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My parents used organic shea butter for their english bull dog in the winter on her knees and elbows to relieve dryness. They use to wash her with some kind of oatmeal stuff to soothe her irrated skin. She was kind of fat though and could not really reach most spots to lick off any of the shea butter :)
how cute! thanks for the info!Quote:
Originally Posted by MelissaO
I would add some good probiotics to the diet to counteract the antibiotics and also rub on some aloe from real aloe plant. I don't think the aloe would hurt, but you might want to google it first.
Of course adding the green mush would address a lot of those issues in and of itself, has probiotics and food enzymes plus healthy whole food ingredients.
Can you fellow rat lovers help me out? How much food do you feed your rats? How many times a day? Do you pick the food up or leave it all day?
My son has two lovely male rats, roughly 1+ years old. One has developed a tumor :( He's doing fine, still active and sweet, but looks like a hunchback now. I've decided to take over the care of the rats and switch them to all raw but I feel sort of lost on amounts, etc. When we fed them bagged food, we just made sure to keep the bowl full each day.
So far, they love fruit...we've tried apples, bananas, pears. The bananas they nibble on excitedly for a bit and then leave it. I pull it out because otherwise it gets nasty. My son argues for me to leave it as they might come back to it.
I tried some nori, but sadly, no takers yet. I'm going to keep introducing it here and there. And of course, veggies are good with them. None that they haven't liked yet...carrots, greens, avos, radish, cabbage, kale, etc.
Any advice would be welcome.
Can aloe be bought at a nursery? I totally forgot all about aloe! I also have some liquid vitamin E that might help too...Quote:
Originally Posted by goobygirl
I feed my rat as much as she'll eat. it takes a while to get the rhythm down, but you'll get the hang of it. if they leave it in the cage and dont touch it for a day then take it out. some rats will leave food but come back for it later.Quote:
Originally Posted by WendyLouWho
I've seen aloe even in the grocery store, as well as nurseries. Might be nice if you can go on craigslist or ask friends if they have extra. Aloe can be divided up I believe. I would be cautious with the Vit E only because I would wonder if they licked it all off it if would be toxic. Don't know the answer myself.
If you can't tell if the rat is a boy or a girl... it's a girl :)
They should be kept in pairs at least! I had 7 rats at one point, they were my sweet little babies! I fed them fresh fruits and veggies every day, and also insects they loved them.
The exception to the rule is if you adopt one that's always been alone. We did and thought "Hey, she needs some friends" and she's very angry with us for putting 2 younger ones in her cage. We're now trying to adopt the sisters out and give our 8 month old rat some peace.Quote:
Originally Posted by jesirose
Can you feed mice a raw diet? I was told to find new homes for my rats and mice if I choose to feed them a raw diet. Apparently I am slowly killing them by doing this. While I don't believe in feeding dogs or cats a raw vegan diet, rats should be ok. It seems their nutrient needs are pretty similar to our own. Does anyone know where I can get a list of the nutrients they need and how much of it (kind of like they have for people.)?
We might be adopting a male rat or two from a friend today (he's moving and can't take his rats.). So that will boost our numbers from two to four. That means going out and getting a new cage and all. Food costs will go up, so if we could figure out how to feed raw, they could just eat bits of what we are eating and food costs will almost be none existant.
You can feed mice a raw diet, that's what they eat in the wild isn't it?
The SAD (Standard American Diet) rat community is nasty as can be about rat diet. They are incredibly
misinformed and believe rats can only survive on lab blocks.
Even when the most beloved lab blocks (Harlan aka tekland, aka native earth) specifically does not have any animal
products in them, and states this is to prevent cancer, they insist rats must eat meat. There is just no reasoning.
Feeding them raw is no problem. Rats just need a little more protein and B12 then humans, (especially at a young age) and anyone who is into raw foodism knows infinitely more then the SAD rat community about diet anyway.
I am working on a book about it. A plant based diet, not a specifically raw one.
Ps. Did I really ever refer to myself as a "rat expert"? Ignore that bout of stupidity. There's too much to learn to ever become an "expert".
How about a yahoo group to learn and get support from each other? There is already a vegan rat group, but it doesn't seem very active.
Would it be overly controlling of me to make a new one?
I'll do it anyway.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/P...guid=524299702
Awesome, rats eating as healthy as us, or healthier :)
My rats eat a raw vegan diet, they LOVE it and look better than any other rats I've ever had. One was pregnant when I rescued her and her babies were way more healthy and lively acting at just one week old that I have ever experienced with any other rat litters.
Interesting.