How can i stop my rat from picking out his "favorites" in his food bowl?

Store brand seed mixes aren't really the best thing to be feeding your rats, for various reasons. For one, they do tend to pick out their favourites. For another, most are high in fat and don't always have all the nutrients your rats need. Some also contain things that your rats can't/shouldn't eat, or should eat only in moderation, like corn and alfalfa. A healthier alternative is to give them 'lab blocks'. (Which other people have mentioned.) These are basically food reconstituted into a small, hard block. You have to be careful with these, too, because some aren't much healthier than seed mixes (although they eliminate the picking and choosing problem). Mazuri, Oxbow Regal Rat, and Harlan Teklad are all relatively healthy choices. (Harlan is generally considered the best of the three, although it's also the hardest to get a hold of.) Mazuri and Regal Rat are stocked in many pet stores. (PetSmart, I believe, carries them.) For more information, this site is excellent: http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat Hope this helps!

I would suggest picking out the color stuff, and leaving the seeds, they will get hungry and will eat the seed stuff, but don't give them back the colored stuff as soon as they start to eat the seeds, leave it with the seeds for a bit, then slowly introduce the color stuff back.... this should make them realize that the rest of it is food

my rats dont eat the seeds either just dont give them as much food overall

you should try giving them a different type of food

Sometimes they'll eat the other seeds if you leave them in there, but my first rats would eat their favorite bits, then flip the dish over so I'd refill it. So not only were they getting poor nutrition, I had an extra mess to clean up. That's when I switched to lab blocks. They can't pick out the parts they like; they have to eat everything. Lab blocks have the advantage of being completely boring, so rats are less likely to overeat (my rats get all the lab blocks they want, and limited amounts of everything else). You can use up the rest of the mix by giving them small amounts as a treat.

Just leave the food in there. If they're hungry they will eat anything edible. Or you could try switching to another food brand. Good luck.... :P

Although I suggest regal rat or harlan tekland, (or even suebee's diet- search it on google) There have been a couple times when I've had to put rat food from the store, and basically I'll feed them twice a day, and I'll give them some in the morning and they eat all the good, by the time night comes around (or evening), they will have finally eaten -everything-, but in the middle of the day they usually leave the 'bad stuff'. So just don't feed them until they eat it, but if they don't eat it in a whole 24 hours, then I suppose you'll just have to get over it or try lab blocks. c:

try lab blocks or a mixture where all of the food is the same.

This is what all rats (or other rodents) will do if you buy the type of food that is a mixture. That's why I switched to lab blocks.