A question, worried about yogie junkies

[Anmllvr731]

My 4 rattie girls eat a good diet. Plenty of daily fresh fruits or veggies and nutro lite & then a little.
They LOVE YOGIES!!!!!! Beg like junkies needing a fix.
The label on the 8 in one yogies say you can give up to 12 a day. I'm really not sure about that amount though,
at that rate wouldn't they end up REALLY FAT?

I'm curious as to how many you guys give your rats and
if you think 12 a day is way to much.
Thanks!

[em]

I guess it depends on the exact nutritional composition of the yogie in question, but 12 sounds like an awful lot to me! Mine get one each in the morning before I go to work, one in the evening and then others at odd times eg the babies get more when they climb on me, cos I'm still trust training, and Josie gets more cos I'm teaching her to sit up and beg. I also put some in their play castle (big box full of paper, boxes, chewy stuff etc) so that they can have the fun of finding them.

Actually, poor Daffers is missing out, I'll have to think of something to teach her to do! I've left her out of the begging training cos - bless her - she doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the box. She couldn't seem to get the idea at all. Josie is a smart little madam though, she was the first to figure out that if she stuffed her yogie way back in her mouth I might think she'd dropped it and give her another! I'm wise to her little ways now though.

Overall I don't think any of my rats get more than 5 a day, and sometimes a lot less.

[Suebee]

I have never given my rats more than three in any given day. Twelve is simply insane!  

[Anmllvr731]

I have never given my rats more than three in any given day. Twelve is simply insane!  

That's what I thought Suebee, but I swear it says that right on the label!
They 've been getting between 4 & 7

[Mousie's Mom]

yeah, I also think that 12 is way too many.

My girls are ALL yogie junkies and start dancing when they hear the container rattle.  

Mousie can't even wait for you to take one out for her.  She will try to get the container away from you and dig in herself.

I think mine will get anywhere from 3-7 a day.  And they are all fat little ratties too.

[kmw]

Mine says up to 12 a day, but that's crap.  They're basically like rat candy bars.  Would you eat 12 candy bars a day?  Ok, I would, but I shouldn't.  My boys get one or two a day, max.  One always for going back into their cage after playtime.  I know some people feel very strongly about any excess sugar, and their rats get one or two a month.  But I would say even 4 is a bit much....

[Rat Mom]

I think I am going to agree with you on 12 a day is too much!  Your last statement about "would" & "shouldn't" what in my brain and you said it!  That is funny!  Another treat option is a piece of a granola bar.  They are sweetened and are a grain.  My little ones love it for a treat!

[Anmllvr731]

Thanks for your opinions everyone. I wanted to check it out. The label is so missleading, it's got big pictures of fresh fruit and says "made withreal yogurt" and "healthy snack". But just as with people food you have to really watch it I guess, they'll totaly mislead you.
I didn't realize they were like "rattie candybars(kmw)"
Thanks for the advice
although my ratties will be pi_ _ ed of at you all cuz they won't be getting as many now lol

[kmw]

That's where label reading is a must - the packaging is deceptive.  The first ingredient is sugar, and the treats are 21% fat!  

[MuscaDomestica]

I never understood the need for yogies, my rat seems to like almost anything I give him, I usually just use chereos as treats, a lot cheeper and sounds a lot healthier.

[BabyBlue]

Misty and Biscuit don't like yogies much at all. Misty's the one who usually grabs whatever I have in my hand with lightening speed (even when it's only my finger), but with Yogies it's only like 40% of time she would eat it. Most of the time she'll just grab it then eat a little bit then just ignore it. And Biscuit don't eat Yogies at all! Weird huh? Since everyone else's rats seem to love it.
They love Cheerios or Rice Krispies thought. And BROCCOLI!!! They fight over that one =)

[mantricentity]

Well I've never really fed my rat yogis I giver her fruits and veggies. Though i might try to find a different favorite treat for her because hers is hard boiled eggs, ewwwwwww and they really smell too. Though I find that she's tried stealing a hamburger from me or tried seeing if my fingers were a hamburger if I had one earlier. I only gave her a little piece but she loved it more than the egg, but I don't want to feed her any hamburger bits because I don't know if they are any good for her. Mabye I'll just have to switch to yogis lol.

[Rat-love]

That's where label reading is a must - the packaging is deceptive.  The first ingredient is sugar, and the treats are 21% fat!  

I recommend tasting one: it becomes quite clear that they are basically sweet little candy chips.   Sapphy & Petzl get one or two a week.  We have cheese, but it doesn't taste very cheesy.  

