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chocolate hording

D

darkwish3

New member
does anyone else have female mice that hord chocolate(as in cookie pieces, brownie bits ect) when i drop anything chocolate in the food dish she grabs it and runs off to hide it so the 2 other mice can't get it. is that normal?
 
I have a female rat that hords cheerios and wheat thins. In another rat colony the baby rats will try to eat the same cheerio or wheat thin as an adult, but the baby usually gets it. I've never tried chocolate, I'm not sure it would be good for rodents.
 
susang said:
I have a female rat that hords cheerios and wheat thins. In another rat colony the baby rats will try to eat the same cheerio or wheat thin as an adult, but the baby usually gets it. I've never tried chocolate, I'm not sure it would be good for rodents.
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just bits of cookie or brownie not chocolate bar type, she is also nuts for fruit loops and cheezeits
 
I only have pet rats, not feeders, but dark chocolate is supposed to be beneficial for their respiratory systems. My ratties like M and Ms :)
 
M and M's how cool, I just started giving my rats treats. What about the coloring on the M&M's, could it be harmfull to snakes (sorry, breeders are pets but the rest are food. susang
 
I honestly don't know if the coloring is bad for the snakes. But I have only been giving out M and Ms as treats for not even 2 years and one of the rats that love the m and ms is the longest lived rat I've ever had. I have only had 8 rats as pets in the last 5 years, I usually keep them in groups of 2 or 3 at a time. I got one female as an adult Dec 5 2005, and even though she is failing now, and may not be around in a month, she is at least 26 or 27 months old. The candy hasnt seemed to hurt her, anyway!
 
starsevol said:
I honestly don't know if the coloring is bad for the snakes. But I have only been giving out M and Ms as treats for not even 2 years and one of the rats that love the m and ms is the longest lived rat I've ever had. I have only had 8 rats as pets in the last 5 years, I usually keep them in groups of 2 or 3 at a time. I got one female as an adult Dec 5 2005, and even though she is failing now, and may not be around in a month, she is at least 26 or 27 months old. The candy hasnt seemed to hurt her, anyway!
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Sorry to go off topic a bit, but it is sad they don't live very long. I had a male hamster live four years. My breeder rats are pretty docile and so smart. I think every kid who wants a pet rodent should get a rat as they really are good pals.
 
You are right about that. I get really attached. But I try to see life the way they do. To them, 2 years is like 80 to us! A 2 yr lifespan is normal to them. And most are food that don't live 6 months. Of course, to me, rats are puppies and not food :)

I think rats are great pets for kids too. But you should never get a single rat. Rats are social and need company. Alone they can get depressed and actually get mentally ill. Even with constant human attention, keeping a rat alone is like locking a human in a room and letting him play with a dog a few hours a day, but never again see another person. Rats communicate with each other, groom, play and cuddle with each other while their humans are doing other things!

And as much as I loved and still miss all my dearly departed ratties, I know that I will love my next ratty-friends too, and give THEM a wonderful few months as well.
 
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Here is a funny story about chocolate and rats. In college I worked in a research lab studying the effects of brain damage and the eating response. Rats with damage to the part of their brain that makes them want to eat stop eating altogether. They would only start eating again when offered one of two things, mother rat's milk and Hersheys milk chocolate. We contacted Hershey to request a list of ingredients so as to find a chemical correlation between the two items. Hershey declined our request based on secrecy issues with regard to their chocolate recipes. That said, I can't look at a Hershey bar and not envision a room full of very patient dexterous people milking mother rats for Hersheys' "secret" ingredient!
Terri
 
crackerhead said:
Here is a funny story about chocolate and rats. In college I worked in a research lab studying the effects of brain damage and the eating response. Rats with damage to the part of their brain that makes them want to eat stop eating altogether. They would only start eating again when offered one of two things, mother rat's milk and Hersheys milk chocolate. We contacted Hershey to request a list of ingredients so as to find a chemical correlation between the two items. Hershey declined our request based on secrecy issues with regard to their chocolate recipes. That said, I can't look at a Hershey bar and not envision a room full of very patient dexterous people milking mother rats for Hersheys' "secret" ingredient!
Terri
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Thats quite interesting... would they not take any other type of chocolate?
 
That was the only one we found. Of course it was not an exhaustive search. This was at the Univ of Penn. which is spitting distance from Hershey PA. I know we tried M&M's with no success. But maybe a delicious Cadbury bar would have worked as well? lol
Terri
 
I tried M&M's last night, the female I offered them to loved them. She did give the first one to one of her babies (not babies anymore), but then she would run and turn her head so she could eat it. Now today she turned er nose up to cheerios, spoiled already, susang
 
My rats love chocolate, I had a male and trio of female rats live to be 6 years old, eating only human grade veggies/fruits/meats and chocolate! And supplimented vitamins!

I have four males right now, one is 3 two are 2 and one is 4 years! My mom took one of my babies I bred ( used to breed Rex and Dumbo rats ) and she neutered him, and feeds him only the best him and his blue dumbo female friend. Waiting to see if he out lives his Not-neutered brother or not? hm insteresing though!
 
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