feeding pregnant females

[KG Reptiles]

Hi, I was just wondering if anybody fed pregnant females anything special before she give birth and after? Also, I just wanted to get an idea from others what I could add that benefits to their diet besides the mazuri lab blocks that I give them?

Thanks

[Capray]

Pregnant rats will need extra protein to help sustain her better as she is growing and raising pups. Supplement her with eggs, a little cooked meat, yoghurt or soy milk, etc.

Canned oysters - Canned oysters should be fine and nutritious for your rats (As a treat), but I would recommend steering clear of any other form of oysters.
Mealworms - Perfectly fine for your rat and good source of protein. Fine alive or dead
Meat - Chicken is always best, but they can eat any kind of cooked meat. Try to keep the fat down.

Courtesy of RatForum^^^

[sorraia]

I like to offer tofu to my pregnant, nursing, and growing rats. It helps provide them with extra nutrition and seems to help the moms maintain weight while helping the babies grow up big and strong. Other good foods to offer include cooked brown rice or other grains, cooked egg, liver, or soy milk (I've also heard of people offering almond milk, but I personally have not tried it). The key is to offer a variety of foods and offer balance. Don't focus too much on one food, or you can throw the nutrition off. While grains and soy are a great source of protein and some minerals, it does not have the proper balance of phosphorus and calcium, so offer additional foods (such as dark leafy greens, i.e. spinach, kale, broccoli) to balance that out. Protein is important for pregnant and nursing moms, but so are the other nutrients, as well as healthy calories. This is especially true during lactation (not so much during pregnancy, you don't want to bulk them up too much too early in the pregnancy), when a rat can require 300-400 or more (depending on litter size) extra calories per day to maintain her weight while feeding her babies.

[satomi325]

I like giving cooked egg, Vanilla Ensure (soak some lab blocks in it), and yoghurt.

[I-KandyReptiles]

I like giving cooked egg, Vanilla Ensure (soak some lab blocks in it), and yoghurt.

x2

I'll also offer a few wax worms

[MrLang]

I asked this a few weeks back and took some advice here as well as developing my own method.

I've been giving uncooked pasta with a blob of yogurt on it, ensure poured over some rodent block in a little bowl, and a mixture I make of scrambled egg, brown rice, and frozen peas.

They REALLY appreciate the treats and I think it is helping all the babies grow up healthy and strong. All 4 females that had litters were first time moms and they ended up all dropping 11-16 babies each with zero deaths over the first 2 weeks here.