Actually, only Sapphy really likes them; Petzl often turns them down; then again, I got Sapphy from the death trap petstore where they fed the rats "anything we eat.  McDonalds or whatever.  They had Funyuns for lunch."  (!!!!!!!!!!!)  Come to think of it, she is the junk food junkie, (but is the thin one, too).

[Tracy]

That's where label reading is a must - the packaging is deceptive.  The first ingredient is sugar, and the treats are 21% fat!  

Wait, so you're telling me that the Honey Golden Grahams topped with 3 spoons of sugar, a spoon of molasses, sprinkle of chocolate, and a sliced strawberry is NOT part of my complete breakfast!?!?  Guess, the kids are going to have to get used to butterless wheat toast, apple juice, and a granola bar now.  I just don't know if I can handle coming home and finding a furry boycott and ASPCA at my door for withholding food from my kids.

[Suebee]

Would you eat 12 candy bars a day?  Ok, I would, but I shouldn't.

Buy me twelve Milky Ways, and we'll talk...

Twix will work, too...

[Jodi]

Gah! That's a lot! My boys each get one per day, just before I go to bed. In fact, it's a ritual they have come to expect: As soon as "Mom and Dad" turn off the T.V., they run to the cage door and start jumping up and down, anticipating getting their nightly Yoggies!  

Every now and then, I'll spoil them with a second Yoggie. But never more than 2 per day.

[DebW]

You've got to remember that those labels are written by people trying to sell more Yoggies.  The more your rat eats, the faster you'll buy more.

I use mine as a special treat to get them back in their cages after play time.  Each rat gets only 1 or 2 daily.

[1happybooker]

What?? -- are you talking about my ratties or my SON??!!!   He is the TRUE Yogie junkie -- I had to stop leaving the container in his room, he was 'helping' himself/the hamsters to wayyyyy too many Yogies per day.

Actually, Son was partial to the cheesey ones, NOT the fruity ones like I would've thought.  Thankfully, he leaves the rodents' grain & lab bloks alone......  

[MalignStar]

Yogies aren't a big hit.. except with Gracie! She'd eat the whole reccommended 12 if I let her!   Speaking of treats and helping themselves, this reminded me when I took Salem for his usual car ride to PetsMart for new toys and El Mel for food. We (my mom and I) stopped at Arby's for something to eat and I got chicken fingers that came with some of those curly fries. When I opened the box, Salem started digging around in the fries (what manners!) and snatched one and sat on the arm rest to eat it. I was laughing so hard! He acted like it was no biggie stealing from my lunch.   Oh well, he's always been spoiled!  

[Yresim]

I give Ennoia 4-6 per day.  But she is always in danger of losing weight, so I try to get extra calories into her any way I can.

I used to use the big Vitakraft yogies.  One time, they were out of Vitakraft, and I got guinea pig 8-in-1 yogies.  They wouldn't eat Vitakraft anymore.  

I was giving them 2-3 of the large (guinea pig/Vitakraft) yogies per day.  This was because I gave them each one every time I medicated them (2x/day), then gave them an additional one during "special" times.  

When I found the smaller yogies, I was very pleased.  I started giving Mocha (fat rat) 1 per medication, and 1 after playtime; I gave Ennoia (skinny skinny skinny rat) 2 per medication, and 1 after playtime.  I tricked them, though.  I stuck the 2 for Ennoia together so that it looked like she was getting 1 treat, just like Mocha.  

Now, Ennoia gets 2 per medication (stuck together), and 1 after any playtime that lasts more than 5 minutes.  This means that sometimes she only gets 4, and sometimes she gets as many as 6.  

For non-low-weight ratties (such as Mocha), I think that 3 per day is more than enough.  I would never give Ennoia 12, though!  That is too much!

Okay, it's true, I gave Ennoia as many as she would eat when she was really skinny - she is a tiny rat to begin with, and lost over an ounce!  But I would give her anything and everything she would eat at that time.  At one point, I even gave her a butter & sugar mixture to get some extra calories into her (this was prescribed to me once a long time ago after a serious issue I won't bother to go into here).  We call this a "caloric paste" - its a weight gaining thing that some people use.  Very good for weight gain, but not something that should be used long-term.  However, this was only for a 3-week period when she was very very sick and seeing the vet 1-2x/week.  As soon as she started gaining weight again, I switched her over to healthier foods.  

[BabyBlue]

I swear I never watch anything that goes in MY mouth, but when it comes to my ratties I count EVERYTHING! LOL

Since Misty and Biscuit didn't like 10 different flavor Yogies I got for them, I would just have to finish them while they can have all my BROCCOLI!!!