dspch911
Senior Member
I'm going to try this.... as soon as I get a list together I'll ask again on the things I don't know what they are and where to find them. Thanks
I LOVE that picture of your boys eating off the veggie/fruit kabob...did anyone notice that look of pure joy on the face of your boy with the face mask marking? I have never seen a happier looking ratty!
I had not noticed that face - what an adorable smile on him!I LOVE that picture of your boys eating off the veggie/fruit kabob...did anyone notice that look of pure joy on the face of your boy with the face mask marking? I have never seen a happier looking ratty!
Kat, I have a quick question about protein absorbtion: Are nuts, unsalted pumpkin seeds and protein from oats absorbed in a fairly unimpacting method? I know that seeds and oats are really good for the heart and arteries, the amount of protein makes me wary of giving them to the rats. What's your view on these items?
Jameson gets really excited at breakfast time, haha!
Oh, I'm glad to hear you know what I'm talking about then! I personally preferred your recipe, but that might just be because I read through this entire thread and I could kind of follow your thought process as you developed it. Also, I would love for you to send me her e-mail! That book (er - pdf) sounds really handy to keep around!
And of course I'll post pictures; I'm already in love with them. Two adorable PEWs! I don't know if you remember hearing about the New York Highway Rats, but these boys were in utero while it was all going on! Their mom was rescued and had them and their sisters soon after. I'm happy to give them a home (and a well-balanced diet, courtesy of Kat :wink
I was also wondering, for your fruits and veggies, do you have a specific rotating schedule that you'd be willing to share with us? Or any guidelines for what you choose to feed them each day? Love the fruit and veg kabob idea!
I do! I'm from NY originally, and when this happened it was killing me that I couldn't do anything to help those poor babies. Are you from New York, or are you adopting from someone that got some of the ratties who were sent to other rescues? I'm so excited for these boys, they deserve only the best after what happened to them and their family, and they're going to have such a good life with you
I don't have a specific schedule, mostly it's what in season, and what I can find available in my local grocery stores I avoid stuff like iceberg lettuce which is mainly just water and not a lot of nutrition, and instead give them different greens that are high in nutrition, like Kale, spinach, carrot tops, collard greens, romaine, and red/green leaf lettuce, and herbs like basil, cilantro, and parsley. I'll try to give them 4-5 of those mentioned above every day, and just mix up which ones I give them. Acidic stuff like tomatoes I don't give every day, only about 3 times a week, just to keep their tummies from getting upset, but they love them. I give them fresh garlic often (about 5 times a week) because it does wonders for their immune systems and it's easy to mix a small amount into their veggies I keep my veggie ratio higher than my fruit ratio because veggie are more nutritious and fruit has a higher sugar content, but they'll eat just about everything, and get excited for their salads, haha. Since you're gonna have boys, avoid mangoes and don't give them the skin from oranges or any other citrus fruit because there's the chance that it contains too much d-limonene which is detrimental, but don't worry about it TOO much because there have been studies that it takes a LOT of it to effect them in any way
Thanks for sharing her e-mail with me! And no, I'm not from New York. Their momma was rescued and brought to a rescue in Northern Maryland, and I'm from central VA, so I have around a 3 hour drive ahead of me to go pick them up!
For the garlic, do you just chop up a clove and smuggle it into their salads? And thanks for letting me know what to avoid with boys!
Wow! That's quite the long drive, what lucky babies! You must care so, so much about them to go that far out of your way to adopt them :heart:
Maybe half a clove, or a little less if you're only going to have 2 boys. A little garlic goes a long way! And yes, I'll normally chop it up really fine and mix it up in their veggies
Sorry for another question!
I've been googling all the pre-packaged ingredients on the list, and I didn't see that Healthy Select parakeet seed or Minute Rice Multigrain Medley were organic/non-GMO certified. My family has really been trying to steer clear of GMOs ever since some health problems began with my mom, so I was wondering what exactly was in the parakeet seed and the rice medley that contributed to the rats' diet. For the rice, I could just buy brown rice, red rice, wild rice, and quinoa (I'm happy to find that I have some of these things on hand already!), but I was wondering how much rice medley was in each packet so that I could add the appropriate amounts of the individual ingredients to the mix. However, for the parakeet seed, what separate ingredients would I need to use to replace it? I know that you said the parakeet seed and medley made it easier and less expensive, but I wanted to experiment with the long way 'round. Thank you!
Just to verify, everything is left uncooked, right?
Sounds great! A little bit ago on the thread you mentioned smoothies? I was wondering if you still offered them those; I was thinking of maybe once or twice a week I could take part of their daily fruit and veg serving and blend it with some plain, low-fat, unsweetened vanilla yogurt? That sounds like a fun treat! Like some strawberries and kale or something.
Also, I've been considering growing dandelion, mint, watercress, parsley, basil, cilantro and maybe arugula ever since reading about them on this thread! I think they'd be easy to grow on the windowsill in my room, and maybe it could serve as a small step towards growing more of my own veggies. Plus, I'd only need to grow a small amount for the boys, since there's only two of them.
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