# Important Food and Tumors Survey - Please take a moment to participate



## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

So back in September 2012 I switched to the Oxbow Regal rat. Fuzzy Rat had been raised on a diet of Mazzuri and every form of junk food you can imagine. She was fat, but healthy. Amelia was raised on Mazzuri without any supplements, and she was thin but healthy. Fuzzy Rat really liked the Oxbow as did Amelia and both started gaining weight rapidly after the switch, but they liked it so much I kept feeding them the expensive food. They ate less junk food, but still it was a significant portion of their diet. In December 2012 Fuzzy Rat started developing fast growing mammary tumors and by April about every ounce of fat on her had been absorbed into the tumors, Amelia started growing a tumor too. 

The good news is that I switched Fuzzy Rat and Amelia to a Macrobiotic diet and both look healthier, Fuzzy Rat has lost an ounce after about a month and as she was only skin and bones to start with, I'm hoping the ounce came off the tumors. Amelia's tumor might be just be a little bit larger after two months, but compared to how Fuzzy Rat's tumors were doubling in size every other week, this is still not nearly as bad as it could be...

Then I was talking to another old timer who remembered that years ago we didn't see the tumor plague nearly as badly... he suggested that rats had become more prone to tumors. And I spoke to a commercial snake breeder who was telling me the same thing that he was seeing more and more frozen tumorous rats coming in... And these rat were coming directly from rat farms....

Now maybe rats are getting worse health-wise, or maybe there was another change over the years. Way back when; rat food was mainly seed based. As a matter of fact, some of the old time breeders didn't trust block foods claiming that they didn't trust whatever was in them as they couldn't see it for themselves... Something that's starting to echo in my subconscious... 

So without drawing any conclusions or pointing any fingers or raising any questions like the ones that got Oprah in trouble....

1) How old are your rats?
2) What do they eat?
3) Do they have tumors?
4) If so, what kind?
5) At what age did they start
6) Feel free to add any relevant information.

We aren't likely to find anything conclusive scientifically, but among us we have several hundred rats and we most likely feed a variety of diets. 

I know this might sound crazy... and common wisdom is that block foods are better than discrete component foods but there might be a trend here we haven't even looked for before. 

So to start the thread

1) Amelia is a year and two months old and Fuzzy Rat is 2 years and 2 months old.
2) Both rats ate Oxbow and Fuzzy Rat ate lots of junk food, sweets, meats, dairy etc, Amelia ate less junk food. Neither rats ate many veggies or fruits. 
3) Yes, both my rats have tumors
4) Mammary tumors
5) They were eating Oxbow Regal rat for less than three months when Fuzzy Rat developed tumors and less than 5 when Amelia developed one too.
6) Amelia doesn't usually drink and Fuzzy Rat wasn't drinking much since the great Tequila blow out of July 4, 2012. Amelia has been stealing junk food since about November when she swiped a bag of snickers around Halloween and cookies and chips ever since... Fuzzy rat was pretty debilitated but always managed to talk people out of treats. In any event, both rats got a fair share of junk foods, but Fuzzy Rat was raised on junk foods and never had any problems before, Amelia was introduced to junk foods more recently and developed tumors soon after Fuzzy Rat did.

If you can get detailed information from people not on this list please try, but try to make sure your information is complete and accurate. The more rats we can cover the more likely we are to find a trend.

Remember we are not trying to draw any scientific conclusions or disparage any products. We are just collecting data. We need to hear from people with healthy rats as much as we do from folks with tumorous ones. If you have rats, please participate. I would consider it a personal favor.

Thank you for your time and assistance.


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## rinny11 (Jun 3, 2013)

Oh gosh! That is concerning. First of all i wish you the best of luck with your rats and with the survey. I'm afraid as my ratties are all very young with no tumors (4 are 6-8 weeks or so? And 1 is probably a few months) I don't know how I can weigh in on this. But I will try: 1) Zuza is likely a few months and the other four are probably between 5/6-8 weeks, I can't tell 2) They have free access to Oxbow Regal Rat, and daily dark leafy greens (kale, broccoli rabe, lettuce, more), fruits like grape and strawberry, almonds, eggs, sardines, yogurt, peas in the pod, etc (it rotates but they get as much fresh stuff as they can eat and usually I will do at least one each of a veg, fruit, and fatty/protein rich food) 3) They have no tumors. I would put each answer in its own line but I haven't figured out spacing quite yet.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Every bit of data is important. It might take lots of rats to spot any kind of trend, but every point on the graph will make the big picture clearer. The important thing is not to create a hypothesis before seeing the raw data. Thank you!

Btw, if anyone has data from rats that are no longer with us and you can recall the answers to the questions we can also use that information too. The rats don't need to be currently alive. But you need to be sure of your answers.


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## sara1991 (Apr 12, 2013)

Hiya 
(1) both my boys are about 9 months old.
(2) they have a constant supply of pets at home rat nuggets and once a day they get a bowl of a combination of spinich, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mixed veg, parsley, beans, mixed summer fruits (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, black currents and red currents) and bran flakes. I also give them a bit of honey and bits of garlic. as far as treats go I'm not going to lie they get a fair few, I share cookies, biscuits chocolate bars bits of my dinner... they only get little bits of those things but probably upwards of three times a day or when ever they look at me eating with their sad eyes lol.
(3) nope both tumour free (touch wood) 
(4) N/A
(6) N/A
(6) they are both pet shop bought rats.


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## sara1991 (Apr 12, 2013)

this one is about the rats I had that passed away:
(1) I'd say they were approximately 2 and a few months when they passed.
(2) They were fed their entire life on Reggie rat food and table scraps usually just bits of meat or veg but they loved spaghetti so they got that whenever I was lol (not a good diet I know but I was only young and didn't put as much thought in to it as I should of mainly because of my mums slightly ignorant saying of they are rats it doesn't matter what you feed them) 
(3) No they both died tumour free.
(4) N/A
(5)N/A
(6) again both pet shop bought rats. They died of a respiratory infection that came on very rapidly and in the time it took to get them in at an appointment for the vet there wasn't much the vet could do we tried all the same with fluids and anti biotics but they passed away  luckily within a day of each other so they didn't have to be lonely.


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## ladybugnpeach (Apr 3, 2013)

(1) My girls are approximately two years old. (2) They are currently eating Harland Teklad, just started eating it this week actually. They were on some really bad feed before, with all kinds of junk and seeds. (3) My hairless female just recently developed a tumor. (4) It is a mammary tumor. (5) The tumor just recently developed.


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## Jenzie (Dec 26, 2012)

1. My 5 boys are 3 months old, 7/8 months (3 of them are), and about 1.5 years. I had another boy who died at 9 months from pneumonia, no tumors on him.
2. Until recently two of the rats got HT 2014, two blocks each every day. Shortly after I got my 3 other rats I switched to Oxbow. They also get an ample serving of fruits and veggies each day (kale, carrots, parsley, bell peppers, blueberries, etc). They also usually get a piece of healthy cereal or dried pasta for a treat in the morning and at night. They don't get much in the way of junk food though I confess lately I've been spoiling my older boy with crumbs from some more fun foods lately.
3. No tumors yet!
4. N/A
5. N/A
6. If it makes a difference: my oldest boy and my deceased rat are both from major pet stores. One of my 7/8 month olds came from a small mom and pop pet store who obtains their rats locally. The other two were Craigslist rescues but I assume based on their markings/the area the person lived in that they were also from PetSmart/Co. My youngest is from a breeder.


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## glider11 (Sep 7, 2011)

1. I have three girls: Vera (4 months old), Ricotta (1 year), Delilah (1 year and 2 months). Note: all ages are estimates.
2. I feed my girls Harlan Teklad. They also get table scraps and fresh fruit and veggies every day.
3. No tumors yet!
4. N/A
5. N/A
6. Delilah is a pet store rat. Vera and Ricotta are both rescued from my local animal shelter. I believe that Vera and Ricotta are somehow related because they came in together. They were found in a box at a dump along with 9 other rats.


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## eaturbyfill (Aug 23, 2012)

1. Females - 9 months, 9 months, 1 1/2 years, 2 months, 2 months, 8 months. Males - 2 years, 6 months, 6 months, 2 months, 4 months, 4 months
2. Oxbow. I will soon be switching to Harlan Teklad.
3. None.
4. N/A
5. N/A
6. N/A


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

*1) How old are your rats?*
Three of my females are nearing a year now (I've had them since September 2012 and I believe they were a month and a half to three months old at the time), my fourth female is five to six months old. Two of my boys were born in September 2012. One of my boys was born in December 2012. My youngest boy was born in April of this year.

* 2) What do they eat?*
Oxbow.

* 3) Do they have tumors?*
None so far.

