# which food?



## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

I am going to give you the ingredient lists for 2 different types of rat blocks. Tell me which one you think would be better to feed my rats.

Rat Block 1

Dehulled soybean meal, wheat middlings, ground corn, corn gluten meal, can molasses, soybean oil, ground wheat, dried whey, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, salt, choline chloride, magnesium oxide, niacin, vitamin A supplement, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine monomitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, calcium panthothenate, propionic acid (a preservative), ferrous sulfate, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, chromium potassium sulfate.


Rat Block 2

Ground corn, dehulled soybean meal, wheat middlings, ground wheat, soybean oil, fish meal, cane molasses, porcine meat meal, ground oats, brewers dried yeast, wheat germ, dried beet pulp, dehydrated alfalfa meal, calcium carbonate, dried whey, salt, calcium propionate (a preservative), menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (vitamin K), choline chloride, dried yucca shidigera extract, DL-methionine, vitamin A acetate, choleclciferol tocopheryl acetate (natural source vitamin E), thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, nicotinic acid, calcium pantothenate, cyanocobalmin (vitamin B12), riboflavin, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Well, the top one doesn't have alfalfa, so that's good, but beyond that, I'm not sure.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

the bottom one seems to have a lot of fillers for my taste. when i look for foods for my rats i look at where in the list the corn is, generally the further back the better as the further back you do the less of that substance is in the mix. but in this case not only is the second one with corn at the front but there is alfalfa which has absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever but will trick them into thinking they're fuller then what they are. alfalfa is hard to digest so takes longer to go through too and can cause indestion in rats as well.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would say the first one would be better. I know the second is Mazuri but what is the first one?


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

the first one is the best choice in my opinion it doesn't have as many fillers one question how much protien does it have?


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

the first one is LM Animal Farms. It has 22% protein in it. I was thinking that maybe the LM was better than the Mazuri. It will only cost me around 41 cents more per pound too.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

22% protein is a bit high. :?


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

the mazuri has 23 % protein in it.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

hjkaga said:


> the mazuri has 23 % protein in it.


 I consider that to be high as well, personally.


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

yea thats what i was saying. the mazuri's protein is even higher than that LM's. What other choices for food do I have? I can't afford the shipping for harlan teklad rat blocks.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

i would guess to go with the mazuri as i have heard that is the second best food to harlan teklad


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

but according to this topic it has more fillers and higher protein then the LM.....how is it better then?


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

i dunno that is just what i have heard i think becuase of the protien 23% is really high and could cause hair loss and skin problems in rats


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

you could make your own mix instead, like a suebee's. or you could find the best dog kibble you can then supplement with fresh fruits and veggies daily, and the good parts or your table scraps; that's what i do and my rats are all a healthy and happy weight.


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

I have thought about doing something like suebee's but it seems like a lot of work, lol. what are some good quality dog foods I could use?


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

it will depend on our area and what's available to you. for me the best that i could find was president's choice nutrition one small dog formula. it has the lowest protein level i could find and relatively no corn fillers and no alfalfa. just look at the ingredients list. check the protein level and where on the list any corn product is. the further down the better. check also for other fillers like alfalfa which you won't want. then see if you can find a small dog version of it they have smaller peices which are easier for the rats to hold.


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

around what amount of protein is good for rats? the dog food i feed my dog is pretty good and doesn't have a bunch of fillers and stuff......so maybe I could use it if the protein isn't too high.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

ideally somewhere between 14-18%. you should only go higher if you are taking care of a pregnant, mother with nursing rittens, underweight or ailing older rat.


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

thanks for your help. i will start shopping around and see what i can find.....what kind of fruits and veggies should be part of a rats daily diet? oh yea, can you give fruits and veggies to all rats or just ones that are like 6 mths and older? (a co-worker of mine is having a debate about this with me.)


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

oh yea, i know corn is a filler in foods, but what all else is consider just a filler? want to make sure i am getting good stuff.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

all rats will enjoy and benefit from fresh foods. you can feed them basically anything that isn't on the forbidden foods list. and of course they will develop their favorites but try to keep things new and interesting for them by not giving them the same fresh foods all the time.

as for what they should have everyday is really up to you and your budget. during certain seasons some fruits and veggies are harder to find or more expensive. i've heard that beets and cranberries in preventing tumors though so you may want to add that in their routine diet. also, not all the fruit and veggies have to be fresh, depending on how they were dried, dried fruits like banana and cranberries and papaya are cheap and the rats love them, they also keep longer. 

another good thing to give them routinely is chicken bones. it adds a bit in protein but they LOVE it and it really helps keep their teeth nice and short.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

the only other filler i know off hand about it alfalfa. i think corn and alfalfa are the main fillers anyway. i'm not sure what nutritional value bone meal has either though it could be good for calicum. hopefully someone else here knows a bit more about it then i do. but generally if they don't have corn or alfalfa they aren't likely to have many other fillers either.


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## hjkaga (Dec 27, 2006)

thanks for all your help twitch!


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

your very welcome. let us know what dog food you end up going with. i may want to switch if i have it near me and its better.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Personally I would go with the LM Farms lab block, its not that bad just not that well known compared to Mazuri. Mazuri makes a variety of blocks but only the 5663 (23 % protein) is the one that is sold at PetSmart...I get Mazuri 6F (16% protein, 5% fat) thru my supply place but it comes in 50 lb bags.

The Suebee's mix is a good one, but I find that some rats get a bit chubby on it, so I switched to a staple of lab blocks.


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