Goosemoose Pet Portal

I have three rats who live together--two one-year-old boys (who are a bit on the heavy side) and a tiny five-week-old guy.  Before the little guy came along, I fed my boys low-protein Harlan blocks and green veggies.  I want the little guy to have more protein in his diet (for the next couple weeks, anyway), but if I simply put the high-protein food in the cage, the big guys will gobble it all up.  Also, the little boy actually *prefers* the Harlan lab blocks to higher-protein foods I've given him:  Nutro kitten food, other high-quality kitten foods, lean meats, etc.  

I've tried to keep the big guys out of the cage while I feed the little one his daily high-protein meal, but 1) (as I said above) he's not very interested in protein-rich foods, period, and 2) he takes his time about eating--I'd have to leave the high-protein stuff in the cage all day before he'd get around to finishing it, and obviously I can't leave the other two boys out of the cage all day.  (The little guy doesn't trust me enough to eat out of my hand yet, either.  Eventually he'll get there, I'm sure, but it may not be until after he's grown a bit and no longer has different dietary requirements from his cagemates.)

Any suggestions?

I have a similar situation to you. My littlest one is about 6 weeks now.
I keep him in a separate cage overnight (in case of escapes in my case cos he is tiny).
His extra food goes in that cage so I know he is eating it and how much he is eating.
I have another young rat who keeps him company overnight though and they seem to be on totally different feeding schedules. The littlest one eats much more often and spends half the night sitting in the food bowl. Scrambled egg is a favourite here.
I'm not sure  a separate cage would work for you though, I might be concerned about him being alone and not having anyone to sleep with for heat and comfort. Does he snuggle up with your other rats normally?

I considered that, but they do all play/snuggle at night.  (Yuli [the little rat] was pretty despondent during his quarantine--the company of "big brothers" to sleep and play with has turned him into a different rat.)  I suppose I could separate them for a couple hours a day, rather than all night.  About how much scrambled egg should a young ~6 oz. rat eat a day?  And how much kitten food, for that matter?

I usually give the two young ones about half an egg. The rest is shared out among my other rats as a treat.
I give them a bowl of mix which is about 16% protein and top up with egg or a little chicken if we have had it for dinner, or a little extra of the dog kibble I use in the mix. They get their fresh veggies at night too so I know they are eating a fair share.
I'm going on the theory that a growing rat needs between 15- 20% protein so my mix is actually okay but a little extra protein rich food is beneficial for them and also gets them used to eating different foods.
Perhaps if you put yours in a cage for a few hours of the day he will also start eating out of your hand during that time.
Fish fingers are another really popular food here. I give them a whole one each but they don't always eat all of it.

I usually give the two young ones about half an egg. The rest is shared out among my other rats as a treat.
I give them a bowl of mix which is about 16% protein and top up with egg or a little chicken if we have had it for dinner, or a little extra of the dog kibble I use in the mix. They get their fresh veggies at night too so I know they are eating a fair share.
I'm going on the theory that a growing rat needs between 15- 20% protein so my mix is actually okay but a little extra protein rich food is beneficial for them and also gets them used to eating different foods.
Perhaps if you put yours in a cage for a few hours of the day he will also start eating out of your hand during that time.
Fish fingers are another really popular food here. I give them a whole one each but they don't always eat all of it.