* 4) If so, what kind?*
N/A
* 5) At what age did they start*
N/A

* 6) Feel free to add any relevant information.*
My all of my girls are from Petstores. My three oldest are Petsmart rats and my youngest female is from Petco. My two oldest boys and my youngest boy are from a breeder. My boy that was born in December was from Petsmart. One of my Petsmart girls did give me a scare when a lump appeared on her neck, but it turned out it was an abscess that went away on it's own. That same female is also overweight for no apparent reason (She doesn't seem to eat more than anyone else). It has been suggested that she has a thyroid issue. In addition, her and her sister are borderline "dwarf" rats. They are not _quite _small enough to be called dwarfs but they have much shorter bodies than my other female of the same age.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's nice to be getting data on rats that are healthy... normally we only hear about the sick ones! So for the folks that follow these threads I'm sure that's been skewing our world view. Remember this is a judgment free zone. If your rats are 5 years old and being raised on Captain Crunch and beer your data is as useful as young tumorous rats raised on fresh veggies and whole grains. I like the source information, where your rats are from, I hadn't thought of that. It really might give us an idea if pet shop rats are more or less likely to get tumors. 

I don't know if we are going to confirm common wisdom or bust a few myths. What I do know is that among us we have an incredible database of information. With hundreds of people most with multiple rats doing things very differently over a wide range of geography, I'm hoping that we should start to spot trends. I know many folks have already decided what's best for their rats, or feel they might have screwed up, but please participate anyway. Any information we develop here might be useful in keeping your own rats from winding up with tumors somewhere down the road.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

1) two rattie females: 10 months, 1 year old
2)oxbow... And whatever else I'm eating, I give to them  
3) no tumors 
4) na
5) adopted both; one from humane society, one from a family who didnt want her. 


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## I love all my girls (May 6, 2013)

1) How old are your rats?
two females, Bella & Talia each 4 months old sisters/littermates
2) What do they eat?
for training & good behaviour i give the yogis & smart food white cheddar popcorn that i've taken the kernels out. the fresh stuff depends as i give whatever i'm eating. warm weather i gave them some frozen yogurt & i also made a homemade apple sauce & froze it so its an apple popsicle.. they get chicken & eggs as a special treat once in awhile. their main food consists of a mix that we made for them which is dried cranberries,raisins,dried banana chips,oatmeal,sunflower seeds,honey nut cheerios, an some kind of hamster mix. i picked them all up at bulk barn & mixeed them together to made a everyday mix. i don't give them any candy or anything. their junk that they steal are chips or cheesies.
3) Do they have tumors?
no
4) If so, what kind?
n/a
5) At what age did they start
n/a
6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
i got them at pet smart as at the time there wasnt any rescues. they were in the back & we got the first pick as that was the day they were going to put them out for display. the girl said we were the first to handle them. they were thin & their colour wasn't fully out . i have no idea what they were being fed. we got them at 8 weeks. 


i hope that helps.


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## I love all my girls (May 6, 2013)

I love all my girls said:


> 1) How old are your rats?
> two females, Bella & Talia each 4 months old sisters/littermates
> 2) What do they eat?
> for training & good behaviour i give the yogis & smart food white cheddar popcorn that i've taken the kernels out. the fresh stuff depends as i give whatever i'm eating. warm weather i gave them some frozen yogurt & i also made a homemade apple sauce & froze it so its an apple popsicle.. they get chicken & eggs as a special treat once in awhile. their main food consists of a mix that we made for them which is dried cranberries,raisins,dried banana chips,oatmeal,sunflower seeds,honey nut cheerios, an some kind of hamster mix. i picked them all up at bulk barn & mixeed them together to made a everyday mix. i don't give them any candy or anything. their junk that they steal are chips or cheesies.
> ...


they love the salads i make for them especially romaine, cooked or frozen veggies(summer) & pasta as well.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

1. Soda who is 2 years old, the three brothers who are 8 months. I've also had 3 pass rats (Einstein who died at 10 months, Charles who died at 20 months, Storm who died at 18 months).

2. We've been off and on Oxbow, and a homemade diet which consist mainly of fresh green vegetables (Herbs, Spinach, Collard greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, ect), with root vegetables, fruits, and berries. My boys have always gotten quite a bit of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and nuts (Cashews, Almonds, and Peanuts) daily since I've first had rats. The homemade diet though has been the main diet all of them have gotten. Our boys, starting with finding out Storm had hypothyroidism, only get bottled water that does not have Fluoride in it. Also the only "meats" our boys have ever gotten have been eggs, sardines, and tuna.
For treats they get multi-grain crackers, pumpkin bread (homemade), and occasional cereals.

3. I've only had 2 tumors in the pass. One in Charles, One in Storm.

4. Pituitary Tumors on both

5. Charles's showed at 20 months, passed away around 3 to 4 days later. Storm's showed at 18 months, he died the next day.

6. Out of my 7 boys, I've only had 2 experiences with tumors. What caused Charles's tumor is unknown, but it could of been genetics or aging. Storm had hypothyroidism for almost his entire life, which sadly left him at a greater chance of getting tumors. When he died he had multiple cysts on him.

Other then tumors, it does appear that Niko has a thyroid issue. Turns out that a chemical called BHT, which is used as a preservative, has been found to caused thyroid issues (and I believe other issues as well). Sadly this was in Cream of Wheat, which the boys for a few months got everyday for breakfast (since we found out about it it has been cut out completely from their diet in till we get the stuff to make homemade cream of wheat. I've even stopped eating it). Niko is showing a majority of the signs of a thyroid issue. So looks like I might once again be soon facing the realities of him getting cysts, and maybe even tumors. 

Not 100% related to tumors, but is good to point out that some medical issues do cause an increase chance of tumors.

4 out of my 7 boys have come from petstores, the same petsmart to be exact. Charles and Storm both came from here. The three brothers came from an oops litter of my friends, they are too young though to know if this has made a difference.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's still too early to say we have any trends, but the picture so far isn't really what I would have anticipated, which is good. It means we are more likely to learn something new.


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## Mousey (Oct 23, 2012)

*1) How old are your rats? *Varying ages. I run a rat rescue.
*2) What do they eat? *Harlan Tekland. 
*3) Do they have tumors? *Some have come to me with tumors and some have developed tumors, yes. _All_ of them have been mammary tumors.
*4) If so, what kind? *Mammary tumors. 
*5) At what age did they start?* Most ages are estimated on the ratties that come in - around 1 year.


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

1) My oldest is almost two years old. She turns two in August. My second oldest is a little older than a year, she turned a year old in April. My third rattie and the youngest is only three months old. The two oldest are girls, and the youngest is a neutered male. 
2) What do they eat? I had Molly on Kaytee lab blocks for the first year of her life, and Mimi on Kaytee lab blocks for the first half year of her life. I switched to Oxbow about half a year ago. 
3) Do they have tumors? No, none of any kind. 
4) If so, what kind? N/A
5) At what age did they start: N/A
6) Feel free to add any relevant information.: Molly is a hairless dumbo rat that I bought from Petland almost two years ago. They assured me she came from a breeder, but she probably didn't. Mimi is Molly's daughter. Her father did not have any tumors of any kind either and he was a feeder rat. Pastoolio came from a breeder. As far as their food goes I noticed a tremendous difference when I switched my rats over from Kaytee lab blocks to Oxbow. Molly had problems with her bladder (she would pee and mark everything) and it went away after the diet change. Mimi had rusting which also went away after the diet change. I've also come across several packages of Kaytee lab blocks that had moldy lab blocks in them which is why I switched to Oxbow.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

1- 13 months
2- Rat Snacks 'N Stuff complete diet
3- None
4- n/a
5- n/a
6- No other illnesses of any kind.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Am I the only one noticing not much representation of rats over the 2 1/2 year mark so far? Well, it's still early in the survey...


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## Hikari (Feb 5, 2013)

*1) How old are your rats? *
Sweetie Belle and Twilight are 5 months, Rarity and Fluttershy are around 4 months, and Ditzy and Star are between 1 to 1.5 years.
*2) What do they eat?*
This main food is Solid Gold Holistique Blendz, a cereal/grain mix I make, and fresh/frozen fruits and veggies. They also get a small dish every night of either applesauce or yogurt mixed with raw honey. They also get a lot of what we eat as snacks or treats, I try to limit the amount of junk food they get, but my daughter and fiance always sneak them extra stuff. 
*3) Do they have tumors? *
No
4) If so, what kind?
N/A
*5) At what age did they start*
N/A
*6) Feel free to add any relevant information. *
Rarity and Fluttershy came from PetSmart. Star and Ditzy originally came from a horrible local pet shop that finally got put out of business, I adopted them from a girl that was breeding them. Sweetie Belle is Star's daughter and Twilight is Ditzy's daughter. Sweetie Belle and Twilight have the same father (not my rat) he is around 2, neutered, and has no tumors either. 

I had rats about 16 years ago, although I don't remember all the information about them they lived to be a little over 3 (I am guessing) they were in the adult feeder bin when I got them. I fed them a lab block and seed mix I got at the pet store and my parents would give them bananas. They never had tumors, and died of old age.


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## ruffles (May 13, 2012)

I have a girl who made it past 2 1/2! I hope she helps. 

