# rat food - insects?



## krissyleigh (Jan 28, 2017)

So one of my babies got into my dubia roaches today, I pulled a half eaten one out of her mouth and I think she ate another one. Can you feed them insects? I raise the roaches myself, so they are pesticide free. It still freaked me out though - little wiggly live roach and Desdemona chowing down like it was candy. I also keep a kale plant near their cage they nibble on when they are free roaming, and today I noticed aphids on it. I put it outside, but I assume she ate some. Is this normal???

They get oxbow rat food plus dried fruits, veggie pasta bits, and treat foods like seeds and cheerios. Do they need extra protein? I didn't intend to feed them insects, but she really likes them apparently.


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

Totally, I have tarantulas and my rats love the occasionally refused dubia, but I don't feed them as anything but a treat since they don't need all the protein/fat. I like to feed them more for baby growing rats than the older girls. 

Just no wild insects, they can carry "things."


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## Asiposea (Dec 16, 2016)

I'm in the tarantula club as well and my rats have always loved an occasional cricket or mealworm too. Mealworms are especially fun if you use wood chips as bedding and let them forage for it or if you use a digging box. I used to give them more to my girls (and growing babies up to 6 months). My boys get it rarely.


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

As long as you raise the insects I think they are fine  In some countries people regularly feed mealworms as treats to their rats (hopefully only to the young rats who actually need the protein, I try my best to educate..)
I've considered buying some when my rats were younger but decided they didnt need it. I did see one of them catch a moth once while free ranging, didnt have the stomach to pull half-eaten gooey moth carcass out of his mouth so had to let him eat it :'(


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

My rats found a millipede once and tried to eat it, they quickly learned about the millipedes nasty defense mechanism. They kept doing that little hand patting on the ground thing that they do when they taste something gross lol


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

Fu-Inle said:


> My rats found a millipede once and tried to eat it, they quickly learned about the millipedes nasty defense mechanism. They kept doing that little hand patting on the ground thing that they do when they taste something gross lol


Haha its hilarious when they do this! I always thought they did this to try clean their hands by wiping them on the floor so that they wouldnt have to lick the hands clean of the disgusting taste ;D My rats do it after eating honey too, because they get so excited they grab the honey with their paws which get all sticky and icky haha


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Yes they do it both to express discust and to wipe something off. I have this nasty tasting baytril and I only have to show the syringe to them and they'll sniff it and do the hand patting thing. Even just the smell of something they don't like is enough to make them do it.


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## ray (Nov 4, 2015)

One of my girls was crunching on what I assumed as food she took from her cage. Look over and she's eaten the head off a roach. Ugh. I picked her up and got the roach from her, I don't even remember doing it, it was just instinct but then I had to clean it up and jeez that was gross. I don't know if she caught it or killed it or if she found it dead but I was not too pleased. Luckily that was a couple of weeks ago and she's fine.


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Yeah, my girls occasionally eat stink bugs and ants. It's really gross, and I assume its not too healthy for them. None of them have ever gotten ill from eating bugs, but I still find it absolutely disgusting! :/


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## Jangel88 (May 3, 2017)

I occasionally give mealworms as treats, both live and pre-packaged. I wouldn't go out of my way to provide them with bugs, as I'm sure they don't need that amount of protein, but I buy them for my hedgie and she never eats the amount I have to buy. I'm sure your rattie, will be fine. =)


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