Baby behavior

[dspch911]

So the new boys have been with us for 6 days now. Yesterday they became more active and weren't hiding as much. However, these little guys have absolutely no interest in treats. The eat their oxbow/soy formula, veggies, and fruit - BUT they will not take any treats from us. They are suppose to be around 5 weeks old and we've never had ratties this little - is that normal or do I have health nuts on my hands :laugh4:

 

[Optimist]

I will be watching this post because I just got a baby rat and he has been fed on some kind of rat food pellet, and I think he does not count the other "stuff" as edible. All I can think of is that babies may not have well developed taste buds like human babies and will need to be slowly introduced to various food. I would stick to the healthy food until they decide they are ready to eat other things. I will personally never feed my rats things like yogis. I would rather give them fresh "real" food since they will eat things like the ends of carrots and apple cores and things we humans consider "trash." Also they may need to be taught what is good to eat (like many animals) by their parents or older mentor rats, and if they do not have any around (parents/older rats) they may distrust everything and stick to bland pet store rat block thinking it is safe to eat.

This is just a guess based on other animal behavior and not my knowledge of rats which is minimal.

 

[UhHuhHer]

They might not be very sure about treats yet. I'd leave them where they can sniff and nip at them and realize that they're edible, but they might just not be interested yet. Maybe wait a little until they've grown some and try again.

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[jorats]

Yes, it's normal. Some rats, actually won't take any food but if you put it in your mouth first, then they might eat it.

 

[Joanne]

Ditto Jo's post - rats have survived a long time because they don't trust new food. They need to believe it's safe first before they'll try it. If you eat some and have the smell on your mouth, they might be more willing to try it.

 

[dspch911]

That's very interesting, but he boys had no problem taking a small piece of ham from me last night - neither one of them! They didn't care to try the sweet potatoes though. They have decided cheerios are alright and they like bok choy, carrots, peas, pasta, blueberries, and corn so far. Just not treats

 

[jorats]

They'll come around. But even if they choose health foods anyway, that's a win win. lol

 

[patchesboo]

my rats will take treats from me when they're in their cage, but very rarely will they take treats when they're on my shoulder. in fact Merle, my nakie boy, is the only one so far who has taken a treat from me while on my shoulder. I gave him a little bit of cookie dough, and he grabbed it right away, the little pig! he's my favorite.

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[dspch911]

These are such smart boys! They have just about mastered the liter boxes with their poop!! Have been using them since the day I brought them home :joy:

 

[patchesboo]

These are such smart boys! They have just about mastered the liter boxes with their poop!! Have been using them since the day I brought them home :joy:

Lucky you!

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