*1) How old are your rats?* Leto was 31 months when she died.
*2) What do they eat?* She never ate any block food. Cereals, grains, my dog's food, some of every meal I ate, junk food, one of my polymer clay sculptures and a few bottles of paint, some ceiling tiles...honestly, she ate everything. Except block foods.
*3) Do they have tumors?* No.
*4) If so, what kind?* Not applicable.
*5) At what age did they start?* Also not applicable.
*6) Feel free to add any relevant information.* The only health issue Leto ever had was a large abcess and normal hair thinning near the end of her life. I bought her from a pet store. She was about five weeks old when I bought her, and she was a free range rat for about half of her life.

Now, for my current boys.
*
1) How old are your rats?* 10 months old.
*2) What do they eat?* They were started on Mazuri blocks, switched to Oxbow at ~2 months old. They HATED it, but I was determined that they eat it; I ground it up into a mash for the whole bag, it lasted a month. I didn't buy another. Now they eat various things -- veggies, cereals, grains, fruits, legumes, yogurt, sometimes bits of what I'm eating.
*3) Do they have tumors?* None, yet.
*4) If so, what kind?* N/A
*5) At what age did they start?* N/A
*6) Feel free to add any relevant information.* I bought Shawn and Gus from a breeder. Gus is much more squishy than Shawn; I'm worried about him and tumors, later in his life. I'm gathering that many tumors don't start until they're older, so I'll check back here if anything develops.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Still very early, but it's starting to look like tumors especially among younger rats might actually be less common than we thought, unless folks who had or have rats with tumors aren't getting their rats into the survey. No one is judging we are just building a database to look for trends. I'm a great rat parent and my girls have tumors... nothing to be ashamed of. If it turns out we could have done something better from this survey wouldn't you want to know? Still seeing healthy pet shop rats, which really is good news for the many folks that buy their rats from shops and chain stores. It's still early and the trend can change, but we are already seeing more rats than any one if us is likely to own in a lifetime.


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

If it helps, they are not rats, but I used to own mice who were very tumor infested from a very young age. My boyfriend and I owned both males and females (in separate cages). We got our mice from Petco, and over the first month we had the males they ended up with tumors on their hind legs and belly for some weird reason. We never went to a vet with them because at that time we didn't know of a vet who would see mice because they were considered pocket pets. They passed away from their tumors about a month after they acquired them. Our mice were on the Kaytee block diet at that point in time as well. I know it's not a rat, but those are the only other rodents, besides Molly, that we bought from a pet store.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Just a note, I'm pretty sure that more people on here have had rats with Pituitary tumors. They might have not seen this yet, or haven't been on here in a few days, or might not be considering Pituitary tumors the same as say mammary tumors. Hopefully they'll speak up soon, since they are just as, if not more, important to note as other tumors.


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## Hephaestion (Jan 27, 2013)

1) How old are your rats?

5 female rats, 2 x ~26 weeks, 1 x ~27 weeks and 2 x ~16 weeks old.

2) What do they eat?

Their diet is varied. They eat a commercial mix (~12.5% protein) as their staple. The mix is either the JR Wellness Mix or JR Farm Feast. This comprises two thirds their daily ration. The other third comprises fresh vegetables, sometimes cooked (or cooked if it is necessary to make it safely edible). 

The range of vegetables usually comprises some of the following: peas, kale, brocolli, spinach, rocket, fresh herbs (basil, coriander, parsley, sage), carrot, cucumber, sweet potato, Brussel sprouts, garlic, ginger. Their vegetables dishes all have a teaspoon of olive oil added for a luscious coat. 

They also get a small helping of fruit daily (one or other of grapes, blueberries, apple, banana, melon).

Once weekly, they get a serving of organic vegetable based baby food. Once to twice monthly, they get some meat in the form of Applaws fish cat food (great quality), tinned oysters, tuna, egg or salmon. The only meat they get is fish.

For treats, mealworms, salmon pâté, a little pasta, sugar free commercial cereals, peanut butter. Treats are fed sparingly, i.e., in tiny quantities and only in training sessions.

Junk food - the only junk they get is a smidgen of dark chocolate or a few Cheerios but only when their pitiful pleas really break my heart.

Supplements - Dr. Rats Amazing Gloop (mostly for the astralagus content) twice weekly, Dr. Squiggles once weekly, a pinch of dried seaweed once weekly and Nutri-Cal as required (very rarely).

Girls go approx 6-8 hours a day without food. This includes about 3 hours when they are sleeping and doesn't mean they don't have stashes.

All drinking water is bottled and fluorine and chlorine free.

3) Do they have tumors?

No.

4) If so, what kind?

NA

5) At what age did they start

NA

6) Feel free to add any relevant information.

3 pet shop girls and two from an accidental litter. One is prone to URIs and is on the slim side and a single URI in another. One is a little tubby but nothing a little running around won't fix. Right now, all are healthy and happy.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Absolutely Lightningwolf, all tumor data is relevent and thank you to the people who have shared so far! The more raw data we can get the more ways we can parse it. So far the strong showing of good health at least in regard to tumors in pet shop rats is quite unexpected and if it keeps going that way we might be inadvertently debunking a very common myth. Home made diets seem to be showing good results too, so far. We are a long way from crunching any numbers or having enough data to develop any conclusions, but this survey is definitely not going the way I anticipated so far. And again that's a good thing. You don't learn new from confirming what you already believe.


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## Patientzero (Jan 12, 2012)

1) Binx-1.5 years old, Hanna- 11 months old, Scout-9 months old, Khaleesi and Ghost-5 weeks old, Oswald and Walter-1 year old

2)Harlan Teklad with a mix of other organic grains, pasta, etc, and fresh veg and fruits.

3)I had my old and first rat Zero pass away from aggressive tumors but I had fed Kaytee lab blocks at the time(all that was at the store) and I got her when she was 9 months old and had her 5 months before the tumor grew, I can't remember what the previous owner fed her. I haven't had any tumors since her and that was over a year ago she passed away.

4)Zero-Mammory

5)14 months old

6)I had gotten Zero from a "breeder" as a faulty female because she wouldnt get pregnant, I got Binx from a accidental litter, Hanna as a rescue, Scout from a petstore, Oswald and Walter from a rescue and Khaleesi and Ghost from my own accidental litter out of Scout.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> Am I the only one noticing not much representation of rats over the 2 1/2 year mark so far? Well, it's still early in the survey...


This is because there simply aren't many.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I really would hate to find that no matter where rats come from or what they are fed, they don't live over 2 1/2 years. My vet suggested a healthy rat should make 3 1/2 and I've heard two second hand stories of 6 year old rats. It would be a shame of that's more myth than reality. But I suppose we will need to wait for more people to sign up for the survey to get a bigger picture.


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## Cstaar (Mar 7, 2012)

1) Luna and Boots are 1year and 6 months, Myla and Tink are 9months.
2) They all have care plus for rats as their staple food. The eat table left overs, fruits, vegetables and anything they can get their paws on as well. 
3) Luna developed a tumour when she was 13-14 months old. It was fast growing. We had it removed. Boots has a tiny tumour (smaller than a pea) that hasn't gotten any bigger for about 4 weeks. The others are tumour free at the moment. 
4) Mammary tumours
5) Luna - 13/14 months, Boots 17 months.
6) I read lots of research about how blueberries can help prevent tumour occurance in rats. (they are actually doing the research in relation to human breast cancers) They found blueberries greatly reduced tumour occurance. Since Luna's tumour I have given them blueberries every day. Her's has not returned and Boots' is so small it is not an issue. I also read that blueberries can slow tumour growth if they occur. http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2011/110607.htm http://www.timigustafson.com/2011/in...y-blueberries/ there are lots of other studies too (google).


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> I really would hate to find that no matter where rats come from or what they are fed, they don't live over 2 1/2 years. My vet suggested a healthy rat should make 3 1/2 and I've heard two second hand stories of 6 year old rats. It would be a shame of that's more myth than reality. But I suppose we will need to wait for more people to sign up for the survey to get a bigger picture.


Of course there are rats that live past 2.5 years. I just said that there aren't many. Also, our pool of contributing members is too small to draw any accurate data from, unfortunately.

A healthy rat should make it to 3.5, but that's just the problem. Rats don't typically stay healthy that long.


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## kjsublime (Jun 12, 2013)

1) Magic is 1yr and 2 months, Merlin is also 1 yr and 2 months and Gus Gus is 1yr and 11 months 2) Oxbow is always available and once a day they get a bowl of grains such as cereal, noodles, granola etc. And a bowl of fruits & veggies like apples, strawberries, blueberries, banannas, carrots, brocollie, bell peppers, peas, string beans etc. I like to keep changing it up for them because I know I would hate to eat the same thing every day so why I should I make my animals do it?3) No tumors4) N/A5) N/A6) My two younger boys are from a small pet store near me, when they were only 6 weeks old they mainly breed for feeders and I thought I was saving them, I did more research after I actually brought them home but I don't regret my desicion bc they are great. My older guy is a rescue off craigslist but he was purchased at petsmart from the guy I got him from. They are all the most snuggly best pets ever! They love yogies for treats and will come up and try to steal food when we eat. I tried to introduce them slowly and it just didn't work out =( Gus Gus is very territorial and even though I kept them in seperate cages and then cswitched cages every time I tried he attacked them and when magic had a huge gash on his back is when I gave up, so poor gus gus is all alone.


