Are oysters good for rats?

[bruxxy]

I've read that oysters are really high in nutrition so I decided to feed some to my rats.

THEY WENT INSANE FOR THEM!

I've never seen such madness in the cage. Everyone absolutely loved it and it led me to wonder...Can you feed it to rats regularly? To me it seems the perfect food since they containin protein, carbohydrates and lipids, are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and D.

Does anyone else feed their rats oysters or know of any cons regarding possible health issues or anything else? I plan to give them oysters a lot more now so I just want to make sure its safe for them.

Also, can rats have shell fish allergies?

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

My girls get oysters once or twice a week and they love them. According the my Rat Health Care book oysters are good for them and it did not list any bad side effects.

 

[KristyR]

Mine get them about once a week or so. They usually go nuts over them.

 

[Cityratt]

ok i know smoked oysters is not what you guys are talking about....

so non-smoked...but how to you give it to them? like...divide one up or? how much do they get a piece??

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

I don't give the smoked oysters.

I just buy the canned oyster halves and I cut them into 1/2 inch pieces. I usually give them oysters and brocolli or brussel sprouts or some other kind of veggie with them not just oysters. For 10 girls I give them 1 oyster half a piece.

I do have to say hold your nose while cutting them up because they smell awful I gag everytime I make them their seafood deluxe. :sick2:

 

[KristyR]

I buy Chicken of the Sea brand canned oysters... it's an 8 ounce can. Some places have pieces, others have whole. I like to buy the pieces because then I don't have to cut them up. I give them each a piece, which is probably about half or less of a whole oyster.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

I buy Chicken of the Sea brand canned oysters... it's an 8 ounce can. Some places have pieces, others have whole. I like to buy the pieces because then I don't have to cut them up. I give them each a piece, which is probably about half or less of a whole oyster.

That's the brand I buy, next time I will look for the pieces so I don't have to do my gag routine on that night :joy:

 

[bruxxy]

I gave my girls smoked oysters. I assume, based on what a few of you have said, they are bad?

I guess I'll be giving them non-smoked from now on.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

I wouldn't neccisarily say smoked is bad, I just figured it was better to be safe then sorry and not have that extra additive in them.

 

[KristyR]

I don't know if the smoked ones are bad...I just didn't like the fact that they are packed in oil.

Melissa, I get the pieces of oysters at Crest, but I think they only have stores in OKC, not the Tulsa area. But there's gotta be someplace close to you that has them. It is so much easier than gagging on cutting up the whole ones while holding your breath!

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

I don't know if the smoked ones are bad...I just didn't like the fact that they are packed in oil.

Melissa, I get the pieces of oysters at Crest, but I think they only have stores in OKC, not the Tulsa area. But there's gotta be someplace close to you that has them. It is so much easier than gagging on cutting up the whole ones while holding your breath!

I will look at Wal-Mart and Reasor's we don't have a Crest around here

My bf laughs :lol: at me when I am cutting them not only do I gag the whole time but once I am done I have to wash my hands a million times to get them smell off my fingers. On that particular night I make sure to give all the girls their goodnight kisses before I give the oysters because once they start eating them I will not go near them because they reak of it. Everyone digs in so fast that they get it all over the place and all over them it is gross.

 

[Cityratt]

I don't know if the smoked ones are bad...I just didn't like the fact that they are packed in oil.

Melissa, I get the pieces of oysters at Crest, but I think they only have stores in OKC, not the Tulsa area. But there's gotta be someplace close to you that has them. It is so much easier than gagging on cutting up the whole ones while holding your breath!

I will look at Wal-Mart and Reasor's we don't have a Crest around here

My bf laughs :lol: at me when I am cutting them not only do I gag the whole time but once I am done I have to wash my hands a million times to get them smell off my fingers. On that particular night I make sure to give all the girls their goodnight kisses before I give the oysters because once they start eating them I will not go near them because they reak of it. Everyone digs in so fast that they get it all over the place and all over them it is gross.

*is re-thinking giving them oysters in their cage...which is in the bedroom...*

Maybe that would be a fun bathroom snack!

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

More like a good bathtub snack. :happydance: I am just really sensitive to certain smells that is my problem. And I usually pick the night before I am going to clean their cage that way it gets cleaned the very next day.

Plus I am vegetarian so the thought kind of gets to me. But my rats are omnivores so I cannot deprive them of what they might eat in the wild. They also get chicken on occasion (the bf is not vegetarian) even though I am gently trying to covert him :stickpoke: which is hard to do with a stict meat and potatoes kind of guy. :wallbang:

 

[Godmother]

Wow, oysters! Good thing my girls aren't looking at the screen now....

It sounds like a great idea for a treat (and the juice would be good for disguising medication). My only concern would be salt content, which could be a problem for older rats. But it would make such a wonderful treat for them! Maybe I'll have another birthday party for my gang. I'll do it during their out time, so as not to stink up the cage.

 

[Cityratt]

Wow, oysters! Good thing my girls aren't looking at the screen now....

It sounds like a great idea for a treat (and the juice would be good for disguising medication). My only concern would be salt content, which could be a problem for older rats. But it would make such a wonderful treat for them! Maybe I'll have another birthday party for my gang. I'll do it during their out time, so as not to stink up the cage.

*nods* you can never have enough birthday parties