# Question about rat diet



## curlycue (May 22, 2007)

Ok I have a few questions about what to feed my rats. I would like to know what you think of this mix. Kaytee forti-diet mouse/rat blocks, cherio's, cornflakes, rice checks, supreme reggie rat food, veggies, fruit, uncooked pasta, uncooked regular oatmeal. I've also been feeding my mum and the expecting doe some kitten food, scrambled eggs, as well as a little bit of soft cat food. I also bought some brown rice cereal. So do you think this is an adiquate diet? If not what would you suggest? I also wanted to know for those who have kitchen scales to weigh your rats what's the max weight on them? I was going to get one at walmart but they had some that went up to 6lbs ,7lbs ,3lbs, and 5lbs? Thank you all for your replies.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

i've heard that anything kaytee is basically a bag of cancer, so it's best to not feed that to your rats at all. reggie rat food looks nice, but it's basically a fortified seed mix, like kaytee's, and so it's not very good either. seed mixes don't really do much nutritionally for your rats. everything else sounds pretty good, and make sure they get fresh stuff too!

i think a monstrous male rat is still less than 3 pounds, so you shouldn't need a scale any larger than that.


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## curlycue (May 22, 2007)

I just wanted to say thank you. I was wondering other than on line is their a place where I can get some lab blocks that are healthy. I only have two pet shops one is pet-co which is where I get the kaytee lab blocks and petsmart. Ok now I think I will go and get me a scale so I can keep track of my ratties weight. Also what other fresh stuff can I give my rats? Do I need more grain? Fruit? Veggies?


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

The only issue I'd have, except the Kaytee and possibly the Reggie Rat, is the cereal... I'm not sure the sugar content in those three, but you should make sure it's low, else the ratties may get fat.

I'd suggest looking for a good block or pellet... HT, Oxbow, and a variety of others seem to get good reviews... to replace the two rat foods, and vary the others to keep them entertained.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

the corn flakes shouldn't be bad at all, but the other two might be *barely* bad. if you can, i get this boxed all-natural cereal at places like wal-mart for $2/box, it's got like 7 different kinds of puffed grains and no sugar. i can't remember what it's called for the life of me though.

i feed mazuri brand lab-blocks as i was told that they are the only decent pet-store lab-blocks. i can agree with this as they have soy listed as the first ingredient as opposed to corn, which can be fattening and such. 

rats will pretty much eat any veggie you may have lying around, like carrots and tomatoes. google for some forbidden rat foods, or check some other boards on here as this question is asked a lot. they should get a little something fresh every day though.u


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## IceLore (May 13, 2007)

Hi.  Tyhe sereal you've got sounds like a really great start! To continue along those lines, have a look at the Suebee's rat diet. It's really cheap to make, and I'm weird and think it's kind of fun too. I've had my pack on it for a few years now, and it's the best diet I've every tried. They are all healthy, and uber shiny. People always ask me how I get my rats so shiny, and this is how. ^^

The only thing I can think of is the cat food. Either dry or soft food, cat food is very high in protein, and rats need very little in their diet. Low calorie dog food is good though. Always look for something that has whole ingredients on the list, with little or no corn, by-products, 'middlings', or things of that nature.


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