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## phatdaddy (Feb 3, 2013)

1) How old are your rats? my living rats are all around 2 years, my rat Mama died shortly after her fourth birthday. my rats average three and a half.
2) What do they eat? I only feed them fresh food, i supplement once a week with dog food.
3) Do they have tumors? Never
4) If so, what kind? n/a
5) At what age did they start N/A
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. i stay away from petstore ratsfor the most part favoring dark colored self rats or more recently hairless. i firmly beleive tumors are a combination of bad genetics and bad diet.


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## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

Rat Daddy said:


> So back in September 2012 I switched to the Oxbow Regal rat. Fuzzy Rat had been raised on a diet of Mazzuri and every form of junk food you can imagine. She was fat, but healthy. Amelia was raised on Mazzuri without any supplements, and she was thin but healthy. Fuzzy Rat really liked the Oxbow as did Amelia and both started gaining weight rapidly after the switch, but they liked it so much I kept feeding them the expensive food. They ate less junk food, but still it was a significant portion of their diet. In December 2012 Fuzzy Rat started developing fast growing mammary tumors and by April about every ounce of fat on her had been absorbed into the tumors, Amelia started growing a tumor too.
> 
> The good news is that I switched Fuzzy Rat and Amelia to a Macrobiotic diet and both look healthier, Fuzzy Rat has lost an ounce after about a month and as she was only skin and bones to start with, I'm hoping the ounce came off the tumors. Amelia's tumor might be just be a little bit larger after two months, but compared to how Fuzzy Rat's tumors were doubling in size every other week, this is still not nearly as bad as it could be...
> 
> ...


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## zurfaces (Jan 16, 2013)

Lol sorry forgot to cut the first half of that out  

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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

1) Fuzzy Butt is 1 year old. Zelda is about 6 weeks. Yoshi is about a year.
2) They eat Oxbow mostly, with some scrambled eggs, spaghetti, Kraft Dinner, and anything else they like including veggies.
3) Fuzzy Butt has a mammary tumor just behind her right arm.
4) Mammary.
5) She got it around 10 months of age.
Fuzzy Butt is a Pet's Unlimited rattie. The other two are mother and daughter from a friend who had an unexpected litter.


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## FiMarie (Jan 19, 2013)

1) How old are your rats?
Tybalt is 2 years old and Milosh and Cato are about 5-6 months. Watson died just before 2 years of age.

2) What do they eat?
Watson ate mostly Kaytee Forti Diet and a lot of fruits and veggies. Tybalt also ate that until my breeder suggested I switch to Oxbow Regal Rat. Cato and Milosh have always been fed Oxbow. They all get tons of fresh fruits and veggies.

3) Do they have tumors?
Tybalt developed a rapidly growing tumor that I had removed. He has two very small tumors currently that do not seem to interfere with his life in any way.

4) If so, what kind?
Mammary tumor

5) At what age did they start
The big one started around 1 year and the two small tumors I noticed very recently (2 years old).

6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
Watson was from my breeder and was healthy his entire life. Tybalt was from a pet store. Cato is a pet store rat and Milosh is from the breeder. I'm curious to see if the pattern repeats.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

1) I have eight girls, ranging from 6 months to around 2.5 years old. 
2) I have no idea what many of them ate for the first year or so of their lives. Until this December the girls I had were eating Kaytee Forti Diet. After that I made a homemade mix based on the Shunnamite diet. Now they eat a combination of HT 2014 and Oxbow, along with baby food, fruits, veggies, and a decent portion of junk foods (cheeze-its, my pasta, random cereals, etc--I have a problem saying no to a pleading face). 
3) Not a single one of my eight has tumors. 
4) NA
5) NA
6) All of my girls are from commerical/feeder stock. Seven of the eight are a very healthy weight. Euphie is fat and has been fat since I got her. She's gained weight recently though I can't figure out why as she eats just as much and the same as everyone else but seems to have a slower metabolism, perhaps due to her age.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Actually, we've likely heard from more rats than any one of us will ever own in a lifetime already with hopefully lots more to come. I'm starting to see certain words associated more commonly with tumors and certain words associated with the no tumor group. And some pretty evenly with both.

I expect we are all going to sift the raw data differently and I doubt we are going to arrive at the same scientifically conclusive or supportable finding, but until now we've all been basing our decisions on even less.


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## Debra (Apr 28, 2013)

1 Unknown Age Adult for Louise and about 6 weeks for all my new babies
2 Oxbow and kaytee blocks and oats and dog food and a large parrot seed mix all mixed together plus daily veggies and fruit
3. No
4. N/A
5. N/A
6. Louise came from a Store where she was being used to breed... I'm not Sure if it is true but I have heard that breeding reduces the chance of tumors. This could be completely false so don't quote me.

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## poodlecrazy1 (Apr 14, 2013)

*1) How old are your rats? Four 6-8 months old rats and three 4 week old rittens
2) What do they eat? Oxbow
3) Do they have tumors? No
4) If so, what kind? 
5) At what age did they start
6) Feel free to add any relevant information All of my older rats are feeder rats.they were all started on various off the shelf rat and mouse blocks and a few grain seed mixes until I joined this site and everybody recommended a homemade rat food or Oxbow. I do not like the difficulty of homemade food so I went with the simplicity of Oxbow. They have been on Oxbow for exactly 1 month. Except for Flash and the rittens who get a mix of Oxbow and weight maintenance cat food. I have not noticed any changes in health nor any lumps or bumps on any of the rats. *


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## monster_paws (Jan 17, 2013)

1) How old are your rats?
Peanut: 2 years
Pecan: 8 months
Pistachio: 8 months

2) What do they eat?
They started out eating seeds, fruits and veggies. Junk food.
Now they eat a homemade mix, oatmeal, lots of fruits/veggies, rice, shrimp, fish, pasta. And junk food. They will eat everything except for raisins.

3) Do they have tumors?
No
4) If so, what kind?
n/a
5) At what age did they start
n/a

6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
Peanut is my neutered boy from Petco, got him when he was a few weeks old. 
Pecan and Pistachio are my ladies from a squalid feeder bin, got them when he were only a few weeks old.
They free range plenty.

Saw they used to eat lab blocks when they were at the store, but when they came home with me as babies, they haven't eaten a lab block ever.


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## RattieLove* (May 1, 2013)

1) I have 3 females, two of them are both around 3-4 months, and my third is around 2-3 months.
2) my first two started off on Kaytee Fiesta Seed Mix, then after a month I switched to Royal Cuisine Rodent Diet, which are a lab block type food, they get 2 each every day. They also get lots of cheerios almost every day as its their favourite treat. They also get the odd yogurt drop, and they get broccoli whenever I have it. I've been considering switching to Oxbow or HT but in my personal opinion I don't really agree with the idea that they are the only real "healthy" food you can give your rat...still looking into it.
3) No tumors yet, and hopefully never
4) N/A
5) N/A
6) My first two girls were both pet store rats from PetsMart, I am almost positive they are sisters. My third girl was adopted from a friend who adopted her from an accidental litter. She lived in a small tank and then hamster cage for most of her life, till she came to me. (she's asleep in my shirt as I type this lol)

Hope this helped, I wish the best to you and your girls!



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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Still looking for more participants.... the more folks share their data the better a picture we are going to get.


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## Hephaestion (Jan 27, 2013)

I agree that more data is needed. I eyeballed what is here and it seems a scattered ball of randomness.

What I expect to see is a positive correlation with mammary tumours and age (with a few outliers) but age estimates are sparse or too broad in some examples. There will be outliers here, I suspect, i.e., young rats getting tumours. I think it will be difficult to ascertain anything from the food descriptions simply because most people here are from the US where lab blocks are more popular compared to Europe where a mix is generally fed.

It will be interesting to see if incidence of mammary tumours is more likely in pet shop rats, feeder rats and rescues compared to breeders. I don't expect there to be a significant difference.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

The only "trend" I'm noticing is rats fed Kaytee are getting tumors, but not all. Still, not enough people to make any conclusions yet. 

I feel like other members who have had rats (young and old) with tumors, rather minor or major, aren't posting. I know there are a lot more people on here with tumor experience. So to rat daddy, might be worth making a note that members who feel uncomfortable posting can PM you, or anyone willing to, the information to be posted anonymously?


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

No problem, anyone can PM me or even have a friend post your data for you... or you can post data on behalf of a friend. As long as it's real, authentic and as complete as possible it will be used.

So far we have definitely gotten more data than any single one of us would ever collect in a lifetime. 

Don't be ashamed or afraid to post your data. I posted my results and both my rats have tumors... And hopefully that will help to make this survey more comprehensive by two more rats. Every bit of data will help, we need the good as well as the bad to paint a meaningful picture.


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## Kiwimommy (Jun 21, 2013)

1) How old are your rats? I don't know exacts, but Natsu is a bit over 20 months old. Possibly up to 23 months. Misses Kisses is probably about 20-21 months old. Not sure on our other Lady.
2) What do they eat? I actually feed mainly fresh foods, but on occasion I have been known to throw in a handful of cheaper priced rat pelleted foods.
3) Do they have tumors? Natsu does, the other two do not.
4) If so, what kind? Mammary tumor
5) At what age did they start About a month ago. So maybe 21-22 months?


