Should food be in their bowls at all times

[Noel]

Hi everyone! I was wondering, does my babies, Rinky & Bingo, need food in their bowls at ALL times?

 

[SQ]

Many suggest that rats should always have access to their rat blocks.
But if you give too many, they will stash their blocks and their dish will be empty - so some people will remove rat blocks from hammocks etc and put them back into their dishes.
Young rats are growing and eat more food, including rat blocks, then older rats

Other people suggest feeding rat blocks a couple of times a day so they get what they need and can possibly stash a few away for later.

This forum also suggests feeding rats food (2 or more times?) a day - a variety of vegs daily and other things.
In the past when questioned, Jorats (the founder of this forum) has said that she gives her rats enough vegs etc that they can eat in 20 minutes, and then removes any leftovers

If your rats are not adults, I would suggest making sure they always have access to rat blocks, in addition to feeding a variety of daily vegs, and occasional cooked whole grains, berries, etc

If they are adults, you might want to consider controlling how many blocks they receive and feeding lots of vegs etc as they need the blocks to meet all of their nutritional needs, but may gain too much weight (ie become fat or obese) if they eat too many ...... while lots of vegs etc are less likely to promote weight gain
For example: my rats love organic baby kale, broccoli, organic carrots (they taste better), real oatmeal or 12 grain cooked cereal with blue berries, cooked squash, cooked sweet potato

I hope this helps

 

[Noel]

Many suggest that rats should always have access to their rat blocks.
But if you give too many, they will stash their blocks and their dish will be empty - so some people will remove rat blocks from hammocks etc and put them back into their dishes.
Young rats are growing and eat more food, including rat blocks, then older rats

Other people suggest feeding rat blocks a couple of times a day so they get what they need and can possibly stash a few away for later.

This forum also suggests feeding rats food several times a day - a variety of vegs daily and other things.
In the past when questioned, Jorats (the founder of this forum) has said that she gives her rats enough vegs etc that they can eat in 20 minutes, and then removes any leftovers

If your rats are not adults, I would suggest making sure they always have access to rat blocks, in addition to feeding a variety of daily vegs, and occasional cooked whole grains, berries, etc

If they are adults, you might want to consider controlling how many blocks they receive and feeding lots of vegs etc as they need the blocks to meet all of their nutritional needs, but will gain weight if they eat too many ...... while lots of vegs etc are less likely to promote weight gain
For example: my rats love organic baby kale, broccoli, organic carrots (they taste better), real oatmeal or 12 grain cooked cereal with blue berries, cooked squash, cooked sweet potato

I hope this helps

Thank you once again SQ

 

[SQ]

You are welcome ....... but after 14 years, I am still trying to figure out a good balance.
Recently I have been experimenting with feeding fewer blocks to adults instead of always keeping rat blocks in a dish - and some are getting more then they need (as I find large stock piles) when others might not be getting enough as they don't have any left over the next morning.

and of course a large cage with lots of stimulating activities, and hours of play time where they can run and climb and explore and interact with you is also very important for being healthy and for weight control

 

[Noel]

You are welcome ....... but after 14 years, I am still trying to figure out a good balance.
Recently I have been experimenting with feeding fewer blocks to adults instead of always keeping rat blocks in a dish - and some are getting more then they need (as I find large stock piles) when others might not be getting enough as they don't have any left over the next morning.

and of course a large cage with lots of stimulating activities, and hours of play time where they can run and climb and explore and interact with you is also very important for being healthy and for weight control

I appreciate it SQ. Rinky has enough room in his 6 story cage that is about the same height as myself. He does hide his food & I'll find stashes of it everywhere. I go thru his blankets & hiding places each day, as I don't want rotten food in there. He hates the blocks, while Bingo will eat them.
Thanks again

 

[SQ]

Which block do you feed?

 

[jorats]

I think it really all depends on your rats. I limited my rats' food because they were way too fat. But slim rats should be just fine being free fed.

 

[Noel]

Which block do you feed?

Oxbow

 

[SQ]

Most rats seem to like the Oxbow essentials, although I have heard that some do not like the Oxbow garden select.
My rats definitely prefer real food such as vegs, cooked oatmeal with blueberries, my homemade soup etc over their blocks.
If the blocks are available at all times, hopefully he will eat some when there is no other food available, such as overnight.
You can also try feeding Envigo-Harlan Global 2014 rat ks (used to be called Harlan Teklad 2014)