# The Truth about corn?



## Meep (Jun 21, 2010)

I have heard many things about dried corn or just in general, corn. I've heard that too much corn can give rats cancers, make them fat and give them other diseases and should only be given in small moderation.

So what is true and what isn't? 

The dried seed food I have for my rats has quiet a bit of corn, and hearing all these things make me worried.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Meep said:


> I have heard many things about dried corn or just in general, corn. I've heard that too much corn can give rats cancers, make them fat and give them other diseases and should only be given in small moderation.
> 
> So what is true and what isn't?
> 
> The dried seed food I have for my rats has quiet a bit of corn, and hearing all these things make me worried.


dried whole corn is bad as it can grow a fungus that can kill your rat. Seed Mixes are considered a bad diet on here so you might want to look into quality lab blocks instead. There's many many diet threads on this forum 
Ground corn in the lab blocks is fine, and fresh corn is fine as well, a bit fatty as veggies go, but still a good vegetable every once in awhile.  I use both whole raw corn on the cob or thawed frozen corn.


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## littlematchstick (Apr 12, 2009)

will the cob hurt rats? Ive thought about giving them corn on the cob..but wasn't sure about them eating the cob, if it would hurt them or not.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

littlematchstick said:


> will the cob hurt rats? Ive thought about giving them corn on the cob..but wasn't sure about them eating the cob, if it would hurt them or not.


they usually don't touch the cob but once its down to a cob I remove it so it doesn't go bad. I am sure its just mostly fibre and not that tasty


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## Meep (Jun 21, 2010)

lilspaz68 said:


> dried whole corn is bad as it can grow a fungus that can kill your rat. Seed Mixes are considered a bad diet on here so you might want to look into quality lab blocks instead. There's many many diet threads on this forum
> Ground corn in the lab blocks is fine, and fresh corn is fine as well, a bit fatty as veggies go, but still a good vegetable every once in awhile.  I use both whole raw corn on the cob or thawed frozen corn.


I've been adding things along with the mixture of seeds. like dog foods, dried pasta, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies as well, i was just curious about the corn, so thanks for clearing that up.


I'll be sure to remove the corn from the seed mixture and only feed them fresh or canned corn as a treat.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Meep said:


> lilspaz68 said:
> 
> 
> > dried whole corn is bad as it can grow a fungus that can kill your rat. Seed Mixes are considered a bad diet on here so you might want to look into quality lab blocks instead. There's many many diet threads on this forum
> ...


the only problem with that is its not a nutritionally balanced diet and in the end could hurt your rat. vitamin K is incredibly important for blood clotting and dog food doesn't have it like a rat requires. Just one example of the lack of unbalanced diets...too high protein puts a strain on kidneys, etc leading to renal failure later in life, etc.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Agreed! Lab blocks work out cheaper in the long run as well, because they will eat less food since its a better quality - plus theres so many more health benefits it may help avoid some future sicknesses/vet bills. Dog food doesn't contain the right type of protien, so even if your using a low protien senior dog kibble... its still hard on their organs if fed in excess. A few pieces a month should suffice, if any. 
The dried pasta is high in fat, if you want the benefit of grains in your rats diet.. go back to basic. Add some oats, wheat, bran, rye, barley etc. Dried pasta is only fed to any underweight rats I have, or as a very occasional treat in their grain mix.
Cut out the seed mix completely... rats need grains not seeds. I can see the difference between a rat that eats seeds and a rat on a healthy diet. I guarantee you your rats coat and overall condition will improve after you switch. I take in rescues occasionally, who usually have been eating seed mix their whole life, after a week on my food they are sleek and shiny! And they loose that ''seed mix'' gut. The only type of seeds you need to be feeding them are a few sunflowers/pumpkin seeds each per day. Maybe a sprinkle of flax seed occasionally.


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## stephaniechung (Mar 9, 2010)

Just a note on protein, I started researching the effects of high protein diets on rats. I'm don't agree with lab testing but I was tired of second hand information. I wanted to know exactly what they did to the rats and what was the results found in the autopsy. One of the studies I read was done by Osborn and Mendel. I wrote down major effects (copied from my rat blog): 

"Osborne and Mendel had fed rats a high protein diet (40 to 80 percent) from the age of 3 months to 14 months. Water was given freely. Young rats were growing at a steady fast rate while the older ones just continued to gain weight. They observed that growth in rats were normal and there were no signs of inflammation of the kidneys (nephritis), degeneration, or damage. The one adverse effect that was noticed was that the kidneys were doubled the normal weight (hypertrophied kidneys). The kidneys were about 23.6 percent heavier than normal for the rat. In one case, there was a lesion found in the lung. However, there were no signs of stiffening of the arteries (arterio- sclerosis)."

There's more studies but I only had the time to read and make sense of one study last night. I have the PDF of the study on my blog here (there's way more details than I cared for but was interesting): http://www.theratsplace.com/high-protein-diets-and-rats-osborne-and-mendel/


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## Meep (Jun 21, 2010)

Thanks Everyone, I've noticed a change in their weight since what I've been feeding them the mixed seeds and dog food, and I'm going to buy some lab blocks as reccomended, this weekend. 

I will continue to give them some sunflower seeds though, and I will surely cut down on the dog food.

I was aware of their diet to a point, and you've cleared everything up for me. I wasn't expecting that their diet would have to be so.. precise.

Thanks to everyone for helping learn more about keeping my ratties happy and healthy!


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