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## PaigeRose (Apr 12, 2013)

1) How old are your rats? Sophie, no idea as the person before us didn't know. Marci and Nugget are Sophie's daughters and were born sometime in Feb so 4ish months.
2) What do they eat? Oxbow Regal Rat as the main portion of their diet. Treats specific for small animals (Yogis, etc) and treats from whatever I'm eating that day.
3) Do they have tumors? No
4) If so, what kind? N/A
5) At what age did they start N/A
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. I adopted them from someone who advertised an accidental litter on Craigslist. Originally, we were going to take 2 little girls but on the way to pick them up the person said "hey we're keeping 3 baby boys, do you want momma too?" and we figured why not. I /think/ but I'm not positive they were eating Kaytee lab blocks before we got them. I asked the girl what she was feeding them and she shrugged and said something she bought at Petsmart but thats what it looked like was in their cage. I fed them one bag of a seed mix I got before I knew about Oxbow and then right away switched to that- giving them a mix of both until the seed mix was gone. ETA: Sophie was a pet store rat and so was the father of Marci and Nugget.


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## aknapoli (Oct 20, 2012)

1) How old are your rats?

Papa is at least 20 months.
Troy is at least 14 months.
Ampersand is at least 10 months.

These ages are estimates: they were dropped off at the animal shelter with little-to-no information.

2) What do they eat?
Oxbow, grain mix for a treat, buckets of fresh veggies (carrots, broccoli, green beans, peas (omg they looove peas), cauliflower, greens, etc.) Plus, fresh fruit (mostly berries and pieces of stone fruits). They very rarely have a potato or tortilla chip.

3) Do they have tumors?
Not a tumor in sight. Hopefully. Knock wood.

4) If so, what kind? 
N/A

5) At what age did they start
N/A

6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
They've been eating this diet since October/November 2012. We did start off with a seed-based food, which they generally picked out the sunflower and pumpkin seeds and wouldn't eat anything else. Papa and Troy got a little fat on that diet, but when we switched to Oxbow + fresh foods, they slimmed back down (or, as far down as chunky boys get).


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

1) How old are your rats?
Opal: ~1 yr. 5 months
Oliva: ~1 yr. 5 months
Vivi: ~1 yr. 1 month
Ziggy: ~11 months
Stubby: ~10 months
Jast: ~3 months
2) What do they eat?
Opal and Olivia were briefly fed HT, then I fed Oxbow to all my rats for a few months before switching to a home-made mix with straight grains, 3 types of low-sugar nutrient dense cereal, dried veggies, etc. etc. They also get oily fish 2x a week, meat baby food 1x a week, vitamin supplement 2x a week and homemade liver biscuits 1-2x a week. Flax seed oil once a week or once every other week, and fruits/veggies every day, fresh and frozen. They ALWAYS get 1-2 blueberries each every day since they're super high in antioxidants, to help prevent tumors.  They don't get many extra treats; occassional macaroni, or a bit of dinner if I bring someone to the dinner table with me (which doesn't happen much unless I eat outside because cats lol)
3) Do they have tumors?
Not yet!
4) If so, what kind?
N/A
5) At what age did they start
N/A
6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
They are all from pet shops (this is why I have banned myself from going into them, lol), I've had a colony-wide URI once and Olivia and Vivi had a minor URI when I brought them home. Other than that they're very healthy. They usually get a LOT of free-range time; my girls regularly are out for 6+ hours a day so they get lots of exercise, and my boys are out regularly for 3+ hours a day (they get less because they burn off their energy faster and end up sleeping outside the cage after about half an hour ) so everyone gets lots of exercise!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Still looking for more participants and more rat information. So far this thread makes an interesting read and I've started compiling some of the data. For the most part younger rats tend to be healthier, and so far pet shop rats are doing better than one would expect. Lots of people are mixing up their own diets and there seems to be certain health benefits to it, but we really need more data.

So if you have a minute please join in.


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

Guess it's finally time for me to reply!
1) How old are your rats?
I have three, Rosie is around 10 months 2 weeks, Ellie is about 7 months and Lily is about 5 months old.

2) What do they eat?
All my rats are fed a pre-mixed mixture from RatRations, it's the mix called "No.7 With Garlic and Egg Biscuit. They did used to be fed Pets At Home Rat Nuggets and then for a while were fed Science Selective Nuggets. Lily has hardly eaten any kind of nuggets.

3) Do they have tumors?
Nope, none of them have even shown a single sign. But as you well know, my late fourth eldest girl Storm ended up with 5 throughout her short year here on this Earth.

4) If so, what kind?
They were all mammary tumours. All around her front limb, in her armpit. The first three were all in the same place and kept reoccurring. The last two came due to her third growing quite large. The fourth was directly above her third and the fifth was in the middle of her neck, directly in the middle as though you were facing her from a bird's eye view.

5) At what age did they start
She got her first mammary tumour at as young as 3 months old. So literally around 3 weeks after I had her from the store.

6) Feel free to add any relevant information:
She came from a UK Pets At Home store with her presumed sister, Hazel. Hazel had some behavioural problems right from the get go, but no health issues at all. Storm on the other hand had an alpha air about her and was playful, inquisitive and a nicer temperament. However, Storm did have an aggressive and bullying side when it came to her cage mates. She never could get along with Ellie and she would increase to 3x her size to try and threaten her, and slowly creep towards her then try to aggressively fight her during introductions, even after being in the same cage for 5 days and sleeping next to one another. She literally looked like a hedgehog.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

I have had 14 rats... 10 of them seen 'till death. Only one ever had tumors, and that was Bernard. He came from a pet store/BYB. He was fed HT2018/grain mix early on in his life, and later the old formula of Regal Rat/grain mix. The grain mix consisted of things like steel cut oats, barley, spelt, flax, quinoa, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds, whole wheat pasta, etc. He also got occasional fresh veggies and fruit like spinach, kale, broccoli, banana, blueberries, etc. His tumors came on fast around 2 yrs old and grew rapidly. They were strongly attached and the vet who euthanized him at 2.5 yrs old figured they were cancerous.


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## Ninjasinthetrees (May 22, 2013)

1) How old are your rats? Sunshine and Storm - 3 months, Rapunzel - 4 months, Clover - 7-10 months, Jasmine - 8-12 months, Dixie and Delilah - 1 year
2) What do they eat? All have been eating a mix of kaylee blocks and fiesta seed mix, plus treats (fruits, veggies, rat-safe nuts, bits of cereal or granola bars, dry pasta, occasional tortilla chip, crispy noodles, little licks of yogurt, small bits of extra-dark chocolate weekly) but after reading some not so good reviews on kaylee I have been researching putting them on an all homemade diet. 
3) Do they have tumors? No
4) If so, what kind? n/a
5) At what age did they start n/a
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. Dixie and Delilah are new guys, I took them from a lady who was moving cross country. When she brought them to me they had a dish of in their travel cage, and the main cage had a dish filled with something I didn't recognize, it seemed to be little dark red pellets, with maybe some white stuff mixed in (there were animal crackers on top at first so that could have been leftover bits f those) IIRC. I didn't think to ask what it was, just mixed in some of what they would be getting here so they could get used to it and switched them over a week.


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## Lesti (Jun 25, 2013)

1) 8-10 months
2) Reggie rat food (mixing own food once I run out. Stitch hates lab blocks and was raised on loose food from my knowledge)
3) None
4) Not relevant
5) Not relevant
6) Got Stitch from Petsmart, had loose good when I got him, tried lab blocks, didn't like them, high white (?)


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## catland (Sep 3, 2012)

1) How old are your rats?
 1 1/2 years (estimate) and two 9 month olds
2) What do they eat?
I used to feed them a mix that contained Rolled Barley, Rolled Oats, Wheat Grain, Sunflower Seed, Bird Pellets, Innova Senior Dog food, Hemp Seed. Now they are fed Oxbrow. My oldest rat was fed the carefresh rat diet for the first few months I had him, 
3) Do they have tumors? 
No
4) If so, what kind? 
n/a
5) At what age did they start
n/a
6) Feel free to add any relevant information
Eldest rat is from petsmart younger ones are from a breeder


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I know it's hard to talk about rats that have passed away or are sick, but we are actually getting a pretty decent size sampling of rats. Every contribution is important as trends aren't going to be easy to spot.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

i have a load of data from 2 mainly uk based lifespan surveys if they are any use, the questions arent quite the same and theres often a lack of detail on the food brand fed. It would give you a massive sample size though and may be a useful control if nothing else. Its been gathered from a number of years, the first was gathered from 2006 - 2008, the newer one has been around since around 2010 and is still active. Both are more focused on average life but the more recent one does include lumps and i've interrogated both to sort the data a lot, so it should graph well. Ive also cleansed some of the oldest from there, as some from the first were people remembering back for 10 years, which means the data acuracy was low so i had a cut of of about 6 years old data. Anyway if you want it pm me your email and i will send it over.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Should we be adding in geographic location to the list of potential factors? I don't have any evidence to support this, but I have a theory that where rats were raised might have something to do with their chances of developing tumors. Maybe not, but it seems like something that should be taken into consideration.


