Bamboo shoots?

[Cait]

Hey all.

At the Union, which is where we mostly get our food from, they have a wonderful salad bar. This is where I've been getting Mikey's fruits and veggies from. He's very adventurous when it comes to eating! I haven't had him turn his nose up at anything so far.

Anyway, my question is, can rats have bamboo shoots? They have them there, and I like them, but would they be ok to give to Mikey? Oh and what about shrimp and crab? Are those ok?

Just wanted to know, I'd like for him to have a large variety. Lab blocks are kind of boring, ha.

 

[Lise]

My rats absolutely love shrimp, it is a very special treat for them since we so rarely get it.

I don't see any reason why they couldn't have bamboo.... to tell you the truth though I didn't even know people ate bamboo. :lol:

 

[jorats]

I thought only pandas ate bamboo. lol
But I don't see a problem with it, haven't heard anything.
As for the shrimp, very rarely, my rats get some and they love it.

 

[Cait]

LOL, they have them here for some reason. I didn't know you could eat bamboo either, until I got here.

But yay! I am glad he can have them. We'll see. He takes fresh foods so easily. He's such a good boy!

 

[chicky82]

You can use bamboo shoots in chinese foods instead of bean sprouts. I found out that when feeding ratties new foods to go easy and only give them a little :roll: I offered my guys pear and they :heart: it but I guess I gave them a bit too much and their poop got soft and a funny color and WOW!!! did it ever smell :shock: well, know better next time :lol:
I've never given my guys shrimp or any kind of seafood, what about tuna fish in water?

 

[user 78]

Bamboo is perfectly acceptable for them to eat. Think of it as an exotic veggie. My girls get bamboo shoots when I feel fancy and make them stir fry, and they love them. As far as I know shrimp and crab are fine for them, just in moderation like with everything else.

 

[Lise]

You shouldn't really give tuna, it has very high mercury levels... far too much for a small rat.

 

[user 78]

I've given my girls tuna before, with no adverse reactions. Not something to give every day, obviously, but as a treat every few months or so. They enjoy it immensely.

I've also given my girls bits of mussels, oysters, and various fish.

 

[LA]

so what type of meat should you avoid??

 

[Cait]

Ditto Lea Andra's q.

I also found cranberries at the salad bar... Yay!

 

[user 78]

As far as I understand it, there's no meat that you should actually avoid, so much as which ones to give only in moderation. Beef is pretty high in protein, so something like chicken or fish is better. My girls still get a bit of my steak every once in a while, though. By 'a bit' I'm talking maybe a one inch cube divided among 3 rats. I use the same measuring for just about everything I give them except their lettuce mix and certain veggies.

 

[Lise]

I've given my girls tuna before, with no adverse reactions. Not something to give every day, obviously, but as a treat every few months or so.

Every few months should be fine.... if you google 'mercury tuna' you will find out that there are even guidelines about how much humans should be eating.

This websites recommendations:

http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp

A person that weights 20lbs should not have tuna more than every 3 weeks, because of their low body weight. A rat only weighs 1ish pounds.

 

[KristyR]

Ooohhh.... never thought of bamboo shoots. The asian market where we get most of our veggies has fresh bamboo shoots in big bins.... cheap... and very tasty!