the only thing my rat ever chewed was electrical, network, computer, headphone, stereo and network wires. Thank goodness, my father taught me how to solder. Now every wire in my office has electrical tape somewhere. Other than that, no wood, bones, chew toys, very little paper... maybe there's something in the lab blocks that keeps the teeth sharp. She'll go a month without touching them and then pack away several at a clip. Maybe she's chomping on something I don't know about, but so far none of the chairs or tables have tipped over.


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## aang (Feb 7, 2012)

Hmm, thanks guys! I have given him bones before, but he stopped chewing on them... I'll try with ribs sometime!
I think I'm going to go to the store today and find them a hidey hut that they can chew on...
Thank you!


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## Valitra (Jun 27, 2012)

Mine are pretty non-destructive non-chewers. The only thing I'll see them nibble on are some wooden branches. They've taken a few nibbles off a container plastic lid as well, but they chew nowhere near what I had been expecting from rats. Heck I've given them tons of stuff I had figured they would enjoy tearing up and they don't even look at them. Then again, they are both young, maybe time will turn them into unstoppable little engines of mass destruction!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

You can also try popsicle sticks and soak them in juice (the kind with no sugar added). Then let them dry (the oven set to the lowest temperature can help with this) and give the tasty wooden treats to the rats!

Edit: You can find popsicle sticks in all sorts of sizes at the craft store. Just be sure that they aren't varnished or painted! You can also probably find plain wooden blocks or beads to treat the same way.


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## SezSorkin (Jun 11, 2012)

i'd always thought aboput using popcicle sticks but wont the splinter and get eaten, or is that harmless to them?


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

I get sugar free popcicles and let the rats have them when I am done  They love it. I wouldnt worry too much  My three aren't chewers either ...


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## pocketmouse (Jun 13, 2012)

Yeah, my lil girls don't chew on any of their wood blocks / chew sticks/ the edible bowl that I got them either. The only thing I've noticed that they have chewed on are a few scraps of fabric in their cage, but they don't chew on the majority of their blankets or on any of their hammocks. 

I think a lot of it is because of bruxing, they naturally grind their teeth, so I think that really helps file them down.


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## Electricgeek (Jun 26, 2012)

Most of my rats are not real big chewers right now either. Ah to think about all the money spent on all kinds of colorful wood blocks, mats, chew sticks, and stick balls with walnuts in the middle. Oh well...they are self honing rats I guess. Always bruxing away. It is worth mentioning that the only thing they seem to truly love chewing are the wifes and my lifeproof iPhone cases, my iPad cover, and one pair of carelessly left out Samsung 3D glasses. My rats either have expensive taste, or they are Amish and slowly trying to convert me.


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## BigBen (Nov 22, 2011)

Hey, if your rats aren't chewers, count your blessings! "Unstoppable little engines of mass destruction" is a weak description of real chewers. If the rats in my mischief weren't so adorable, there'd be real trouble in River City, let me tell you! Ratties!


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