# Vegan Rats?



## glamriot (Oct 25, 2009)

I'm vegan, but i feed my ratties dog food. I don't feel good about buying it, and i was wondering if anyone has taken animal products out of their rat's diet successfully. I found one study that said rats on vegan diets die sooner, but it was pretty suspicious [seemed like they had a bias against human vegans and were trying to fudge statistics]

Thanks


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

It seems to me unnatural to feed an animal a diet like that. It's probably safer and more healthy for them to stick to animal based protein as that is what they would be naturally scavenging for. 

If you don't like buying the dog food, perhaps find a lab block that you are more comfortable with?


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## glamriot (Oct 25, 2009)

it would be unnatural for animals like cats, that are obligate carnivores and actually die without meat, but it seems to me it would be okay for rats. i wanna be completely sure though...

I'll look into lab blocks, ty  [they are on suebee's diet right now]


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## Paterson.S (Oct 1, 2009)

Dog food is a very poor base diet for a rat, mine get a piece as a treat once in a while, but thats it. 
The nutritional requirements of rats are completely dissimilar to that of a dog.
The protein and fat are much too high for a rat, and it is missing so many things esential to a rats health.
Do your rats get their riboflavin and vitamin K?
Anyways, I would say that since this is what you are feedinng them, your best choice would probably be Benevo vegan dog food alternated with fresh foods.


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## glamriot (Oct 25, 2009)

dog food is not all they eat of course, they get grains and cereal as well, and some nuts and veggies.

thanks, i'll look out for benevo.


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## Nezumi113 (Feb 27, 2009)

Hey glamriot, I'm vegan too! ;D

Anyways, yes, my rats are also vegan. I raised a litter of 11 from the age of 4 weeks on a completely vegan diet and I still have 6 of them, coming up on their third birthday in February! I have never done a vegan or even vegetarian diet for them so I was nervous about it, but they have done fantastic and I've had very little trouble with them in terms of health. They haven't had any weight problems, I find that they are extremely energetic at their age, and the incidence of tumors has been far decreased to that of my omnivorous rats.

This website gives guidelines for giving a vegan diet and meeting all dietary needs.
http://glutenfreevegan.wordpress.com/2007/12/03/rat-diet/

If you have any problems, you can always message me. I think the hardest thing about vegan diets for rats is when they get older. Finding high calorie foods that are vegan can be tough, but a lot of soy products and higher calorie veggies have helped me (avocado, pureed pumpkin, bananas, etc). 

Good luck!


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## glamriot (Oct 25, 2009)

Thank you SO MUCH!!!! unfortunately now i have a big, expensive bag of dog food to get rid of! Oh well 

i thought it would make sense that vegan rats live longer, given that vegan humans live longer.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would look into the Harlan 2014 instead of your dog kibble

http://www.harlan.com/research_mode...ets/teklad_global_rodent_diet_14_protein_2014


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## Paterson.S (Oct 1, 2009)

Lilspaz is right, though I am vegan.
scientists found that genetically modified soy products actually make rats health deteriorate. Make sure you go with wholesome soy products when switching rats to a vegan diet. My vet recomends Benevo rather than givig soy, I think she is right!


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## Wanda (Dec 3, 2008)

I'm raising my two rats vegan too.
So far they're both doing really well. One is a bit on the heavy side, but he just loves to eat!
I give them lots of vegetables, fruits, a cereal mix I make with some added vitamins and green mush (I get that at Vegan Essentials and mix it with some soy yogurt and soy milk).


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## CyborgSlayer (Dec 10, 2009)

glamriot said:


> it would be unnatural for animals like cats, that are obligate carnivores and actually die without meat, but it seems to me it would be okay for rats. i wanna be completely sure though...


I don't want to impose personal beliefs into any of this conversation, but when an animal is an omnivore by nature, you want to feed it meat or find a perfect ratio'd amino acid supplementation (which I would say doesn't even exist for humans, let alone rats). 

The part that people forget is that all protein is not created equal! Protein is an important part of more than just muscular development. It is important in every facet of life. Most importantly, every cell undergoes MANY functions that require all 20 amino acids, which are the components of protein (anything from mitosis, meiosis, cell proliferation and cell maintenance and function). They need all the amino acids in order for this to occur because the way that all of these processes are done is by the DNA in the nucleus of each cell producing mRNA (messenger Ribonucleic Acid) which is what modifies the actions of the cell. That mRNA is made of amino-acid-triplet-sequences, and is probably the most important part of single and multi-cellular life.

So please, don't try and modify diets because all of the internal systems of your cute little pet rats were evolved to function while eating meat! Whatever you choose to do with your body is just fine by me, but unless your rat decides not to eat meat, don't deprive him/her of her proper nutrients.

Thanks


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## CyborgSlayer (Dec 10, 2009)

glamriot said:


> i thought it would make sense that vegan rats live longer, given that vegan humans live longer.


This is up for much debate, and I highly disagree that the reason is BECAUSE they are vegan. If you eat wild game and natural meats (i.e: without steroidal compounds that make maturation onset sooner), I believe a healthy omnivore lives the longest!


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