Rat Food Plans

Posted on July 13th, 2007 in by Cassi

The past couple of months I have been doing a lot of reading about rat food and learning what’s best for the ratties. There’s a lot of bad info out there, and a lot of terrible commercial food! I can’t believe pet food companies get away with selling such nutritionally poor food.

I’ve decided the way I’m going to go is with the Mazuri lab blocks and add in about 25% fresh “people” foods. The reason I want most of the diet to be lab block is because I know it’s nutritionally complete. I’d be worried about mixing my own food and not meeting those needs. And from what I’ve read, Mazuri is the second best lab block (after Harlan Teklad, which would be difficult to get). I also picked up some all natural granola, whole grain cereal, and pasta spirals. Plus we always have fruits and apple sauce around the house. I’ll probably get some frozen fruits/veggies to keep around, too. I want to work in some meat, but that’ll depend on how often we have something suitable in the house. I know a lot of people use dog food, so maybe I can try that to work in extra protein. Does anyone visiting my blog have suggestions?

Only a few more days until I go pick them up!

Cage Set-up

Posted on July 8th, 2007 in by Cassi

I worked on setting up the rat cage today. The rat cage calculator says it will hold 2 rats, and since I’m getting 2, it should be okay for now. Maybe as they grow older and bigger I can afford to get them a bigger cage (especially if I decide to get more rats… shhh… don’t tell Kevin I just said that.) Here’s a pic of what the cage looks like right now:

Rat Cage

I took this pic yesterday, and since then I added a hammock near the top. I also plan on somehow covering those wire shelves. For now I might fasten towels over them, but I’d like to find linoleum or something that’s easier to clean. The big dish near the top will also be lined with a towel to make it a cozy place to sleep. And you can’t see the bottom of the cage very well, but there’s a layer of Carefresh down there.

Cute video about rat laughter!

Posted on July 6th, 2007 in by Cassi

Meet My Rats!

Posted on July 5th, 2007 in by Cassi

Hello and welcome to my new blog all about my pet rats, and caring for rats in general. In less than 2 weeks I’ll be a new rat owner. I’ve been learning so much about caring for rats. I almost have their cage set up and I’m working on getting the food, bedding, toys, etc. ready for when I go pick up my new little boys - Pixel and Pica! (Yes, I know I’m a nerd for naming them that!)

Anyways, I’m really looking forward to getting my new little ratties. I already have 2 gerbils - Aries and Apollo. They’re great little pets.

I’ll be posting as many pictures as possible, and I’ll be posting about everything I learn. Hopefully anyone who is interested in getting rats will be able to benefit from my experience. I’ll be posting again soon with pictures of their cage set up!

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