I've had two rats for three months now and I'm not sure if I'm giving them the right amount of food. I've read that they eat small amounts but frequently, but I keep finding contradictory information online. Should I leave food available for them all day or is it better to give them portions at set times?
How much food do you give them each time you feed them? The ideal is to feed them once or twice a day, but with access to hay and vegetables throughout the day. Rats eat constantly in small amounts in the wild, so having food available works well for them, but you should control portions of concentrated feed (pellets) to avoid them getting overweight. What does work well is always leaving fresh hay, water available freely, and giving them vegetables and pellets at set times; that way you prevent things from going bad in the cage and you have better control over what they're eating.
The best approach is to leave food available all the time, but in controlled amounts - that way they eat when they're hungry without it going to waste. You can check what's left two or three times a day and refill if needed, but you don't have to stick to fixed schedules. One thing nobody really mentions: separate the pellets from the vegetables and fruit, because rats tend to eat what they like first and leave the boring stuff; if you mix it all together you end up giving them more food than they need just so they'll eat the vegetables.
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