# Need help choosing food!!!!!!!!!!!!!



## fiddlinboy (Jan 31, 2007)

I was looking on www.petsmart.com and www.petco.com for rat food. It seemed like everything they had[supposedly]''Provided all the essential nutrients for a healthy, happy rat!'' So it would be a BIG help if someone would tell me what brands are best and what works best for you guys.
Thanks in advance!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

PetSmart = Mazuri lab blocks

Supplement with veggies, some fruit and some protein. There ya go. 1 lb of blocks lasts a month for one rat and I believe they are 2 lb bags they sell.


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## Darksong17 (Feb 11, 2007)

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratfeeding.html

My website page on feeding and what foods there are and such might help ^^


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Mazuri is a huge rip off (well, okay, any food from a pet store is a huge rip off). It costs a LOT for a VERY small amount. You should check out Suebee's Diet, which is what the majority of knowledgeable rat owners feed (along with fresh food like greens, fruit, and herbs, of course). For a 2 lb bag of Mazuri lab blocks, you pay $7-$8, which for me, only lasts about a week (I have 12 rats). On the other hand, I'll spend $25-$30 on ingredients for my Suebee's mix, and that'll easily last me 2 whole months or more.

The best lab block, which I personally feed along with Suebee's, is Harlan Teklad. You can buy it (along with lots of other fun goodies), from The Rat Shop.


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

Me and my mom make our own rattie "trail mix" he do lots of dry fruit and we bake our own grains and what not . This never costs us more than about.. $5.00 every 3 to 4 months. Before you freak out we have Apple trees, nut trees, citrus trees, and all that jazz. (live on a ranch ) so thats our little remidy. I know it doesn't help much but i know that Aq. & pet they have a mix similar to ours and they sell it for 50 cents a lb.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

What's in your trail mix exactly?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I agree Mazuri is a rip-off since I can get 25 lb bags of Mazuri for 20 dollars _Canadian_...but this poster wanted to know what was at PetSmart.


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## Star (Jun 4, 2006)

Try looking at http://www.ratnutrition.com/index.html 
They have a food mix that is alot like Suebee, but you don't have to make it yourself. Thats a big plus for me because the box just comes in the mail, and I don't have to go across town to two different health food store to get the stuff to make it


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

"One gallon bag of Rattatats is $22"

That seems REALLY pricey to me, even if it does include shipping. One gallon? Come on! I can make about 5 times that amount with the same amount of money or less, using a ton more ingredients.


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## fiddlinboy (Jan 31, 2007)

wow. thanks for the replys. I might have to go with mazuri; does it have all the right nutrients in it? Also, I saw on petinfopackets.com that they reccomended Reggie Rat. does that have everthing needed in it? Thanks

BTW is corn ok for rats? half the stuff i read says its great while the other half say stay away from it.


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## Darksong17 (Feb 11, 2007)

I don't RECOMMEND commercial diets at all. Those are just the "best" of them. Reggie Rat is far from great, in fact it has alfalfa in it which rats don't even eat. I'd go with Regal Rat out of those if you must. It's REALLY not hard to make your own food though and I'd recommend doing that. And corn is NOT good no.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Darksong17 said:


> And corn is NOT good no.


I'd like to expand on this a bit. Dried corn = bad, Ground corn is fine but its a filler for a lot of foods, and fresh corn is good...just watch them become greedy little monsters!


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## AneesasMuse (Jun 6, 2006)

Another alternative is a Vegetarian Dog Kibble... Natural Balance is one that is widely used; and I use AvoDerm Vegetarian, personally. 

I also feed a whole foods diet daily! They get hot cereal, pancakes, homemade bread... fresh fruit... an occasional scrambled egg amongst the whole pack (16 ratties)... supplements.. rice milk or yogurt, etc. ...this is breakfast. For dinner, they may have pasta (cooked or uncooked) or some steamed brown rice... a big green salad with all the yummies in it (red or yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, cucumber, tomato, shredded carrot, etc.) and a drizzle of EV Olive Oil... whatever we had that they can also have (ie. chicken, little tofu, fish, steamed veggies, spaghetti, mac n' cheese, etc.)... and a small piece of fruit, crunchy cracker, chocolate chip and so on for dessert. 

My list is random here, but I studied nutrition and I apply much of my knowledge to my rattie kids, keeping in mind their restrictions (ie. citrus for boys, uncooked beans, onions, etc.). 

Along with a readily available kibble, they should get plenty of whole foods added at least once a day. It'll keep 'em healthier and they'll love ya for it, too


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## fiddlinboy (Jan 31, 2007)

so canned and frozen corn are ok?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

fiddlinboy said:


> so canned and frozen corn are ok?


Yes, just remember to thaw the frozen corn, unless its hot and summer, put it or peas in water and let them go diving


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## STUgirl55 (Feb 6, 2007)

Ok, just for some clarification here, I have a girl who is helping me find homes for my babies (still up for adoption by the way if anyone is interested) giving me a REALLY hard time about the Suebee diet. She says it doesn't give them everything and dog food isn't appropriate for them. Okay, so on top of this I'm feeding them lab blocks, and fruits and veggies, and baby cereal! Someone PLEASE tell me what to say to her to leave me alone about it!


