Feeding for 3 month olds

[sardines]

Hey,

When I adopted my 2 new girls Mint and Mary Jane, the previous owners said that they rescued them from a breeder that wasn’t the best. They said that they fed them on children’s cereal so they were quite small. Obviously,this makes me a bit worried for their health and their growth.

They seem to be very happy rats, it was mentioned before that they had a RI which had cleared up and so they sneeze from time to time. And they are quite thin, their bones around the neck area stand out a bit. But other then that they seem to be fine. They are very friendly and playful and they eat like pigs I have them on the selective rat food same as my boys and my elder girls, and giving them egg and sunflower seeds to try and get some weight on them. (My other rats are loving this as they are getting more then usual too as I feel sorry for them ) and they wolf them all down. I also tried them on a little bit of kitten food which they liked a lot, but it’s hard to find food for kittens rather then cats by me.

I was wondering if what I’ve got them on would be enough to aid their growth or whether I should be putting them on a higher protein diet or maybe use supplements or specific mix. I want to give them the best chance given their rough start and want them to be healthy rats to help boost their immune system and try avoid any RI they might be prone too!


Thanks x

[cyber ratty]

In addition to the normal adult diet (which should include a portion of veg most days), give them some balanced meals (enables best absorption of nutrients) - so a low fat protein, cooked carbs, plus cooked veg.
e.g.
chicken, rice, and broccoli
tuna, pasta, and kale
eggs, bread, and peppers
butter beans, cous cous, and carrots
sardines, potatoes, and peas

Since they sound so thin, I would give the additional meals 3 or 4 times a week for maybe a month. Feed them separately though, you don't want your others getting overweight!

Incidentally, it's better to feed a mix rather than just pellets. Science selective can form about 20% of the mix, but is very dull for rats if fed on its own.