# Is food coloring safe?



## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I want to have each of my rats' paw prints. I was planning on using either just straight food coloring, food coloring and flour to make a paint, or maybe boiled blueberries, strawberries, etc for the color and then dip their pawsies and let them run around on a paper. Would it be safe for them? Obviously they're gonna eat a little bit so I just wanna make sure the food dye wouldn't be dangerous to them.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

And on another note, what fruit or vegetable could I use to get green? The only things I can think of and lettuce and spinach and somehow I don't think those would give me too much success lol


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## KatieS (Nov 9, 2016)

Not too sure about the food coloring, but avocado would work for green. (x


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## kenbofosho (Nov 26, 2016)

I had an atrocious time to get my dog or rats to give me a good print from the paint stamp method for my tattoos. i used the salt dough method and made a perfect mold which turned out to be much less stressful and annoying for me


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

Did you just press the rats foot into the dough? One of my girls is extremely fickle and doesn't even like to be held in a scooping manor and absolutely refuses to be held around her tummy so I don't think that would work for her unfortunately


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## kenbofosho (Nov 26, 2016)

It can be done other ways. When i hold them for it i grab them under their arm pits with one hand and support their bottom with the other. 
are you familiar with salt dough? 
you can make it in big batches, roll it out in a cookie sheet or on a plate, let her walk on it and if she hold still use your finger to press her foot into the dough gently. it worked SO much easier for me. the paint method tended to make a huge mess honestly lol especially when their tail does the whole helicopter method and gets paint on your face


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes food coloring would be ok under those circumstances; they won't lick much of it anyway. Using fruits won't work as I don't think it would stay for more than a few months at best. There are fruit based dyes but they are a concentrated form of the fruits/veggies pigments, not just the juice.


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