feeding

[AK907]

first off he is VERY supervised. his feeding is a family spectical. i watched when he was bitten. there was nothing i could do. i would have knocked the little guy out if i could have. he didnt wrap around him enough times to take him out. and i do feed him every 7 days. he is going on week 3 without food. 1 week with the weener. i just put him in the feeding tank with the rat at night. and yes i know i dont need a seperate tank to feed. i do it so i can watch it go down on my coffee table and so that if :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: goes bad i can access him quickly. i dont believe he would snap at me thinking i was food. that is silly.

Settle down, man! I think you misinterpreted my post.

I was basically saying what Ezekiel said. Don't offer every day while he is off feed. Only offer every 4 days to once a week because feeding is a very stressful time. Another I would recommend trying is feeding him in his cage until he is established eating again. Putting him in a separate tub causes unneeded stress. Once he is eating again for a while, you can try a separate tub again. Also, handling should be kept to an absolute minimum. These will help minimize stress and better your chances.

Also, when feeding live, I keep a pair of tongs in hand to put in the rats mouths if they try biting. You can also help them readjust their coils. I have to do this sometimes when they make a bad strike.

Rats grow pretty quick, but an extra week or two isn't going to be a big deal. Dog food is fine for now. You can also throw in some table scraps. Rats aren't picky. They will eat just about anything.