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## Juxtaposition22 (Aug 4, 2013)

Previous Rats (All female):

Imalia (Pet shop)
Age: Lived about 2.2 years
Fed: Hodge podge custom food, heavy on grain.
Tumors: Large Tumor devoloped on hind quarters at about 1.8 years, was about the size of a golf ball when she passed.
Etc: Recieved large amounts of junk food treats.

Freya (Rescued Rat, origin probably pet store)
Age: 1 year
Feed: Hodge podge custom food, heavy on grain.
Tumors: None
Etc: Died from bowel obstruction after eating an ear plug, keep those things off the floor in her memory! They belong in the garbage after use!

Stripes (Pet Store Rat):
Age: About 2.5 years
Feed: Hodge podge custom food, heavy on grain.
Tumors: None
Etc: Fed a large amount of junk food treats.

Gretta (Pet Store Rat)
Age: 1.2 years
Feed: A little better hand made food with more variety and more fresh fruit and veg
Tumors: None
Etc: Died of Resperatory infection, lots of junk treats

Therea (Pet Store Rat)
Age 1.8 years
Feed: A little better hand made food with more variety and more fresh fruit and veg
Tumors: None
Etc: Died of the same infection as Gretta, lots of junk treats

Now for the current cuties:

Hoodlum (Pet Store Rat)
Age: .9 years
Feed: HT 2014 in cage at all time + Grain and seed breakfast + fresh fruit and vegetables + homemade soy yogies + Timothy oat hey for fiber
Tumors: None
Etc: The reign of junk is over, healthy treats and healthy rat 

Trinity (Adopted from Sonoma Humane Society):
Age: Estimated 1.8 years
Feed: At Shelter: Oxbow and fresh veggies At Home: HT 2014 in cage at all time + Grain and seed breakfast + fresh fruit and vegetables + homemade soy yogies + Timothy oat hey for fiber
Tumors: None
Etc: She is Rex or Double Rex (I can't tell which) so she gets a protien treat every other day, and eats ALOT at all times. Trinity seems to suffer from asthma.

Raff (Adopted from SHS)
Age: Estimated 1.8 years
Feed: HT 2014 in cage at all time + Grain and seed breakfast + fresh fruit and vegetables + homemade soy yogies + Timothy oat hey for fiber
Tumors: Don't think so, but she is VERY over weight, so it's a little hard to tell
Etc: Other than being so very big, she's in good health.

So, there's all my data points, in my years of owning ratties

PS Woo, first post goes to quasi science in the name of rats!


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## JLSaufl (Jan 20, 2013)

1) How old are your rats? 2 are 9 months and one is 7 months
2) What do they eat? Mostly fresh veggies and fruit, they share 1/3 cup of 90% oxbow mixed with seed mix, cereal, pasta, etc.. HT is given occasionally is a treat (they love it)
3) Do they have tumors? No, but Leon, the youngest continually gets abscesses in his neck area. 
4) If so, what kind?
5) At what age did they start? About 3 months ago, he's had 4, they clear up on their own and have never gotten infected. 
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. My older boys are from the Petco Adoption bin and were fed seed mix for the first 3 months of their lives. Leon is from a reptile store that does selective breeding of rats and mice to ensure their reptiles are well fed. He was raised on HT 18% and aside from the abscesses, he's my healthiest looking rat.


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## pocketmouse (Jun 13, 2012)

A little bit of an old thread, but I found it really interesting so I figured I'd bring it up again!

1) How old are your rats? I've got 2 girls, about 1 1/2- 2 years old
2) What do they eat? a mix of Oxbow, seeds, grains, etc (pretty much the 'Old Rat Whisperer diet' recipe), and fresh fruits and vegetables daily (kale, spinach, other healthy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, tomato, blueberries & other mixed berries-I freeze them, frozen peas, occasional melon, zucchini, cucumber, banana) We switch it up a bit depending on what we have/what looks fresh or is in season, and don't always include all those things obvs. On special occasions I'll make them up some stir/steam fried vegetables, maybe add a little cooked whole wheat pasta, and some garlic. I also like to feed them little pieces of toast with olive oil on occasion, because I heard the olive oil is good for their skin and fur. I try to use a good bread if we have it, like Dave's Killer Bread, with lots of seeds and good things. 
3) Do they have tumors? Fortunately not.
4) If so, what kind? ----
5) At what age did they start ----
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. I got my girls from my mom's friend, when he ended up with an accidental litter. I'm not sure where their parents came from. I ended up taking them home when they were really young though, like as soon as they were old enough to leave their mom. At first I didn't know anything at all about rats/what to feed them, but within a few months I had things pretty figured out & have continued to improve since then I think.


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## Science (Apr 29, 2013)

1) How old are your rats?
Science is 2years 2+ish months Posy was 19m
2) What do they eat?
Both ate regal rat +leafy greens carrots etc. they also both got a lot of junk food cookies, yogert raisins, seeds/nuts, also bits of whatever I ate.
3) Do they have tumors
Yes Posy developed a tumor Science is tumor free.
4) If so, what kind?
Pituitary
5) At what age did they start
Showed around 17.5m she passed around 19m
6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
Both are pet store (petsmart) rats. Both female


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## smopey (Feb 3, 2012)

1) How old are your rats? Ginny - 1 year, 9 months; Luna - died when she was 1 year, 8 months.
2) What do they eat? A mixture of Oxbow Regal Rat and either Kaytee or Vitakraft seed/pellet mix, fresh fruits/veggies, nuts & dried fruits, and bits of whatever I'm eating.
3) Do they have tumors? Yes
4) If so, what kind? Pituitary and mammary
5) At what age did they start? Luna developed a fatty tumor early on (probably a little over a year old), and then the mammary tumor shortly after. She started showing signs of a pituitary tumor around a year and a half, and then died about 3 months later. She was treated with antibiotics and prednisone. Ginny has no visible tumors but started showing signs of a pituitary tumor at around 1 year, 8 months. She's also being treated with antibiotics and prednisone.
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. Both rats came from the same litter (I'm pretty sure) and from Petsmart.


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## applekiwi1992 (Aug 3, 2012)

1) How old are your rats? 8 that Range from 4 months to 16 months2) What do they eat? Homemade mix of various grains, seeds, cereals, fruits, noodles, and veggies. Plus mixed vegetables, fruit and table scraps semi frequently.3) Do they have tumors? One (Apple) is 14 months has just recently developed a tumor under her arm and on her lower abdomen. 4) If so, what kind? Mammary5) At what age did they start 14 months6) Feel free to add any relevant information. Apple and Kiwi came from a feeder breeder, same for Ryder. Chip and Dip came from a shelter. Tomato came from pet quarters and Mango came from someone breeding for fun.


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## klibankatz (Sep 10, 2013)

1) 9 weeks.
2) Harlan Teklad 2018, fresh vegetables, seed mix.
3) No.
4) N/A
5) N/A
6) My boys were from a family pet store in NH, USA. They were born in-store from a mom who was kept by a hobbyist breeder in MA. Owners said typically half go for feeders, half for pets. She had a litter of about 6-8. One boy has malocclusion of his top teeth and my other boy appears to have chronic respiratory issues.


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## jellybeanqueen (Sep 6, 2007)

1) How old were your rats? Potatoes died @ 30 months and his brother Kansas died @ 31 months.
2) What did they eat? They ate Harlan Teklad for the first two years before I switched over to Oxbow, which I thought had better ingredients. They found Oxbow to be a real treat which made me laugh cos they were so excited to eat it!  I also gave them some sort of fruit/veg every day (lots of bananas, that was the fav), oatmeal, pasta, and various baby foods. 
3) Did they have tumors? None.
4) If so, what kind? N/A
5) At what age did they start? N/A
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. Potatoes died of pneumonia and there wasn't anything I could do as he he passed the day before I would have had him PTS. His brother Kansas developed hind end degeneration in the last few months of his life but was happy and loved treats despite his lack of mobility. I knew it was his time to go when he stopped eating. I miss my boys.  I got them from a breeder which could explain their better than average lifespans. Genetics contributes to why they passed so close in age. I have two newish boys now that are a year old and I am feeding them Oxbow as a staple with fresh foods daily. Flurry is being medicated for a myco flareup at the moment but Bolt is healthy. I'm thinking about making some sort of grain mix in addition to the Oxbow..maybe as a weekend meal plan. This thread is very interesting!


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

1 How old? About 6-7 months estimated. 

2 What do they eat? Oxbow is the stuff I leave in the cage mixed normally with long grain rice. That has been cosistant since I got them. Petsmart feed them oxbow. Free range they are fed eggs, yogurt, assortment of fruits and veggies but mostly bananas, apples, green grapes and blue berries. Veggies are broccoli, peas, corn and carrots and sometimes potatoes. They get chicken sometimes, chicken bones about once a week. Sometimes ham or stake or ground beef. Generally they get my left overs too. For snacks they get licks of nutella, peanuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, tiny bits of cheese, honey, dried pasta, Puffs graduates, cheerios and licks of juice (not orange juice) icecream and sometimes beer.

