# Rat Food



## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

What lab block and/or mix do you recommend or feed your rat?


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Mazuri is an okay brand of lab blocks, and it's the only good store-bought rat food you can find. Though, the best lab blocks are made by Harlan Teklad - you can order those online. The varieties 2016 and 2018 are the most recommended by other owners and veterinarians.

NEVER feed those store-bought mixes for rats - the ones with lots of seeds, corn, alfalfa pellets, et cetera. They're terrible for rats. A much, MUCH better and healthier alternative is Suebee's Mix.


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## cjshrader (Feb 15, 2007)

I'm just going to second Night's opinion here. I also feed my rats the Suebee Mix with the Harlan Teklad. I order mine from Kim's Ark Rescue, and they got it from me very quickly. I ended up getting 15 pounds of it and have half of it in the freezer, and half it in the massive amount of food I made last time.

http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/content/view/35

You may be able to find a different price elsewhere, I don't know, but I think $1.00 per pound is perfectly reasonable and they shipped it to me real fast.


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

So I guess you don't like regal rat?


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Regal Rat, from Oxbow? Definitely a fantastic food. I love Oxbow  I buy my rabbit's hay and pellets from there.


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## Lise (Feb 26, 2007)

Regal Rat is formulated with awesome ingredients.... but I tried feeding it and my rats all lost weight and had poor coats. For whatever reason, I don't know. I was expecting to have healthier rats and I ended up with unhealthier ones when I was feeding 100% Regal Rat. After three months I gave up and threw it out (like $50 of food, ouch!) and switched back to my normal 20% protein lab block and within weeks they were doing awesome again.

There are some people who have had success with Regal Rat, but there are more who seem to have had problems with it? Another girl I know who also bought it with me from our vet... her rats wouldn't even eat the stuff.


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## haze (Mar 19, 2007)

I feed mine harlan teklad 2018. They seem to do very well on it. I get it direct from harlan teklad. If anybody in the houston area needs some feed or supplies, let me know and we can work something out.


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## tungstenrat (Mar 13, 2007)

Nutro brand senior light small kibble - rice and lamb formula. Got happy bouncin' babies. I supplement with Missing Link Powder and lots of fresh veggies.


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## opokki (Apr 13, 2007)

I have a small bag of Kaytee supreme - I know, not the greatest stuff.

My guinea pig gets Oxbow so that is what I plan to get for the rat too. I just got him yesterday evening so I was in pinch and had to grab something else.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

You should get some Mazuri lab blocks until you can get some Oxbow. Kaytee, to put it poetically, is cancer in a bag - literally.


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## hydra (Feb 19, 2007)

i think i'll try the lab blocks because they're better, but sometimes add a little of the mix mixed into it. That shouldn't be too harmful to their health


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

What is it about Kaytee that makes it so harmful? Just curious.


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## linz_04 (Mar 5, 2007)

My girls won't touch Mazuri OR Regal Rat.... PICKY GIRLS I have!!! They were eating Mazuri just fine and then decided they didn't like it I guess. I'm going to order them some Harlan soon but for now they're getting a mix of cereals, dog foods (Inova Senior, chicken soup for the dog lover's soul), Regal Rat and Mazuri. They pick out the dog food first and then I try to force them to eat the rest of it haha but it doesn't work very well


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Just don't feed them anymore food until they've finished all that you gave them before. They might hold off for a bit, but they'll eat it all eventually.

Jennie - Kaytee contains ethoxyquin, a preservative found to cause cancer in animals. It's not even approved for human consumption, but used in MANY foods for dogs, cats and rodents. Kaytee is a big user of it. The ingredients are also pretty horrid for a lab block. Harlan is hands down the best.


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

Night said:


> Just don't feed them anymore food until they've finished all that you gave them before. They might hold off for a bit, but they'll eat it all eventually.


How long is a bit? I think I might try this with our girls, if I can. I'm such a sucker, though - I'd probably cave if a bit is a few days :lol:

PS Sorry to see you've had a loss


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## opokki (Apr 13, 2007)

I've never heard of Harlan. Do they have a website? 

How about Mazuri? I've heard of it but haven't seen it around here. 

Oxbow is the best I can find so far.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

I know a lot of people who use the Wal*Mart 8-in-1 Premium Pet Mouse and Rat food. Is this also terrible?