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

unfortunately that's just holly. she's VERY well meaning and a great help when it comes to homing babies (she was one of the ones that helped me find such darling homes for my babies) but even her own diet she isn't happy with. there isn't an absolutely perfect diet for anything, something will always be missing. and some diets are just too expensive or the pet (or even the person) will simply refuse to eat it. make your own decisions on what to feed so long as they are educated decisions and stick by it. she may not be happy with the one you choose but so long as you stick by it she'll still respect you. you can only afford so much after all the rats won't always eat everything. and in lue of that when she brings up the topic of diet give a quick one sentence answer and change the subject. holly is a very good person and she's just concerned for the rats. she is no more concerned for yours then she is for her own either. so long as you do right by them and not feed them a diet you know is horrible or toss them out on the street you're doing just fine. 

now, speaking of the babies you have left. how old are they now? what colors/genders do you have left? can you give us any pictures? and perhaps a discription of their personalities? i don't want to say for sure that i will definately take one or two but i have been thinking about adding a bit to my colony as i have a couple of older ones now that though i HOPE will be around for another year statistics are not on my side... anyway, it would be nice to hear how the babies are doing, see pictures and hear what they're like regardless. how many homes have you been able to find so far anyway?


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## STUgirl55 (Feb 6, 2007)

My babies are now almost 6 weeks old. I have 7 females and 2 males available for adoption (the other 6 males have been reserved), they're all 
black and white berks, with really cute patterns (one of my boys has an arrow) They're all really affection, they love humans since they've been handled alot, and are fairly curious and active. The girls love their wheel. Unfortunately the forum won't let me post a photo because it's too big, but there are pictures at: www.babyratsneedgoodhomes.blogspot.com

They're a little bit bigger than that now, but that gives you and idea, they look th\e same, only bigger!

that dash is a message from mommy rat.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

wow, six males have already found homes. when i was trying to find homes for all my babies the males were the hardest sell. he babies look absolutely adorable and i LOVE berks. i still have to think about it some more though before i can say i will definately get one but please keep us updated. and baby stories are always lovely to hear


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## Scarekrow (Mar 13, 2007)

KAYTEE FORTI-DIET. You WANT to give them Kaytee Forti-Diet, it's the best thing in the world for them. It has all the nutrients they need, and they're in a hard, block form so they HAVE to chew to eat it, which means they're forced to grind down their teeth. I've never used anything else. Also, the Kaytee yogurt treats are a real hit, they'll do ANYTHING for them. I've trained Yuki to come running whenever he hears a bag crinkling because he thinks he's getting a treat XD

Give them plenty of fresh, nutritous treats so they won't get fed up with the blocks. Fresh fruits and veggies are great. What Yuki REALLY goes for though is chicken, and Choco seems to like it too. Carrots, chicken and the Kaytee strawberry yogurt chews are a big success.


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## Houdini (Sep 17, 2012)

Kaytee Forti Diet is actually some pretty bad stuff, and I wouldn't recommend anyone use it as a base to their rat's diet. The first ingredient that is listed is "ground corn", and it's really nothing but a bunch of corn and seed mixed into a block. Definitely not something I'd feed my rat, as it's just not healthy. I prefer oxbow: regal rat as my staple food, and I'll stand by it. Just be sure to supplement with fruits, veggies, (small amounts) meat, eggs, and so on. I think it's a lot of fun coming up with "meals" for them! Good luck!


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## Cupcake&Candy (Jun 5, 2012)

I highly recommend Oxbow Regal Rat from Petsmart. The price may seem high; however, my six rattie girls love this stuff and none is wasted. I've never had to toss out un-used portions of Oxbow like I've done with mixes. The cheaper mixes seem to give the rats an option to only pick out the bits they want instead of consuming what they need. A regular bag lasts me about 6 weeks.


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## SillydogTheGreat (Mar 27, 2012)

Yeah DO NOT feed Kaytee. They recently had a recall on it as well. 

I like Oxbow myself.


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## JBlas (Oct 21, 2012)

Our Petsmart here sells Oxbow. Isn't that a highly recommended block next to Teklan?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I like harlan teklad 2014, mixed with Oxbow.


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## CherriBomb (Nov 13, 2012)

The problem with some mixes like reggie rat at the pet shops is that rats pick and choose the good stuff and leave the other things in the bowl and that leaves holes in their nutritional needs. I use a home made mix that includes lab blocks along with fresh fruits and veggies.


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

This is totally from 2007. <_< But to answer anyway since it's a useful thread, my rats love love love the new Oxbow flavor.  They were on Harlan Teklad, but I switched them to Oxbow to try it out and they go bananas for it! :3 I dont' like the mixes for the same reasons as everyone else--dried corn can contain carcinogenic fungus, the rats can pick out the parts they like best (which are usually the unhealthy ones), and the pellets are alfalfa pellets most of the time, and rats can't digest alfalfa! I do feed a home-made mix alongside the blocks for variety, though, along with fresh fruits and veggies.  And recently, I've started giving my rats gerber baby cereal with cinnamon, a vitamin B complex (occassionally) and flax seed oil in it just to help with various things. Plus they love the taste. ^_^


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