Is raw jicama okay for rats?

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SqueakingJellybean

Mission Control -- All is ratness
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
276
Location
Ontario, Canada
I've bumped into contradicting information on this front. Some say no, others say yes.

Jicama is in the legume family, but the root is not the legume part of the plant (if that makes any sense). If they can eat it, I'd like to give Cleo some to help her hydration. If it's not good for rats, I don't want to cause her harm.

Anyone?
 
I wouldn't risk it. From what I've learned most root vegetables secrete Solanin when raw. Solanin is the compound that makes nightshade poisonous.
 
If you want hydrating things to give your rat watermelon is great, as well as apples, grapes, and strawberries.


Oh yeah, we've got lots of those. I was having a jicama for supper and was wondering whether to save some for Cleo, so I figured I'd ask before polishing it off.

She likes grapes, isn't much interested in apples or strawberries, and is partial to watermelon if she doesn't have to eat it more than a day or two in a row. Poor girl gets fruit poops. She's having some trouble with food right now due to respiratory issues-- she's starting to have to choose between breathing and eating, and harder foods like lab blocks are taking a back seat. She's on Clavamox for what looks like a very stubborn bladder/kidney infection of some sort; we're hoping it may help with her breathing as well. She nibbles on her blocks sometimes, but fresh fruits and veggies are easier for her right now. I'm trying to rotate her diet a bit because she tends to get bored of things quickly, unlike the boys. She'll get melon and avocado tomorrow, maybe some oatmeal with Critical Care mixed in.

Cleo and Rook will be two years old next month. Given that more of our fuzzies have been making it to three years or more since getting on Harlan Teklad blocks, I keep forgetting that they're considered seniors at two. She still seems so young.
 
Try feeding organic soy infant formula thickened a bit with baby cereal that says add milk ....... it will help with hydration as well as providing nutrition ........ cooked grains, cooked & mashed vegs, cooked grains and block mush can also help with hydration and provide nutrition but it sounds like it may be too difficult for her to eat them?
Can't comment about the food as i have never heard of it

Is she on antibiotics etc for her breathing issues?
 
Try feeding organic soy infant formula thickened a bit with baby cereal that says add milk ....... it will help with hydration as well as providing nutrition ........ cooked grains, cooked & mashed vegs, cooked grains and block mush can also help with hydration and provide nutrition but it sounds like it may be too difficult for her to eat them?
Can't comment about the food as i have never heard of it

Is she on antibiotics etc for her breathing issues?

I've probably gone over most of this in other Cleo-related threads, so most of this won't be new info.

As I've likely mentioned before, I'm having trouble finding that formula at all, let alone in a size that won't go bad before we use it all. All the stuff I see around here is milk-based, and you add water.

She has other foods she'll eat, and her hydtration is improving. I was asking specifically about the jicama because I had some cut up, and it would have been easy to give it to her. She won't eat block mush. Oatmeal with Critical Care food mixed in and with some corn, peas, blueberries, and/or grated almond is sometimes accepted. She gets tired of it pretty quickly.

She's on clavamox for whatever is going on with her bladder/kidneys. OVC was much less helpful than their reputation led me to believe they'd be. We've been trying combinations of antibiotics for her respiratory issues for close to two years now, and nothing has worked. We figure that she, Raven, and Chess all had the same thing. Rook is fine, and Milo is fine, so whatever it is isn't contagious. It's likely a congenital thing, possibly similar to something another forum member mentioned (nodules on the lungs). At this point, we've accepted that there's not much we can do. The inhaler no longer helps, and just sends her into a panic.

I know about other hydrating foods-- we've been ratfolk for sixteen years. :) What I really wanted info on was the jicama specifically, not hydrating foods in general. I haven't had one in the house for a long time, and was wondering if it was okay or not. There's only so much melon a body can eat before it gets boring.
 
Strange ..... the Superstore, Loblows? in Ontario has cans of it in the baby food section .... that is where I buy it and then mix it up as needed . Drug Stores such as Shoppers also sell it.
 
Ah, okay. We usually shop at a Sobey's subsidiary, and our Loblaws-related off-brand store doesn't have it. I'll look at one of the bigger Zehrs stores and see if they carry it.
 
Back
Top