Crude Protein 16.5%
Crude Fat 5.5%
Crude Fiber 4.5%
Ash 7%
Moisture 12%

Ingredients:
Corn, Wheat Moddlings, Wheat, Ground Extruded Whole Soybean, Fish Meal, Cane Molasses, Limestone, Dehulled Soybean Meals, Salt, Citamin D3 supplement, di-Tocopheryl Acetate, niacin, calcium pantothentate, biotin, citamin b12, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin a acetate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydochloride, folic acid, manganese oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, cupric sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, magnesium oxide, choline chloride, di-Methlonine.


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

I personally would stay clear of any store brand type 'mouse and rat food', especially where the first ingrediant is corn. Corn is used as a filler, and won't be human grade which means that there's a high chance of having mold from storage. 

If you can find Oxbow or Mazuri near you it would be a much better option. Harlan is the best choice, but it can be more difficult as it has to be shipped to you. 

Where I live in such an isolated section of the country I opted to use a high quality dog food, although the protein levels are a little on the high side. I'll be looking at the company's lower protein options when I'm at the vet clinic on Monday.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

Harlan won't allow pickups from their regional centers? I live in Wisconsin, and their headquarters are in Madison... two hours away from me. 

There are a *lot* of rat owners around me, so it'd be easy to split a big order.


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

You could always call and ask. It would be worth it if you could get a big enough order together .


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## chrisstrikeagain (Apr 10, 2007)

i work in a family owned pet store, where we actually take very good care of our animals...and there we recomend parrot seed mixed with mostly lab blocks. lab blocks are good for their teeth and a good portion of nutritional needs and parrot seed is a variety they love. however many parrot food contain fatty sunflower seeds so if that is a concernget one without sunflower seed.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

DonnaK said:


> Night said:
> 
> 
> > Just don't feed them anymore food until they've finished all that you gave them before. They might hold off for a bit, but they'll eat it all eventually.
> ...


With my rats, it only takes about 12-24 hours before they give in and eat what they leave behind. Though, usually it's a lot less time.

Thank you for your condolences. I had to put my big, ornery boy to sleep Friday 



chrisstrikeagain said:


> i work in a family owned pet store, where we actually take very good care of our animals...and there we recomend parrot seed mixed with mostly lab blocks. lab blocks are good for their teeth and a good portion of nutritional needs and parrot seed is a variety they love. however many parrot food contain fatty sunflower seeds so if that is a concernget one without sunflower seed.


Parrot food, 99.9% of the time, isn't a good thing to give to rats. What exactly is in the food? Can you list all of the ingredients and the analysis?


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Aww, so sad about Fitzherbert Night. I am really sorry for your loss. May I ask what was wrong?


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

I just posted about it in the Rainbow Bridge section, if you wanted to take a look


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## Wench (Apr 5, 2007)

Sorry to hear about Fitz, Night. 

I make my own mix. Just a minute ago I mixed together:

- Chopped carrot
- Chopped turnip
- Sliced cabbage
- Rice
- Oats
- Dry Corn
- Sunflower seeds

Sometimes I'll mix in a little chicken, egg, or a few pellets of my betta's fish food, which they adore.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Dry corn is actually really quite bad for small animals. Frozen or cooked is okay, though  I'm also not too sure if turnip is good for animals, either. Everything else is okay, though - just don't feed too much cabbage, since it's high in oxalates.


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## Wench (Apr 5, 2007)

Night said:


> Dry corn is actually really quite bad for small animals. Frozen or cooked is okay, though  I'm also not too sure if turnip is good for animals, either. Everything else is okay, though - just don't feed too much cabbage, since it's high in oxalates.


Thanks again for the advice. 

They didn't seem to be too fond of cabbage anyways, so I think I'll switch from cabbage to green leaf lettuce and kale with my next trip to the grocery store. 

With turnip I'm not so sure, what we call turnip here, you guys in the US call "rutabaga", and the English call a "swede". We don't actually get much true turnip here. I read an article on Wikipedia that says that what we call turnip may have negative effects with excessive consumption in humans anyway, so I assume it is the same for rats. I'll switch to another vegetable. Better to be safe than sorry.

I had heard some stories about dry corn but I wasn't sure what to believe, but if you think it's not good for them I'll switch to canned or fresh. 

I also left out dry pasta in that list. Doris and Milly always go straight for that.


