# How many treats are too many treats?



## canthugeveryrat (Jul 20, 2013)

Hello! I have had my first two girl rats since Sunday, and I have been working on getting them used to me and comfortable with the home. I have been giving them treats each day, but I wanted to know how much would be too much, as I don't want them to be unhealthy or unnecesarily fat. I can't really tell how much of their normal food they eat, because they kind of scatter it around the cage. I feed them a mix of about 70% block and 30% seed normally. Thanks!


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## TexasRatties (Jun 2, 2013)

Hahaha you and I both I give my rats probably 3-5 treats each a day and I wonder if that is too much they don't seem to complain lol. They are eaters both of them.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

They say treats shouldn't be more than 10% of their daily intake. I'd make sure the treats are rather healthy or low-calorie -- cheerios, fruits/veggies. If my rats get an unhealthy snack, that is their only snack for the day.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

It depends on the treat. One treat per day is generally fine.


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## canthugeveryrat (Jul 20, 2013)

Their favorite seems to be the strawberry flavored yogurt treats. I give them one each in the morning and at night, but sometimes I try to give them other options as well. I will just have to guess on how much they are eating so that I don't go much beyond 10%.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Yogurt treats should most definitely be limited to one per day ONLY! They are crammed with sugar and should never eat more than one per day.


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## canthugeveryrat (Jul 20, 2013)

Uh oh. Okay, good thing I asked! Fruits and veggies are okay more than once a day though, right?


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Yes, as long as they are accustomed to the amount. Small amounts only until their bowels adjust, or you'll be dealing with loose stools.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I try and see treats as a tool rather than just their to treat them. Try and pick a treat that adds something for the rat, and then don’t go mad on them. For instance here’s some of the things I’ve used in the past for different situations;

Youngsters – they get high protein treats, normally some nice seeds (pumpkin are great, ideally in their shells still), or some kitten or puppy fish or liver treats. These help up there protein and fat intake as well as often have added vitamins designed for young growing animals. As I generally have my kittens in a cage with adults it’s a good way of meeting there needs without giving the adults too much extras (the babies do also get occasional wet meals). I judge how many by the babies, if they are looking a bit out of condition (long coat, square edged tail) then they get a fair few a day, if they are fine and growing well they will get 1 a day.

Trust training – I use treats to help bond with rats that are scared or new, these need to be small enough that they come back often and I can hide them between my fingers to make them take there time eating them, tasty enough that they are a motivating factor and healthy enough that I can give them a few regardless of age. Typical things I use (depending on the rats taste) are; rice crispies, sweetcorn, peas, maybe a small drop of yoghurt or a piece of a herb leaf. If the rats are also young I might use tiny bits of chicken, chopped up kitten/puppy treats etc. They will get a number of them in every session, I normally try and have a few sessions a day for about 30 mins, though to be fair since getting breeder babies I haven’t had to do this, they just walk out and see me lol.

Oldies – I use treats to add in some extra vits, minerals and supplements to help them with there old age. I do this by either adding the supplements I want (such as linseed oil, vitamin C, glucosamine, Ipaktine, senior aid etc) to a treat I bake myself (normally a variation on the live buiscuit theme) or by buying specific treats for old dogs, useually chopping these up smaller. They do some nice glucosamine treats out there, just try and avoid high wheat ones or those with cheap ingredients and fillers. They get one of these a day.

Adults – as I feed a home-made mix there is always a fair risk that it is deficient in certain minerals (all mixes that are un-enriched carry this risk), particular concerns are vitamin D, copper and calcium. I meet this using a number of methods but also by using treats. As with my oldies I quite often bake treats with specific supplements in them, an alternative is also to feed them something with great vitamin content, like dene’s wholegrain mixer over here in the UK. Again they get one of these a day, and it does really show if they area away and don’t get these

I used to be very keen on treating, felt mean if they didn’t get something off me every time I saw them. I used to use healthy treats however my rats were still quite fat, and had regular diets. Switching the focus from treats for pleasure to treating them to help them and for their pleasure has worked really well. I am no longer tempted to feed lots and as the rats don’t get any junk food they genuinely like even boring things like the wholgrain mixer buscuits. If I give them a piece of there normal food (which incidentally contains those buiscuits too) they are so happy that I don’t need to give them something like a yoggy. In fact I remember when one of my lads broke his teeth some 5 years ago I bought some yoggys to help encourage him to start trying to gnaw again (help prevent malaclusions) and he dropped it as though it was nasty, that was the last time I bought yoggys lol. I cant blame him really, I’ve cut out the sugar myself recently and now find sweet foods quite horrible, they are just so over the top and sickly, I still cant quite belive I now hate icecream (which I used to love) so obviously a sweet tooth is optional.


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