# My rats won't eat their food? Help????!!!!



## Jacknoliver

My two male rats aren't eating all the food in their bowl. I used to feed them the blocks, but then I decided to switch to Reggie Rat and they seemed to like it, but recently they will only eat the pieces they like, and leave the pellets and the other pieces they don't like. Unfortunately, most of their food consists of the pieces they don't like. And when I switched them back to the blocks, they weren't eating them. So now I'm in a rut. They won't eat their food and I don't like feeding them more than two treats a day. Is there a rat food brand or any other small animal food brand that contains mostly cookie-type kibbles than pellets? That's what my rats seem to like most and I just want them to start eating a healthy amount again. Help.


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## ahrat

You could try making your own mix. Although, I do this, and my boys don't eat some pieces, but I leave it there until they eat them. I'm a firm believer in the fact that when they get hungry enough, they'll eat it. If it's still there next time I go to feed them, I put less of the other stuff and more of the stuff they won't eat. They get the idea, and end up eating the pieces they don't like.


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## cagedbirdsinging

First off, I would recommend switching back to Oxbow if you are after a commercial diet. Reggie Rat is a huge step down in quality, and that's coming from a not-so-big fan of block foods. Alternatively, you can seek a formulated non-commercial diet.

The pellets in commercial mixes are where the "nutrition" lies, as it is a compressed pellet of indigestible fibers (alfalfa) with the vitamins mixed in. These aren't tasty to most rats and again are not digested properly, which leaves them leftover. Very wasteful and leaves the already poor nutrition lacking.


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## Jacknoliver

Oxbow is the kibble type food, right? I saw it at petsmart once and I was really tempted to buy it. As long as it's more nutritional and my rats are healthy and are eating and are enjoying what they're eating, that's what matters most to me  


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## Andyurgay

Can I ask why you switched them to Reggie Rat? I had my girls on it for the first few months but noticed they only ate the kibble bits and sunflower seeds. So as far as worrying about them not getting all that they needed, it was also very, very wasteful. 

When you switched them back to block type food, did you do it over night or slowly introduce more of it and less of the reggie rat over a couple weeks? It's not recommended to do it over night. Especially since the reggie rat is "funner" for them, with more tastes and textures so they will be a little more reluctant to go back to blocks so it could take some time. Took me over a month to switch the girls to Oxbow. Oxbow is also one of the most balanced commercial food you can buy.


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## ratsoff2ya

definitely try making your own mix! i give my girls a homemade mix that they LOVE and supplement with fresh produce every day.


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## Sylver

Oxbow is well balanced, and my rats like it fine. I was on a Reggie type mix before, but it was a terrible mess with fleece bedding - all those little seed shells stuck in it everywhere. Plus there were obviously things in there that they simply did not prefer to eat, and wouldn't unless there was just nothing else. I figure they live too short of lives to be fed things they don't like, so I switched over to Oxbow and fresh fruits and veggies, which is probably much cheaper and easier than it sounds. So far what I'm doing is I get one small zucchini, one small yellow squash, a small floret of broccoli, one medium carrot, one medium apple, - all diced to about quarter inch pieces - a bunch of oats (I don't do much measuring!), and a handful of chopped nuts (cashews currently), all thrown in a ziplock bag and shaken up well to mix. If there's something else around that is good for them to eat that isn't too high in sugar I'll toss that in, too. Makes a surprising amount of food! Especially since I also still feed Oxbow. I just give them (2 male rats) a small handful of it a day, and anything I don't think I'm going to use within a week, I put in individual little bags in the freezer for later use. Last batch, with just those ingredients, and I still have 4 weeks worth of it in the freezer, taking up very little space.


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## Jacknoliver

My apologies, I did feed them Reggie rat once before, then switched them to Sunseed. And I gradually switched them back to block. 


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## bazmonkey

If you feed your rats a food mix, you're always going to run into them wanting to pick and choose what they eat. It's just like a kid that doesn't want to eat his vegetables at dinner.

Besides finding a better mix, your options boil down to 1) give them a mix, monitor it, and wait for them to eat most of it before giving more so they have to eat it, or 2) blocks.

How long did you give them to get used to the blocks again? They will eat it, I promise. Even if they don't like it, they won't let themselves starve. Much like feeding children, if healthy food is all they get, they'll eat healthy food.


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## Isamurat

I must say I vastly prefer a mix, hence why I make my own, but oxbow is about the best commercial food nutritionally, though I dont like block foods. I think if I fed it I would probably mix it with a well balanced home made mix or something like reggie, whi h isnt great but isnt awful either and at least has more variety in it.

The thing with feeding a mix is they will always prefer some bits, so you have to be firm you feed them enough that they eat it all, even if some bits get left until last. Generally your looking at around 15 to 25g of food per rat per day as a good starting point, though it depends on how dense the nutrients are, my home made mix contains more whole and complex carbs as well as shells and such than a processed lab block, so they need a little more to get the same nutrition. I scatter feed mine and when I come to clean them out there is virtually nothing theyve missed, and I feed tiny bits of millet and linseed whichthey hunt out.

I will say the answer to a mix with seeds and grains in causing your fleece to get messy is to use a decent substrate instead, that way the rats can dig and forage too, winwin situation. Saying that im a big believer in a cage meeting the rats needs and wants before it looks pretty or tidy. There activity and entertainment come first.

Most commercial foods keep there vitamins and minerals on the wheat disks, there not as bad as the alfalfa sticks you find in some mixes and rats will eat them, whereas most dont touch alfalfa. Some mixes have vitamin stuff slrayed over everything, this doesnt work well as if thereare grains with husks they dont eat the outside.


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## Vegn

I recently switched my rats to a dog food/Oxbow blend and they ADORE the Oxbow. They keep grabbing bites to eat and yes they had food in their cage before I put it in. They like it over Greenies. A lot of homemade mixes don't have the proper nutrition unless you use lab blocks as a base and add to it. The fact is that many foods don't have the perfect amount of vitamins. There may be not enough Vitamin K and too much Calcium or other skewed ratios. Lab blocks are made to give full nutrition and not require extras. However treats are always appreciated.


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