# whats the cheapest good rat food?



## ratman7777 (Nov 11, 2015)

is there a dog food that's healthy for them. is mazuri good?i feed em oxbow now but it isn't cheap


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

It isn't really "cheap" but if you buy the 20 pound bag of oxbow it's a really good deal. I got my 20 pound bag for $38 which is about $2 a pound. 

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## ratman7777 (Nov 11, 2015)

yeah I'm at the end of a20 pound bag now I really lucked out and it was 30 bucks


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## smilesandsqueaksrattery (Dec 20, 2016)

If you are going through enough that you are getting 20 pound bags, Harlan teklad makes 33 lb (15kg) bags. You can check feed stores or email envigo and they can give you the nearest distributor. I get mine for around $0.70/lb - much cheaper than ordering online.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Harlan Teklad is of lesser quality than Oxbow, hence why it is cheaper. The ingredients are pretty crappy IMO. I personnaly would stick with Oxbow adult rat pellets. You might save $40 over the lifetime of your rats by switching to HT, but the health and longevity of your rats might suffer for it, just my opinion. I extensively researched every ingredients to the main commercial rat pellets out there and that is the conclusion I came to.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I personally think oxbow is worth it. I was very poor for a little while (evicted, jobless, etc) and all I could afford for about a month was the Walmart brand. The boxes come in 1.5 pounds for $2-3. When you look at the price per pound for oxbow vs very cheap, primarily filler foods like Walmart brand it's very much worth it.

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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

You get what you pay for. There is a saying with most pet foods that a higher quality food is actually most of the time a better price then "cheap" foods. 

Because with cheap foods you are mostly paying for fillers and not actual nutrition. Fillers are pretty much nothing, it is like paying for air. I'd rather every penny go to actual nutrition instead of empty nothingness that just makes the product weigh more. 

Better, higher quality products also mean pets usually eat less, because fillers are crap & some of them can directly lead to over eating.

Oxbow is so cheap, I do not understand how anyone thinks it is not. I have 30-40 rats and the 20lb bag lasts me a monthish. How many rats do most people have? If you have lets say a quarter of that around 7 rats that food should last you months. So what you are feeding your pets at $5-$10 per month? I can't even go out to eat for that price lol I get that buying in bulk means having to pay a larger sum at once, but putting aside $10 a month or even $20 a *month*, shouldn't be difficult. That is a couple bucks out of every paycheck. 

Like ok when you are paying $40+ a month like me it is kindof pricey lol but with that many rats I expect to have to pay alot with so many mouths to feed.

I do not feel a dog food is a good choice as the base of their diet personally. It is very hard to find a dog food that is ideal nutrition wise for a rat, and if you even want to feed a dog food it still needs to be a very high quality low protein formula which is probably the same price if not more than oxbow lol


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

Cheap isn't best, I always buy the best I can for animals... I've tried my rats food and if I had to, I'd eat it. I don't feed anything to my animals that I wouldn't be willing to eat/drink myself. 
Like it has been previously said, fillers are cheap and in a lesser food, you'd get a high percentage of fillers that will keep weight on your rats but won't be good for them. Like feeding a child mainly on white bread, they'd keep weight on but would be lacking a lot of essential dietary essentials. 
I sometimes cut back on personal luxuries if I struggle to give my animals the best of what they need. Like snack foods for myself, instead of buying a multi pack of crisps, I'll buy a lesser brand or not buy crisps altogether to get that extra few pounds to spend on food/fresh veg for my boys.

Please don't cut corners on pet foods


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## LilysPets (Jul 1, 2016)

The cost for Oxbow also depends on where you are located. Where I am in Canada, a 20 lb bag of Oxbow is $80 with taxes included. 

If you're paying $30 for 20lb bag of Oxbow, how long does it typically last for you? 

I feed Mazuri as well as a dry mix with fresh foods, daily. I get the rodent breeder in a 50lb bag and it's about $55 for me. I only feed 4 mouths though so it lasts me a good year or so. My rats were raised on Mazuri since they were born and I personally haven't had an issue. There's mixed opinions since with the ingredients (Containing corn and such), but if you can keep them on Oxbow that would be best. However, I personally don't think Mazuri is that bad of a diet, especially if price is a huge concern/drain.


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