No tumors so far Skip to 6. They are from Petsmart. Loki is a variant hooded and Nimbus is mostly white with some light brown in his face. Both black eyed though Nimbus at his young age already is starting to get cataracts. Loki is huge and kinda chubby and Nimbus is just under a pound and lith. Both are intact males. Nimbus has gotten over his URI but it looks like he has allergies. No more rattles in his lungs but sometimes sneezes a lot and sometimes there is lots of porphyrin all over the place.

Suggestion! When I was looking at ratteries some asked that when your rat passed you got an autopsy and send them the results. The beeders where very interested in how the rat died so they could improve the line and understand the line better. Some demanded to know what you where feeding them before they would consider you as a rat parent. http://www.paperheartrats.com/ I don't think this one is active anymore but if you shot some other ones up for information they might prove very useful.


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

I know this is a much older thread but I think it's an interesting idea and maybe the people who never saw it or the new people to the forum might be able to also add to it.

1) How old are your rats? The girls are estimated at around 7 months. The boys around 4 months. 
2) What do they eat? The girls were on Kaytee Regal rat seed mix until two months ago when we switched to Oxbow Regal Rat. The boys have been on the Oxbow young rat but are now on a mix of the young rat and Oxbow Regal Rat
3) Do they have tumors? No.
4) If so, what kind? n/a
5) At what age did they start n/a
6) Feel free to add any relevant information.


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## threelittleratties (May 7, 2013)

1. Shawn and Joe are about 1 year 5 months. Fabio is around 10 months
2. Oxbow Regal Rat (the triangle shaped stuff)
3. None so far only Abcesses from wounds/infections
4. N/a
5. N/a
6. I give them random assorted stuff pasta, Breton vege crackers, Eggs, Chicken, Cheese. (Except Joe gets no Pasta as hes allergic) when there food runs out. (I have to drive 2 hours one way to get their food) I also give berries whenever we get some and a baby carrots!


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## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

1. Poppy and Rosy are about 1.5-2 years, Dobby is probably about a year
2. Reggie Rat and Oxbow for young rats and mice. Soon to be moved to a homemade diet
3. Never
4. n/a
5. n/a
6. can't think of anything


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## Ratling (Nov 2, 2013)

1) Three and a half months.
2) Labdiet supplemented with veggies every evening, usually broccoli, and meat about once a week
3) No
4)
5)
6) They've been on their current diet for a month and a half now


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## alida (Dec 14, 2013)

I am coming from a ferret background here so take it with a grain or salt. Ferrets especially those from mills have a lot of cancer problems. A lot of the cancers are hormonal cancers like adrenal ect. I did a lot of research, reading and experimentation with methods of keeping my fuzzies healthy. To really understand an animal we need to look at it's naturally evolved state. Ferrets are crepuscular so they do not need much light which is why a huge treatment for them for adrenal disease is melatonin. But why give an animal melatonin when things go wrong when you can mimic nature for them. Keep lights low, keep cages covered do not assault them with UV light all day long . Feed them the diet they have evolved to eat not some fruity garbage they lack the digestive system to utilize. 

I would wager the same to be true of rats. When you mess w/ they way nature has evolved an animal you mess with the health of that animal so if we better understand the animal we can better prevent disease. Rats by nature like so many other smaller mammals are nocturnal. So by their very nature they would be exposed to very little light. As we all know for ourselves light can wreak havoc causing things like even skin cancers in humans who are not nocturnal creatures so imagine what light can do to our nocturnal friends. So I would wager if the same amount of research that has been done on neoplasia in ferrets had been done on rats we would see a reduction in cancers and an increase in lifespan due to preventative measures and treatments. Sure you can remove a tumor but if you do not remove the causation for the tumor in the first place it will likely return again. I would wager that rats if kept in darker environments and put on diets as close to their natural cousins would live a much healthier life without as many issues.


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## Xerneas (Aug 6, 2013)

What I want to say is similar to what alida said but more along the lines of the community this survey takes place in. As in, on an online rat forum people are more educated about rat diets and more likely to feed something that's a bit better for rats (obviously lab blocks are not their natural diet but you really can't argue that store-bought garbage is better than lab blocks IMO). You aren't getting the needed diversity in a place where so many people feed Oxbow. If cancer feeds on things like sugar, getting results from people who feed crap could have much more eye opening results. Just a thought.


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## BlackBirdSeesYou (Nov 4, 2012)

1) How old are your rats? Both about a year and a half
2) What do they eat? Oxbow Regal Rat blocks, and other stuff mixed in such as noodles, rolled oats, and sugar free cereals
3) Do they have tumors? No
4) If so, what kind? N/A
5) At what age did they start? N/A
6) Feel free to add any relevant information. They're both males and I both got them from what looked like one of the better rat breeders off of Craigslist.


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## Dragonsflame (Dec 8, 2013)

1. I have 4 boys. Charlie & Remi are just over a year & Jack is almost a year. Mac is guestimated at 9 months

2. Diet is a mix of Tropical Carnival, Vitakraft, & rat blocks. Main snacks are Old Mother Hubbard vegan dog biscuits, fresh fruits & veggies, eggs, mango yummy drops, & pasta

3. None

4. N/A

5. N/A

6. Three of the boys came from PetSmart (Charlie is an adopted due to bad teeth). Mac came from a friend who breeds for snakes & was a surprise gift (I had been searching for a dumbo boy). Ironically, my three boys have had their ups & downs health wise with this last round of URI being the worse. Mac, even tho he was raised as a breeder, is probably the healthiest rat I've ever owned. I'll be quizzing my buddy the next time I get a chance to see just how he keeps his feeders so healthy. 


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## ahrat (Aug 12, 2013)

I hate a mischief of girls when I was younger, who both died of mammary tumors. I'll do them first.

1. How old are they?
They died when they were both about 1.5-2 years.

2. What do they eat?
They were fed purely seed based, along with fresh veggies.

3. Do they have tumors?
They got the tumors right around the same time, about 2 months before they both passed.

4. If so, what kind?
They were mammary.

5. At what age did they start?
I was never sure of their exact age, but they're we're probably about 1 year and three months when they got them. They were very fast growing, and I was a teen, and didn't know what to do. They passed a few months after the tumors started growing.

6. Relevant info: My girls were from a local petstore, not a big chain, so they were very well taken care of before they came into my care. 

I now have my second mischief, and I decided to try boys this time. I have three.

1. How old are they?
Not 100% sure, but they all just went through puberty so about 5-8 months old. One is a few months younger than the other two.

2. What do they eat?
I had them on a seed based diet, but switched to Oxbow about three weeks ago. Decided I don't like it that much. I'm a fan of organic, natural, no processing, so today, actually, I'm starting to switch them over to a mix that I made with oats, puffed rice, Total cereal, freeze-dried fruits, unsalted nuts, and some sunflower seeds. 

3. Do they have tumors?
No.

4. If so, what kind?
N/A

5. At what age did they start?
N/A

6. Relevant info: All three of my boys were from a Petco. They were fed some Kaytee block, I believe. They're been getting their fat, lazy boy fuzzy look, since they all just, or are finishing, puberty. Healthy as far as I can tell. I've only had one to the vet because of a URI scare, but he turned out to be totally fine.


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## Lesti (Jun 25, 2013)

Guess I'll add Beau in here and update Stitch, though this is an old thread.
Beau-
Male, 6mo, got from CL... Byb? fed Shunamite diet w/ Reggie rat, be happy dog food, assorted cereal, and dry pasta. Once a day oatmeal w/ a bit of honey, ginger, olive oil & cinnamon, apple chunks, blueberries, carrots, raisins. Once a week- boiled egg & semisweet chocolate chip per rat. Treats fed are yogies and fortune cookies. Stitch gets the same. Stitch is now 1 yr 8? mo. Both are tumor free to this point.


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## Spiritpaw (Oct 7, 2013)

1. Skeever 6 months old. Nikolai 4 months old. Males.
2.They both used to eat Katee lab blocks and a little Katee seed mix, but the seed was causing them both to have diarrhea, so now they just get the blocks. No fresh foods yet regrettably until I get some frozen stuff(My fridge is broke) 
3.no tumors
4.I got them both from the same family owned pet store. I am friends with the associates there and they are pretty honest. Skeever is a hairless dumbo and came from a lady and her daughter who were breeding and did not want to anymore. Nikolai was born in the pet store from their feeder rats. There supplier put a male in with the females presumably by accident and all of them arrived pregnant. 

I agree that most of the rats seem young. It seems to me that tumors do not start till about a year and a half, but this is too soon and too little info to know for sure. I wonder if food has less to do with it then age. I got my little brother in law a pair of rats a few years ago and here's theirs.

