# Fighting over food?



## lemonpoppy (Feb 13, 2017)

My boys seem very food-driven. I have two brothers (about 3-4 months old) who mostly get along fine. Today I had them out for free range, and Akela found and opened the food bag (Oxbow lab blocks) and dove right in. I took him out and put him back in the cage. 
I read that I should only feed them a little every day if they have a tendency to overeat. I read that rats typically eat only 2-4 blocks a day, and my boys eat more than that.
But when Akela opened the bag, I figured I would put a few more blocks into their bowl just in case they were hungry (I feed them before school every morning, so I may have overestimated the amount I gave them due to tiredness or poor lighting). They immediately rushed to the bowl, grabbed as many as possible, and separated to eat. Then Mowgli, Akela's brother, came down for more, bothered Akela a bit, and suddenly they were on top of each other, squeaking like crazy and bouncing around. I didn't want either of them to get hurt, as that's the first real fight I've actually experienced between them, so I took Mowgli out for a few moments, let Akela finish eating, and put him back in. They've been fine since. But Akela ripped out some of Mowgli's fur in the fight, and now I'm concerned. What if something happens when I'm not there? Are they going to be alright? Why did this fight break out between them?


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

I may be wrong here and so I hope someone else will come along and either confirm or deny this. 
It could be that they got excited about getting so much at once if you ration the lab blocks as you say you do. Personally my boys bowls are ALWAYS full of their biscuits and it's their treats that I ration. Granted that my boys are fairly... full figured  but I feel that's more lack of exercise than anything else, I'm tempted to believe that if I didn't put their food on the bottom of the cage, they wouldn't ever leave their space pod at the top haha!

I don't think that rats are like dogs in that they over eat, I think it's just a case of if they eat too much of the wrong things. If your main diet is balanced and treats are few and healthy, they shouldn't be overweight. 

I would say keep their bowls full and if you only have one, then get two (one each) or scatter feed. Because sometimes putting it all in one place make its easy to guard and that could make food agression easier. If the food is all over, one rat can't possibly be possessive over it all  

Hope you get no more fights, maybe they were just having a grumpy day and didn't want to share breakfast


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## Okeedoke22 (Dec 31, 2016)

I agree. My rats 2 bowls are always full or at least I try to keep them that way. They definitely eat more then 2-4 blocks each. A good healthy food block should not make them over weight.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Definitely free feed them rat block. 

The 2-4 blocks are people talking about blocks far larger and more dense then oxbow as well. 

I would also suggest getting two food bowls and placing them at opposite sides/levels of the cage to cause less issues over food.


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## Okeedoke22 (Dec 31, 2016)

Great Point Moonkissed! I think Mazuri is huge compared to Oxbow.


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