# your opinions on feeding MEALWORMS to rats, pregnant rats, & baby rats



## planetjenessa (Dec 7, 2011)

I've read that mealworms are ok to feed rats, Is this true? Has anyone feed there rats mealworms before?I have a pregnant rat, who barley eats anything ;( I thought since pregnant rats can use more protien that mealworms would work? Would mealworms be ok for a pregnant & nursing rat??And how about baby rats, once the baby rats start eating on there own would it be ok to give a mealworm as a treat for extra protien to growing baby rats?Or should I advoid it all together?


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Mealworms are fine, yes. Be sure to get mealworms specifically for pet food and not wild or anything!


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

Two of my rats have had mealworms and they loved them! Took Olivia a minute to figure out what it was but Once she did she kept wanting more! Lol I've heard they love crickets too.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Meal worms are fine along with other insects like crickets and super worms. most rats will actually try to eat insects if they find one that is already dead, though don't count on them helping you when you find a bug in your house (had a cricket in my room Right next to my rats, and I don't like crickets, and my rats were more interested in playing with my pants) but you should make sure that they don't eat wild as it can have pesticides, diseases, and even parasites. Make sure that you get them from a good source that breeds them for pets. you can typically find them at most pet stores or online websites that have reptile supplies. they tend to sell them live at the pet stores and some online websites, which will serve as enrichment for your rats, unless they end up completely confused by it. I think if you don't want to feed them live you can freeze them (insects don't have a system of nerves, so they don't feel pain) or some other way. I've never fed my rats insects as they are adult male rats, so I don't know how you would dispatch insects properly, but I'm sure you can find a source that sells them already dead.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Mealworms and crickets come already dead in a can. As to meal worms... buy a few and toss them into an empty one gallon milk bottle with a few inches of oatmeal and half a raw potato. Slit the top horizontally so you can reach in. The meal worms will turn into beatles and they will in turn provide and endless supply of healthy meal worms. Change the potaot and oatmeal as necessary.

That said my rat won't eat live crickets, but will hoover up small bugs she comes across occaisionally. But... in all reality, and only to the best of my knowledge, I don't think bugs are an absolute necessity in a rat's diet at any stage if it's life. I mean as fellow omnivores, people in some places in the world eat lots of bugs as part of their staple diet, but for the most part in much of the 'civilized' world we don't. Rats also often hunt and kill mice and other smaller animals, but we generally don't buy feeder mice for out rats. 

As to your pregnant rat, offer her a variety of foods and keep them available for her constantly. Depending on the stage of pregnancy, she might not be up to large meals, but will nibble at what her body needs... There's nothing wrong with meal worms if that's what you want to try.


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## planetjenessa (Dec 7, 2011)

Thank you ALL, for the information.I read a lot on the internet, but I only trust this site for answers . I think ill give it a try!


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