Feeding through the hardware cloth

If the food will not fit through the holes how are they gonna get enough to eat. Do they eat through the holes or should the food be small enough that it will fall through the holes with tampered with.

No they chew on it through the hardware cloth and eat it right out of the hopper..they'll be fine..as long as you're using 1/4" hardware cloth and not the 1/8" stuff.

I actually thought that was too small so I cut out every other wire it the area where I feed. But the food is so big it seems like it would be hard for the to get what they need

I had the same concern when I first built my rack. The lab block seemed way too big for the rats to access through the 1/2" hardware cloth.

They haven't had a bit of trouble with it though. They gnaw chunks off through the cloth and nom nom nom all day long. I'll sometimes see smaller rats jump up and hang completely upside down, just eating the food as if it were laying on the floor of the tub.

I use 1/2 mesh for the food, they grab it just fine.

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

I use 1/2 mesh for the food, they grab it just fine.

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Yes thank you the 1/2" is what we use..I couldn't remember..use the 1/2" and they'll do just fine..

As long as they can stand up and reach the food they will find a way to eat it. You don't have to worry about that.

thanks for the reassurance

if you don't feed them enough they'll shrink and become mice.:D

I don't feed with a hopper, but I do occasionally put cheerios in the little area between some plastic of the tub and the ventilation screen. They get them just fine.

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4374/dscn2120a.jpg