# Why is my rat not Intrested in treats?



## Rosie13Xoxo (Apr 10, 2017)

Why does my rat not like treats? I gave her cheese she didn't like it, I gave her carrot she didn't like it, I gave her cheerios she didn't like it, I gave her grapes didn't like it. She is around 20-21 weeks old is it because she is quite young? Or has she just not found anything she likes? I even put a small piece of cheese in her cage and she didn't eat it what should I do because I want to be able to do tricks with her and give her tasty treats now and then.


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

I don't want to sound like a bust body, but cheese isn't too good for your rats so only give very small pieces, and if it's something that you want to give often, then try dairy free options instead. And to my knowledge, grapes are a no no. Raisins are worse, but grapes shouldn't be given either really.

The answer to your question could be a few things. Rats can't vomit, and so if your rat doesn't trust you yet they will nibble a tiny amount of the new food you give them and wait a while to see if it upsets their tummy/makes them feel ill. This is a natural reaction to new foods because if they ate something in large quantity and it was poisonous or harmful, they wouldn't be able to expel it and they'd die. Once your rat trusts you however, they will take what you give them without question.

The next possible answer is that she just doesn't like those things  my boys are fussy with carrot and will only eat the inside circle, and only one of them likes Cheerios. They won't eat apple peel, so I end up with nibbled apply crescent left if I give them that, and they won't eat pea shells, instead they pop the middles out and leave the empty shells all over the floor haha! Just keep experimenting with different foods to see what they love most. My boys go crazy for blueberries, and they have surprisingly low sugar content so aren't so bad as other fruits  

The final reason could be that she's too busy to sit and eat, or just not hungry when you give treats? When I first got my boys, they would not eat treats outside of their cage because they were too busy keeping an eye out for danger (natural for a prey animal but pretty useless in my hallway haha). Your girl might just be far too busy keeping her wits about her to sit and enjoy animal treat  
Sometimes if my boys are already eating their biscuits and I go to give a treat, they will take the treat and put it down while they finish their biscuits. And then sometimes after that they just leave the treat, I guess it means they're full? And then they'll come and eat it later  

Hope that helps, someone else might have different reasons. We're all just learning here


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

Rats have different preference for different foods, just like some of us like certain foods and others hate them. Funny how my rats dont really like apples or blueberries, unlike Heyyouguys's rats haha My first boys only ate the inside of the carrots and threw out the outside skin bit but when they got bored they'd finish it.. Same with peas, they eat the inside first but come back to eat the shells later haha
How long have you had your rat for? She might just not have adjusted enough to the new environment to want to try new foods. Also is she alone? Rats are very social and should not be kept alone, maybe she is rejecting treats because she is lonely and unhappy? (I just saw one of your posts that you're getting another girl, so maybe she'll improve especially when she sees another rat eating those treats- they can get quite competitive with food) 
You can do some research on the list of foods that rats can and cannot have- and try introduce the foods from the 'good' list to see what she likes and doesnt like  My rats go crazy for pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, cooked rice, plain pasta (especially cooked), sunflower seeds, bananas, oats etc. Note that most nuts are quite fatty so give in moderation, and bananas are high in sugar. I find that oats are quite good as training treats, because they're small (doesnt fill them up too quick) and not fatty or high in sugar. I think most rats really like grains, someone tell me if their rat doesnt like grains!


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## Okeedoke22 (Dec 31, 2016)

Picky little buggers. Truly like kids. 

My boys are not picky but I always have the Gerber puffs near cage to give treats. Chip doesn't like them so I have to always remember to bring something special for him. My other 2 boys love puffs. 

I would try baby food and different types of cereals. Also veggies. Oddly enough my boys don't prefer Strawberries and Blueberries but will rip Kale from my hand faster then I can blink. trial and error and eventually you should find something.

On another note I think I seen a cute picture you posted on The Rat Fan club. I thought I recognized it from this forum. haha. We both love rat forums and facebook. I can't read and look at pictures enough.


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## Rosie13Xoxo (Apr 10, 2017)

Thank you guys!  Thank you for telling me about the grapes and cheese I really appreciate it since I don't want to harm her  and I thought it was lonely too until over the past couple days she's created a strong bond with me but still maybe she just wants to see another rat again and see what they think of it  thank you guys it's probably because she is fussy lol I'll find something she likes she does like a little bit of carrot so I give her that as a treat now and then but she's not fussed enough about it to do tricks. Thank you!


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