# Young Pregnant mom food question



## sesakaso (Jul 5, 2015)

Ila is about 5 months old and is 13 days pregnant. Currently she is eating Kaytee Forti-Diet and I give her healthy snacks daily (baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, sausage, eggs...stuff like that). I want to get her switched to something healthier, but that's about all I can find locally.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Kaytee is about one of the worst foods sadly. I don't trust anything food related by that brand as they are well known to include iffy ingredients, cheap crap & chemicals. 
it is often difficult to find good food local. Most people order online for that reason.

I suggest switching to a lab block. It is going to be a much healthier and better choice. The best brands are Native Earth, Mazuri and Oxbow. Personally I prefer oxbow. 
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16965 <-- is the cheapest place to get it. Buy the 20lb bag. (and it is on sale right now) It comes to give or take about $2 a month/per rat. Which is a good price if u ask me. For the other brands you will have to search online, Im not sure where to find a good price for them.

A pregnant momma needs a bit of extra protein. I prefer around 18% for moms. So you will have to judge if she needs extra by what you are feeding her.

Eggs are a good source of protein. But I would stay away from sausage which is very very fattening and not very healthy. White chicken breast is a better choice for rats. But they do not need much of it.


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## sesakaso (Jul 5, 2015)

So I finally found a better quality block food locally. Ironically it was at the reptile store. They have Mazuri for $6 for a 5 lb bag. Problem is it's only 16% protein. How much egg will I need to give her to make up for the 2% the food is lacking? And is there any other protein source that she can eat?


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

My rats love canned beans, like butter beans or navy beans. NO dryed beans, must be cooked.(soft) they are a good source of protein


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I feed all my rats, even moms and babies oxbow adult which is only 14%. IDK really how much extra protein I give but it really isnt a ton. I usually give them extra protein 3-4 days a week, not in a row. Alittle egg, white meat breast chicken, nuts, greek yogurt. It really doesn't need to be a ton. Rats are fairly small


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I feed my pregnant mums on standard dry mix (home made but probably similar to oxbow) I just give them the odd bit of extra protein in the form of dried cat or dog kibble as a treat if that. They don't need much extra until birth then they get more whilst nursing. I do up the vitamins they get though in the lead up to birth. The only exception would be if mum is still a baby herself in which case she wil need extra protein to grow healthily


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