Cannibalism

[zackw419]

So for some reason my babies keep getting eaten. I have no idea why this is happening however my tub might be over populated. I have 5 rats total two are considered 'small' and the other three are one male, and two females with 1 litter of babies.

So today I walked in my home and checked the tub and one of the 'small' rats was holding onto a babies decapitated head, she was eating it.

Right now I've separated the mom and whats left of her babies into a separate tub.


Why is this happening? I don't know much about rats.

[RichsBallPythons]

What food are you feeding them.

[Hulihzack]

You'll see much better results if you remove pregnant females from the male. Also, what are you feeding them? Dog food won't get you very far... I learned that the hard stupid way.

[zackw419]

I ran out of rat food and have been feeding them dog food and lettuce for the past 3 days. What does that have to do with them killing each other?

[RichsBallPythons]

Rats and mice when in a breeding colony MUST be fed a high quality food. Straight dog food wasnt giving them the nutrients they needed so they substitute the babies for their food.

Look into getting Mazuri or Kent rodent food.

[zackw419]

cool, how long should a bag last the number of rats I have? I can't find economical bags of rat food anywhere. By that I mean they sell the food in small quantities and it seems a bit pricey.

[RichsBallPythons]

i have 500 rats n mice and i go though 75lbs a month of Kent.

Kent is 12.99 per 40lbs bag if you can find it at feed stores near you.

[zackw419]

i have 500 rats n mice and i go though 75lbs a month of Kent.

Kent is 12.99 per 40lbs bag if you can find it at feed stores near you.

very nice, thank you.

[zackw419]

wait is it sold as 'rat' feed?

[RichsBallPythons]

Kent is a ALL rodent food. Be used as their main source of food.