Rat Questions

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CookieLanceRattie

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Hello! I was wondering what a good rat diet in the US would be?
I'll be getting male rats. Are Oxbow and Reggie Rat good?
How much should I feed them? And how often?
How many veggies can I give and how often can I feed them?
Is there a safe and unsafe food list? Thank you!
 
Welcome to the forum! First, check out the reference thread that SQ linked. It's important to know what is and isn't okay with rats. The reference thread goes more in depth than I do, but here's a small recap.

As it stands right now, Oxbow is the best rat food out there. I found anything that has a lot of seeds or colored food pellets are highly processed or they should be nothing but treats. If you can, try to make homemade treats for your rats, since you'll then know exactly what is going into them. Diet is key! These guys don't live very long unfortunately, so we want to keep them as long as possible.

Veggies, when frozen, are an especially good treat for hot days. My rats don't eat enough veggies in a week (I buy in bulk since it's cheaper) so I almost always buy frozen. Dried stuff tends to be very salty or very sugary. Try to buy organic as frequently as possible. It's expensive, but worth it when it comes to diet.

Just a general rule of thumb is fruits are good, but in low amounts. Too many fruits at once and they could have diarrhea.

When it comes to water, always have a couple of bottles and bowls filled for your rats. Sometimes water bottles don't work. Having multiple of everything leads to less competition. Same goes with food bowls. I feed my rats nightly, unless their food bowls are still full from the night before. I use Oxbow exclusively. My boys like the adult essential diet mixed with the veggie garden stuff.


And please, please, please, don't always take information and accept it without question. Look up things. Research everything. Science is changing near daily, it seems. Critical thinking seems to be a rare trait these days. Some people may not like it, but never be afraid to ask a second opinion. Personally, my rats' health and happiness always trump whether or not someone is offended by my double-checking what they're saying.
 
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To add to ViciousCurse's comment, absolutely double and triple check everything. There are always conflicting opinions even, on what does and doesn't work; what is and isn't the best. It's good to ask questions, find second opinions, and follow-up with your own research. Even then, the occasional slip-up might happen (ex: while I did find a great small animal vet locally, I only recently - two years after visiting them for my rats - realized that there are small animal vets equally qualified and just as good that charge, maybe, half of what I was paying for the same services).

When I first got rats a few years ago, I spent a lot of time browsing this forum, the local rat rescue's resource list, among other sources before I even adopted them. I only adopted them once I felt confident that, yes, these are the right pets for me and are within my abilities and desire to care for. Anyone who's offended by you double-checking their work is too proud, so don't worry yourself about that and keep an open mind.
 
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