Well, last I checked, a rat does not cost near what a tank, bedding, heating and lighting does. As per all my posts...We did not expect to be getting these animals. So when we received them as gifts and told it had been 2 weeks since the last feed, we stopped and got food for them. Which was roughly 20.00. Now if you can get all the necessary things for even a temporary housing set up for them for that price, since we are short on funds atm...then please inform me of where and how. I did not come here to be criticized for trying to get information on how I should handle a possible overfeeding, which I take full blame for.