Feeding
Gambian pouched rats need seem to need more protein than their smaller rat counterparts. They are omnivores in the wild, eating everything from vegetation to insects and even some smaller mammals, although heir diet is more vegetarian than carnivorous, and one reference states that in the wild they have a preference for palm fruit and root vegetables. They should be fed a mixture of food items from the following list, including a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.
- Good quality rat grain mix and/or lab blocks
- Commercial Omnivore diet (e.g. Mazuri)
- Dog food
- Monkey biscuits (occasionally)
- Good variety of fresh vegetables and fruits
- Dried fruits
- Cooked lean meats and eggs (hard boiled or scrambled)
- Insects (such as crickets, meal worms and wax worms)
- Nuts, pumpkin seeds
- Whole grain bread
Remember that Gambian pouched rats are hoarders, so they are liable to pack their cheek pouches full of food and move it from the food bowl to their nest. Be careful not to overfeed and monitor their cage for uneaten decaying food.
Some people recommend supplementing with a little bit of fish oil in their diet to curb dry skin problems. Keeping the humidity up in the room you keep your rat in may help too.
Never feed chocolate, and avoid fried food, salty food, candy or junk food.
Housing
Providing a good, sturdy, large cage can be a bit of a challenge for Gambian pouched rats. Also keep in mind that even with a large cage they will need time out of the cage daily for exercise as well as socialization. These rats can chew very destructively so close supervision is a must when they are out of the cage.
Basic cage requirements:
- As large as possible - a multi level cage is best for providing room to move (e.g. multilevel ferret or chinchilla cage)
- No wire floors or shelves as this will hurt their feet
- An all metal cage is best as Gambian rats can quickly chew through or destroy plastic or wood.
- A deep base is best, or you can add a urine shield (strip of metal or plastic around the outside of the lower part of the cage). This helps keep the bedding in and prevents feces from falling out since Gambian pouched rats tend to back into a corner to defecate.
- Powder coated metal (or stainless steel) cage. Zinc can be ingested if chewing on galvanized cages, and their urine will discolor galvanized wire quickly.
- Aspen wood shaving or an aspen, paper, or pulp based bedding material in the bottom of the cage (no cedar or pine)
- Provide lots of plain white (no dyes or perfumes) paper towels or facial tissue for nesting material.
- Clean the cage thoroughly weekly. Gambian pouched rats tend to back into a corner to defecate and urinate, which makes spot cleaning the cage easy inbetween major cleanings.
- Gambian rats could potentially be litter training by providing a corner litter box.
Toys
All rats love to chew and Gambian pouched rats are no exception, and since they are larger they can chew through items very quickly. A good variety of wood chew toys should be offered to keep them occupied -- large parrot toys often work well. Wooden toys made out of arbutus or manzanita wood are a little tougher so provide extra chewing time. Nylabones (in the dog section) also provide good chewing opportunities. Cotton rope toys are also a good option. Plastic toys will not last long and are a health hazard if chewed off pieces are ingested by Gambian pouched rats. An exercise wheel is also an excellent idea, but the trick is finding one. A wheel should be metal, solid surface and large (15 inch minimum, 17 inch diameter is better).