What size rats should I feed?

Ok so I am switching to rats and wondering what size to feed my bp? He is about two feet give or take a few and he's four inches around....I can't give weight seeing as I don't have any type of scales...thanks in advance!!!

Anyone?

Go get a $25 digital kitchen scale from Walmart so you don't have to guess. Or guess and get a rat (hopefully) about the same size as the mice you've been feeding.

The feeding mostly goes by grams. Apparently they should b fed 10-15% of their body weight. Your best bet is to get a scale

Feed him 1 rat thats about the same size as the fattest part of him.

If you do not have the scale, I would go with the old rule of thumb as described above. Just give them a rat roughly the size of the widest part of the gut. Hope this helps.

Small rat

I'll just go get some scales since I'm ordering online....thanks everyone!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pale Rider 777

I'll just go get some scales since I'm ordering online....thanks everyone!!

---

:gj: That's your best bet. Once he is up to eating small rats (50-80g), he can take those weekly for the rest of his life (unless he turns out to be a freak male at 3000g or something). The 10-15% "rule" is best for when they are babies and juveniles.

Ok he's exactly 344g....so I should feed him weaned rats right? Since they're 30-40g? And does that sound underweight to you? I can post pics if you want

DUDE the websites you guys recommended want to charge me $40-50 in shipping! Preposterous! Looks like I'm going back to petsmart lol

You need to buy enough to male it worth the shipping price. Look for local reptile shows. You might be able to find good prices and fresh kills.

I'm not sure what you are paying at petsmart but I am getting ready to order 50 rat pups from Laynelabs and the total is like 95 shipped. That works out to less than $2 each and I'm already paying $1.65 for mice anyway so I guess it depends on your order, price for time and gas to wherever your petsmart is.

Most places charge $50-$60 for shipping. That's why when I order feeders, I usually order the size their eating and the next two sizes up. Then I'm not having to buy feeders for literally 3-4 months. That right there saves the gas, time, and price difference of the rats you're getting at petsmart. You can also try and find a local rodent breeder or reptile pet shop that sells live feeders that you can have them pre kill and stick in your freezer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pale Rider 777

Ok he's exactly 344g....so I should feed him weaned rats right? Since they're 30-40g? And does that sound underweight to you? I can post pics if you want

---

Yep, sounds perfect. If you're ordering online, then he should be ready for smalls when you are done with a bag of weanlings, and then smalls from then on.