1.Males almost a year old when bought. B.C. and Greg.
2.Not sure what they were eating before but I know my mother in law was feeding them Katee seed mix and maybe others if she could not find that. For treats they were picky she said and only ate crackers and such. Their favorite was Graham crackers. They both got pretty fat.
3. No tumors on B.C. that I know of but Greg got a bad one on his back foot.
4.The vet told her it was cancer. He was at least 2 years old I think. The tumor got bigger over a few months and looked gross, then he died. 
5.B.C. is still alive and at least three years old. He looks and acts very old. Now I did notice last time I was there that their cage wich my mother in law bought because it was bigger then the one she had is fully wired. The levels I mean are grate not solid. I told her that I had just found out that this was bad for their feet and it might be why B.C. is not playing on the levels. He has no toys because he reportedly does not play with them. I believe this because he seems to just want to relax in his litter and sleep. Unless there is Graham crackers involved. Do you think a sore from the grate could have turned into cancer? I know that cats get a cancer that is caused by injection sites but it is extremely rare.


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## Spiritpaw (Oct 7, 2013)

P.S. I forgot to mention that B.C. and Greg were given to the pet store by a male college student who could not(or did not want to) keep them because he went home for the semester or something. But he took decent care of them. They were a little socialized and quite large and healthy if under enriched and not cuddly. We have two major universities here and the whole town culture of Moscow and Pullman is shaped around this. And you get a lot of irresponsible college students, but I have seen a surprizeing amount who are very responsible.


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

*1) How old are your rats? *I have five rats and their ages are broken down below:
- One female (16 months old)
- Two females (12 weeks old)
- Two males (6 months old)

*2) What do they eat? *Oxbow plus fresh food nightly such as kale, carrot, green peas, raisins, oats, almonds, etc.

*3) Do they have tumors? *No. But they all sneeze and one recently passed away at age 1.5 years from pneumonia.
*
4) If so, what kind? *N/A

*5) At what age did they start? *N/A

*6) Feel free to add any relevant information: *Threerats are from pet stores and two are from a breeder who fed the rats her own mix of food which got switched by me to Oxbow baby rat food when they were nine weeks old. 

My most precious rat who recently passed away from pneumonia was from a breeder and was also on a diet of Oxbow. Once my rats were fed Martin's rat food which has a higher percentage of protein (not good for adult rats), but they preferred it over the Oxbow.


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## LeStan82 (Dec 31, 2013)

2 dumbo male rats( got them from petsmart 2 yrs ago)I have had them for 2 yrs.diet: oxbow regal adult rat food, aling with fruits,veggies and grains( the pet store fed them kaytee blocks prior to me)no tumors but 1 rat is having problems with abscesses( had large sterile abdominal abscess that required surgery to remove and is now having abscesses due to sutures)other rat is healthy, no health issues.and they have always sneezed alot, since I got them.


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## Awaiting_Abyss (Jul 24, 2012)

1.) My rats are one year and five months old. They are sister and brother rats from an inexperienced breeder.

2.) A homemade mix of straights, wild bird seed, mealworms, dried cranberries and raisins, and 4Health small bites dog food. They occasionally get nuts in shells as treats.

3.) My rats have never had tumors, and aside from Raiko's eye infection, neither have ever been sick in any way.


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## scurvey27 (Dec 31, 2013)

*Age:*
Chowder, Nergal, and their recently deceased brother Fawkes are 32 months
Atom, Kimchi, and Benedict are 2-3 months

*Food:
*The older boys have been on a combination of HT 2014 and Oxbow as staple diet, with fresh produce, organic baby foods, and some crunchy dog treats (mostly organic fruit and grain based). They occasionally get a bit of egg, chicken, tuna, or sardines, and Nergal gets Ensure every few days to keep his weight up.
The little boys are on the same (minus the Ensure), but I've only had them for a few weeks.

*Tumors:
*Nergal very recently developed a lump on the side of his neck 
Chowder had some kind of skin lesion last year that wouldn't heal - vet removed it and said it may have been a tumor but we didn't do tests 
We never found out what happened to Fawkes

*Type:*
By the squishy feel and the fact that it's very loosely attached, I'd guess Nergal's lump is a mammary tumor. Because of his age, I'm hesitant to take him in for a lumpectomy, as the surgery may be more dangerous than the lump. We'll see if it gets much bigger.

*Age Tumor Started:
*Chowder was a little over 2.5 when he got the skin thing
Nergal is 32 months 
Fawkes died at 31 months
*
Other Info:
*Fawkes, Nergal, and Chowder have all displayed varying degrees of degenerative osteoarthritis. Fawkes had almost no use of his hind legs when he died, and Nergal is about the same (although he has more muscle tone than Fawkes did). Chowder drags his legs behind him occasionally, but nothing like the other two. He still stands on his legs to eat and clean himself, and hasn't lost any weight or tone. I give them dog treats with glucosamine now, as well as the Oxbow joint support supplements. The little boys will get glucosamine when they get a little older as a preventative.


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## eshes_fantasy (Jan 7, 2014)

1) Sapphire and Boots were both about 2-ish when they passed
2) I don't remember the brand name but they had a variety type of rat food with seeds and blocks from the pet store, table scraps like fruits and veggies, cereal, and store bought treats. They never got junk food or animal based product (pet store employee told me not to cuz it encourages them to bite)
3) They both developed rather large tumors.
4) I'm not sure what kind they were but Sapphire's was most likely mammary as it was on her chest/neck. Boots was on her belly/inside of her back leg.
5) 1.5-ish years.... its been so many years ago I cant remember.
6) They had to be given cat or dog food occasionally because my parents couldn't get rat food for them (I was in middle school). My rat, Surprise, ate the same brand of rat food and basically the same diet overall but never developed tumors (I suspect she died of a respiratory problem). They both came from Pet Ark who said they came from a breeder with too many babies. Sapphire was a blue self and Boots was a black Berkshire dumbo. Boots lost the use of her back legs by the time she passed and Sapphire limped to stay off her one front leg but they both still liked playing just couldn't get around easily so my mom told me time to put them down...


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

*1) How old are your rats?*
I currently have four and they are all between 5 to 7 months old.

*2) What do they eat?
*The main staple in their diet is Oxbow adult rat food. They also enjoy some scrambled eggs, cucumbers, broccoli, those cute baby poofs, peanut butter, and unfortunately they also received a small lump of cheese from my dad each morning (until I told him they're lactose intolerant....)

*3) Do they have tumors?
*Not as of yet but I will report back if they develop. 

*6) Feel free to add any relevant information.
*Two of my girls are pet store rats (unfortunately) and two are from a reputable breeder, so I feel like I have a decent sample size going on. I really hope that the per store girlies do not develop anything but judging on their state when I first bought them, they weren't loved or appreciated at all and I assume that their diet/environment was treated the same way. One of them also has a chronic URI. We will see.


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## Sal (Mar 21, 2016)

*Age:
*Jimbo & Ned - 11 Months.
*
Food:
*Selective Rat & Various Treats*

Tumors:
*None*

Type:
*N/A
*
Age Tumor Started:
*N/A
*
Other Info:
*Just two very healthy happy rats who don't seem to get any health issues. I follow the tips on a few blogs and it's always helped.


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## mnyablonski (Nov 18, 2015)

Age:
Atticus and Gandalf are 6 months. Harvey 7 weeks. Darwin and Finn almost 8 weeks.

Food:
Harlan, homemade grain mix, and some table scraps like veggies from dinner 

Tumors: 
N/A

Type:
N/A

Age when tumor started:
N/A

Other Info:
My two older boys came from a rescue and the younger three are from reputable breeders. If anything changes ill update. But my last mischief my boy Jack developed a tumor on his neck when he was about 2. He ate Oxbow and a variety of veggies. None of his three brothers I had developed any tumors though.


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## bobess (Feb 15, 2016)

1) Minnie and Amálka - almost 7 months. Chiquitka - 2 months old
2) Homemade mix (different types of grain (no corn), rice, some seeds, nut chips and peas, dry wholegrain pasta with seaweeds) + rat blocks to take if they want (I am from Czech Republic, so I doubt anyone here knows the brand, but here is the info if you want to compare to your brands: http://www.nutrin-complete.com/en/rat ). They dont get any junkfood, but they regularly get small pieces of vegetables and fruits (mainly tomatos, paprika, apples and blueberries) and occasionally eidam. They get different types of bought treats also, but I pick the ones without added sugar, coloring etc. I also give them goji and herbal tea to support their health.
3) Not yet (but they are still very young).


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## Tabitha&Tobermori (Mar 14, 2016)

1) My girls are about four, five, six months? 
2) They eat "Oxbow Young Rat and Mouse Food" along with lots of veggies, fruit, yogurt drops, milkbones, and some cheese and chicken
3) No tumors so far... 
4) N/A 
5) N/A 
6) My girls are from Petsmart. I was worried about one of them who was sneezing a lot and took her to the vet. The vet did not think it was a URI but she gave us Baytril in case. My rat knocked over the bottle and spilled all of it. I took her back to the petstore where they had their vet look after her. We got her back with an all clear! But... she kept sneezing. She doesn't have any other health issues, like trouble breathing and looks healthy! Neither of my girls have been spayed.


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