# Feeding rats suet



## bashfulbyte (Jun 8, 2012)

I have started mixing suet in with his feed. I just feed him table scraps, oats, dry peas, nuts, fruit... whatever! I started with the suet 4 days ago. He weighed 11.2 ounces. Today he weighs 12.7 ounces and seems to have had a growth spurt; he is also much more active. could this mean he was deficient in nutrients before? He eats the suet before anything else. It is home rendered suet from grass fed cows. He is fatter too, but most notably he is bigger and it happened in just a few days.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Suet is bad fat and he's not gaining a healthy weight on it, I wouldn't advise continuing this method.


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## bashfulbyte (Jun 8, 2012)

Suet as bad fat is a misconception. It is home rendered, not hydrogenated, and high in many vitamins and minerals. It is the fat most similar to the fat that makes up / is found in the tissues and muscles in the heart. It is the first thing he eats out of his food bowl. I did a test with a hydrogenated lard out of my own curiosity (craving what you need kind of thing), and he went for the suet instead. Hes put on weight but most noticeably he grew drastically in a short time, so my question is would that mean he was deficient before? He was the same size for so long I thought he had reached his max size. He weighed in at 12.6 oz today.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

NO! that is actually very bad. Suet from what I've read is meat fat, rats do not have gal bladders or canine teeth and can not digest meat fats. It actually is a bad fat for rats and it can cause cancer and tumors (There were numerous studies on this by the way). Please do not keep feeding it. 

Get him some lab blocks, vegetarian dog food (for treats), and Healthy treats like Nuts, Blueberries (actually feed this to him every day to reverse the affects (hopefully) of the Suet). If he was truely lacking fat feed him some more nuts, seeds, and yogurt. Yogurt has Very good fat in it (same goes for nuts and seeds). you Can feed him a small amount of cooked fish as well. Same goes for insects. (White Chicken is Also Ok, but personally I wouldn't risk it with chicken, but that's just me).


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