Pica???

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra....
I have 2 male rats. Both 2 months old. One thing I thought was weird was
that my young runt, is eating his poop and his bedding.
His brother however doesn't do this. I use Yesterday's News for cats.
He eats normal food, and drinks. He is active and loves people, not at all
lethargic, and as I type this, he and his brother are wrestling right now!
I have no idea why he does this and I can't stop it no mater how hard I try. I
have heard of pica and I don't want my rats to have it.
What do you think it is? I have heard of pica being almost like a nauseous
feeling in the rats stomach, they show this by eating clay (witch is used in my
bedding) wood (witch he is not eating) paper, etc.
He is only eating his bedding. He seems healthy other wise.
I am really curious and anxtious if i should take him to the vets!!!!!!

ANSWER: Hi

He doesnt really have PICA like you think.  What he has as far as stool eating is known as Coprophagy. He is doing this because the first time the stool passed through it still contained vital nutrients that his body needs and when rats find their stool still has the vitamins in the stool, they eat it. As for the fact he eats his bedding: rats are attracted to dry wall, clay, wall paper paste etc...not because they have PICA but because they simply are attracted to it.  This is why we should stick to things that are made specifically for the pet it was intended to be used for.  You would not feed your rat rabbit food that contains alfalfa since rats cannot digest alfalfa and you would not feed your rats guinea pig food since it contains high doses of vitamin C since Cavy cannot make their own Vitamin C, rats can, and do not need the same amounts of it in their diet like cavy do. Same for cat litter. You would not use aspen bedding/litter for your cats just like you should not use cat litter for your rats. He is eating the bedding which is clay, and rats should not be kept on clay and as stated above, rats have a fetish for this kind of stuff, which doesnt really mean it is PICA, but simply something they are attracted to.  I would remove this right away and use the litter he should have, such as aspen or carefresh or yesterdays news for rodents that is made from recycled newspaper and not clay. Also, what is his diet? His body is not absorbing all of the nutrients needed and is coming out in the stool which is why he is eating is as stated before (I know, gross....lol...) I bet you wont be letting him give you big kisses for a while.
Now you REALLY wont like this but here goes....do NOT stop him from eating his feces.  His body must have the nutrients he is getting from the first stool that is passed after a meal and stopping him from doing this can have serious health implications.  Instead, lets look at his diet and see what is going on first and go from there. Changing his diet may be the key to ending his Coprophagy.

hang in there and dont forget, dont look next time you see him grab a little turd and sit in the corner munching. It is gross, I know, but he knows what his body needs and obviously he needs to do this to keep his body properly nourished.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: LOL. glad to hear from someone who understands!
he eats regal rat, and on the side carrots and peas with noodles. thats it. he
loves it and has stopped eating the food.

Answer
His diet is fine, as  regal rat is the best food you can feed an adult rat. You can always add more interesting things to his diet though such as dry, sugar free cereals for some crunchy fun.

You may notice he favors the moist stools more than the regular stools. Those are the stools that need to go back through his system a second time, so to speak.  Hope I didnt ruin your dinner!   ;)