How to put one boy out of two on a diet

[kbg]

I recently posted about my two boys who are having aggression issues, and have determined that they both need to be neutered. This will be done soon. Now, I have another question. Twitch, the aggressor between the two, has been hoarding all the food in his nest in these last few months that this has been going on, and now he is quite obese! Spot is a healthy weight. So, how do I feed them different amounts to get the weight off of Twitch? I am hoping that once they are neutered, his hoarding behaviour will stop, but what if it doesn't? Is there any best way to deal with this and does anyone else have experience with this? (o:

 

[SQ]

I believe that Jorats has dealt with this sort of thing

 

[jorats]

When I had a boy obsessed with food, I would remove him from the cage while the others would get fed. I would place after at another area of the cage with his food. What are your rats eating? If its a good quality block, you can hand feed them and don't free feed them. Hand them each a block, wait for them to eat it and hand another one or give them a couple on the morning each, and a couple more mid day and at night. I would also supply them with veggies.

 

[kbg]

I never thought of that kind of method! How will I know if they are getting enough for a daily amount? I have been feeding them Martin's mouse and rat rations, as that's the only food for rats at our feed store here, but after some reading and research on here, I have just ordered 2 bags of lab blocks from Chinchilla.ca, one for little ones, and one for adults. I hope to get them soon! About how many of the blocks would an adult rat eat in a day? Also, I give fresh fruit and veggies every few days, and for a treat, as they are obsessed with them, I give Cheerios. They'll do ANYTHING for Cheerios! Yogurt sometimes too, especially the babies right now since three of them are on amoxicillin. I will definitely try this method you mentioned! Thanks Jorats!

 

[jorats]

If it's the harlan talked blocks you ordered I would give the adults two blocks each in the morning and two blocks each in the evening. Rats should get about 55 grams of food a day. I would also give veggies daily but fruits occasionally. Keep in mind that rat's tummies are the size of a grape so they don't need that much food.

 

[jorats]

If it's the oxbow, I would give 6 blocks each in the morning and 6 blocks each in the evening.