How Much Are They Supposed to Eat?!

[Kibble]

Do male rats eat significantly more than female ones? Agnes and Kiki got through about a handful of lab blocks between them every day. But Archie and Roland are eating like little horses! I am shovelling literally bowlfulls of pellets into their cage, and they are insatiable. They're probably sixteen weeks old, recently neutered and furiously active, but I still cannot work out where they are putting all this food.

The lab blocks I buy are literally the most tedious food on the market. They're just oats, soy and vitamins. They taste like dry pasta. You couldn't eat them unless you were starving. But the boyos are gobbling them up as if they were mana from heaven. I give them table scraps, which Kiki falls on like a tiger, but Archie and Roland accept as nothing more than a mild diversion.

Are they starving, or are they greedy? Should I steel myself and leave the food bowl empty until dinner time, or should I keep feeding untill they've had enough? What if I just give them a slice of bread to keep them going? Oats and soy are surprisingly expensive...

 

[DadRat]

We free feed Harlan 2014, for our boys it worked out to about 1 pound of food per rat per month. We haven't had our new girls long enough to really tell how much they are going through yet.

 

[Moon]

They're at an age where they're growing fast and furious, so they are going to eat like crazy. I say, if they don't look fat, keep feeding.

 

[SQ]

Good to always keep blocks in their dish as rats have fast metabolisms and eat at various times.
Rats that are growing do eat a lot more then older rats.

 

[hopefloats]

I have 5 girls in one cage, I can fill their bowl usually every other day. In my boys cage, I have 4 on the bottom half and two up top. The 4 on the bottom gets filled every day, they run it dry and they do not horde at all. The two boys on the top, I usually have to find the stash and put it back in the bowl because Toby is a major hoarder lol. Boys eat a lot, I thought girls did but i was wrong, my boys are major pigs.

 

[Bamboo]

Are they actually eating it all or are they stashing it somewhere? I agree that at that age they will be eating a lot. I check my bowls whenever I think about it (at least once or twice a day) and re-fill them as necessary (usually once a day)

If you're really worried about it, maybe keep track of their weights to make sure they're not getting too fat (keeping in mind that they are still growing) but honestly, I wouldn't worry about it

 

[Kibble]

Nope, they are eating every scrap. But they are definately getting longer rather than fatter, so I'll keep giving them as much as they want for now. The best part is when Roland leans over, fastidiously sniffs every single identical pellet, carefully selects one to eat, then sits there and repeats the process until he's eaten them all.

 

[Sorraia]

Adult males actually need less food to fulfill their caloric needs than females. HOWEVER - young growing rats need MUCH MUCH MUCH more than adults of either sex. Growing youngsters need energy not just to fulfill their basic functions, but to provide material to build their growing bodies. If they are in good condition (not fat), let them eat all they want.

 

[Moon]

Adult males actually need less food to fulfill their caloric needs than females. HOWEVER - young growing rats need MUCH MUCH MUCH more than adults of either sex. Growing youngsters need energy not just to fulfill their basic functions, but to provide material to build their growing bodies. If they are in good condition (not fat), let them eat all they want.

A better version of what I said LOL