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How to get your rat to try new foods
When baby rats begin to eat solid food at about 2 weeks of age, they learn
what, and what not, to eat by imitating their mother by watching what she
eats and sampling the foods for themselves. It is also said that the baby
can smell the food on her breath, and I'm going to go out on a limb here and
assume that they may even get an inkling of what mom is eating through of
the taste of her milk as they are nursing.
It would stand to reason then that if you are raising the rats yourself they
would already be getting a variety of foods and they would already be used
to, and excited about, trying new things.
Some rats, however, are purchased from pet stores where their food had been
only lab blocks or seed mixes. Some rats are bolder then others and will try
a new food without hesitation, but there are others that are very nervous,
and very reluctant to try something new. One of the researches that I am
going to do for my "Rat Food" pages is rat taste buds and why, like
ourselves, rats also have food preferences. If anyone has some info for me,
please send it in to spazrats@yahoo.ca
SO, how do you get these rats to try the fruits and veggies that are so
healthy for them? Eat the food yourself, letting them see you eat it.
Breathe on them, take a piece of masticated food out of your mouth and offer
it to them. Be patient, this works.