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## chrisstrikeagain (Apr 10, 2007)

Night said:


> Parrot food, 99.9% of the time, isn't a good thing to give to rats. What exactly is in the food? Can you list all of the ingredients and the analysis?


a tad bit corn, peanuts, fatty sunflower, a few other seeds....
protein ..13% crude fat 12% crude fiber..20% moisture...14% and a big mixture with lm lab blocks...

is that bad? if so why? and whats better?


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Corn - bad
Peanuts - bad
Sunflower seeds - should only be given as a treat.
LM lab blocks - very low quality

What's better? Harlan Teklad lab blocks and Suebee's Mix, along with fresh vegetables and fruit.


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## chrisstrikeagain (Apr 10, 2007)

oh wow, thanks...i'll def switch them over so they can be happy.

now i know many rodents are easy to get wet tail from switching a food, but do rats get wet tail?


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Thanks for the kaytee info Night, sorry I didnt get back to this sooner I lost track of the thread. lmao. I might be ordering some of that food you metioned online, I forgot which one was best though and I forgot what thread thats in too...darn it. So thats what Im gonna do now! its in here somewhere!

hmmm....was it this one?! >.< Im sleepy, and confused lmao


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Well I think Im going to order from www.kimsarkrescue.org/...nt/view/35 and get the Harlan Teklad Lab Blocks #2018. I have also been checking out this site as well http://www.ratnutrition.com/index.html , I figured I can always make my own since we have a store that has all there ingrediants. Nots sure though. Is the kims ark rescue a good place? $1 per pound isnt a bad price! Not sure about the shipping though, im going to have to email them for an invoice.


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Kims Ark is where many, MANY rat owners get their Harlan. Plus, they're a wonderful rescue


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## Sara_C (Mar 10, 2007)

Do you think Kims Ark would ship to the UK? My rats do eat their lab-block type things, but i know they find them boring (i have them on Sue-bee's mix) and they're always left at the bottom of the bowl. I leave them in until they've eaten them but i know they're not too keen. Do rats find Harlan more palatable?


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

I guess I'm in the minority here as I feed a modified version of Rat Fan Club Mix.
I use Organic Tempeh and wash all grains then Dry Heat to remove all pesticides, filth, molds , fungus, whatever, I also Dry Roast the Cereals I use for same reasons. In fact just about anything even Organic I can wash I do, and Dry Roast at low temp..
I never use any fortified mix, all those added synthetic vitamins can have a negative effect if there is no deficiency to begin with, and who knows which vitamins their Rat is deficient in?
I think its best to offer plenty of vit. and min. rich veggies& fruits and they will gravitate towards what they're needs are. Rats are the only species that can do this.


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## Sara_C (Mar 10, 2007)

I only add liquid vitamins to my rats water, and i don't use the Total cereal that is supposed to be used in Suebee's mix (it's not available in the UK). Instead i use Special K, Weetabix/Oatibix and Cornflakes. 

Does any one else from the UK use Sue-bee's mix? What substitutes do you use for all the American ingredients we can't get?


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## Lise (Feb 26, 2007)

JennieLove said:


> Is the kims ark rescue a good place? $1 per pound isnt a bad price! Not sure about the shipping though, im going to have to email them for an invoice.


Kims Ark Rescue is a GREAT rescue to support. They help place tons of rats. I believe shipping is a flat rate of $8 or $9 anywhere within the USA with them! 

If I was in the USA I'd order from them in a heartbeat. Unfortunately shipping to Canada is ridiculously expensive.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Its $8.10 flat rate in USA up to 15lbs. Even though my own total with be $13.10 I think Im still gonna buy it! Its cheaper that switching to the Mazuri and the money goes to the best cause of all! THE RATTIES!


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## Wench (Apr 5, 2007)

I've never seen that Rattatats mix before, I think I'll start mixing the Suebee's and that mix. Come July I can start ordering Harlan! 



Spider said:


> I think its best to offer plenty of vit. and min. rich veggies& fruits and they will gravitate towards what they're needs are. Rats are the only species that can do this.


I feed a lot of vegetables as well. I think it's important to think for yourself and realise what your animal needs based on what you know about them. No one can know your pet better than you do.

This is a funny (read: disturbing) rat diet given by someone who looks like they have done their homework but have chosen to ignore basic health issues. http://cj_whitehound.madasafish.com/Rats_Nest/Norway_Rats/Feeding.htm

All of that being said, where did you read about rats gravitating towards foods which contain vitamins their bodies need? I'm genuinely curious.


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