I can never decide whether to put my rat topics in the "rat breeding" section or the "small mammals" section because my rats aren't breeders. But anyway, rats are rats so here's my girls and their crib.

I devised a new system tonight to make feeding them easier. Each week on my day off I'm going to make all of their food for the rest of the week and put it in storage containers for refridgeration. Then, each day of the week, I just grab a container from the fridge. I also came up with the idea of sticking their mansion down into a huge sterilite container and taking the bottom tray out. The grate is still there, so they aren't down in their feces and all I do is dump the tub once a week. It makes things much easier.

Their cage setup


Same cage, before it was put in the bin:


Food prep:


Dexi-girl:


I know a lot of people are against feeding rats so much human food, but they've eaten this way since they were babies fed from a bottle. The last time we went to the vet, he said they were healthier than his rats. They're both about 2 years old and they're definitely healthy and happy. The Beak-Appetite is marketed as bird food, but the ingredients are cous cous, steamed veggies, and a few herbs. The rats love it. They also get fresh berries, cooked pasta, granola, cheerios, apples, their lab blocks (Mazuri) and whatever else I might be eating that night. The packing peanuts you see in the pictures came from an organic bird food company. They are made from rice by-products and are completely edible, biodegradable, and eco-friendly. The rats use them for nesting.