# Your rats' diet plan?



## Chthonicfox (Jul 20, 2007)

I've researched a lot about rat diets, homemade and commercial. But I would like to hear some first-hand experiences with diets. I'd like to know what diets people are feeding their companions, and more than just what the diet contains but how it is fed - the amount and when, etc. This is my first time owning rats - for the time being I have been feeding them Nutro Choice Lite dog food as a staple, with fruits and vegetables and other things fed as a side or as a treat. It seems to be working well, but I want the best for my companions and I am continuing to learn what I can so that I can create a "diet plan" that is the best it can be.


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## Lesath (Jul 14, 2007)

I'm also trying to get my rats diet better. They love almost all fruits they are offered but hardly any veggies. Even veggie baby food they dislike for the most part. In general I feed them lab blocks, they eat them better when they are small peices so I always break them down as small as I can and they eat em!

Igor (single rat with attitude problems) gets about 6 lab blocks a day and about 1/4 cup of dog food in one dish, and in another dish he gets peices of apple, banana and cherries. He gets a few toddler veggie biscuits and two yogi drops for treats, and a spoonful of baby food with baytril twice a day.

The other 3 rats (Sydney, Stanley and Sylvester) get pretty much the same diet, just more of it of course. They also get some pear mixed with their fruit... Igor will have nothing to do with pear.

I'd love to find some veggies they will eat, I've tried carrots, celery, brocoli, corn, green beans, peas. They might eat one or two but they usually toss the 2nd peice down while eating and move on.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

I fill up dishes with lab block and keep them filled at all times i use the harlan teklad 2014 for my older boys and for my younger boys 2018 they also get whatever i eat through out the day plus their dry mix (dry noodles, cheerios, total flakes, pretzels, crakers, oatmeal)


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

oh and in their water they get GSE and i givethem echinacea two weeks ont wo weeks off

sorry forgt about that stuff


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## Chthonicfox (Jul 20, 2007)

Oh good! I forgot to ask for some information about vitamins and supplements that can be added to the diet. 

What is Baytril used for?
What is echinacea used for?
What is GSE?

So when feeding lab blocks there are different varieties for different aged rats? In HT 2014 for older and 2018 for younger?


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## Lesath (Jul 14, 2007)

Baytril is used for URI (upper respiratory infection), myco flare ups. All rats have mycoplasma and at some point usually need to be treated for myco from what I've read. I've yet to have a rat that didn't flare up at some point in it's first year of life. I haven't used the other things mentioned (echinacea or GSE) but I've heard of something called "green mush" that goes into the water that is supposed to be really good for them. I haven't researched it yet though.

There are different varieties of lab blocks for different nutritional needs. I can't be positive off the top of my head but one is for rats 8 months and older, the other is for younger rats or pregnant/nursing females. I also switch my big boys to the type for younger rats when they are sick.


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## Chthonicfox (Jul 20, 2007)

Is Baytril obtainable through vets only?

I'm reading about this Green Mush now. 
http://www.craftyrat.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=HC-004-7&Category_Code=HC

Looks like it could be a healthy addition to a rat diet. Does anyone have any experience with this?

What does GSE stand for?


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## cjshrader (Feb 15, 2007)

You can only get Baytril through a vet, regrettably.

I feed my rats Suebee's mix and they seem to be happy with it. I feed them once a night (There are 5 of them). I'd love to give them a more constant food supply, but they are stashers and they would just hide it until they had a giant mound of food. I make sure they eat all of what I already gave them before I feed them again, otherwise they won't eat the lab blocks.


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## ambernd (Apr 17, 2007)

Well my rat just had 2 babies so she needs more protein and nutrients in her diet but I give her a little bowl of "rat and mouse fiesta mix" then i will give her a boiled egg probably every 1 1/2 weeks or so. Then I will give her some sliced cheese and some green beans. Then a slice of apple and whatever other fruits I have, then what I eat (cereal, pop corn, biscuts ect...) But she is healthy. I pretty much use that same diet for my other rats.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

Chthonicfox said:


> Oh good! I forgot to ask for some information about vitamins and supplements that can be added to the diet.
> 
> What is Baytril used for?
> What is echinacea used for?
> ...


Baytril is an antibiotic used for more than just URI you can buy it online but I don't know the site right now a ftriend orders it for me. Echinacea is a immune system booster you have to use childrens with no alcohol and the GSE is grapefruit seed extract that also boosts health. 

The lab blocks are for different ages 2018 is for young (under 8 months) and nutrsing pregnant rats


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## reessm01 (Jul 24, 2007)

Kaytee is not reccommended is it?


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## twilight (Apr 20, 2007)

Right now I'm feeding HT Lab Blocks (2014) with a Suebee's mix that has Brown Rice cereal, Kashi 7 whole grain flakes, Total cranberry crunch, whole wheat pasta, dried bananna's, and Oven toasted old fashioned oats. I free feed them the blocks but not the mix otherwise they will just eat that. I've noticed my rats coats look very shiny since I started feeding the mix as well. I might try feeding a high quality, low protein dog food once I run out of the blocks to see if they like it better. I also feed fruits and veggies and they get some turkey sometimes, which they love. Oh and I can't forget the organic baby food! 



> Kaytee is not reccommended is it?


Kaytee is a very poor quality food.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

Kaytee is basically cancer in a bag. It has known carcenagins (sp) in it used as perservatives and what not


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## Chthonicfox (Jul 20, 2007)

Thank you all for the information and help. You would not believe how useful it is. It helps me to put together all of my research with real-life experience so that I can make some decisions.

I read that echinacea should be used during flare-ups of myco or other respiratory problems (i.e frequent sneezing) but should not be feed continuously as the body develops a tolerance quickly and the herb becomes ineffective. Is it the same with GSE? Or is GSE something that can be regularly added to the diet to aid their health?

Basically I want to know what, if anything people feed their rats as supplements etc in a regular diet just to boost health and strengthen their immune system.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

I put the GSE in their water you have to go VERY slowly because it is very bitter it is supposed to be something like three drops per ounce (can't remember off hand) but you have to start out with 1 drop per water bottle for two weeks or so then move up a drop every third week


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

sorry the echinacea I give them a drop or two on a peice of bread once a day for two weeks then two weeks off and so on and so forth


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## reessm01 (Jul 24, 2007)

Are there any brand name rat food at pet places that arent considered cancer in a bag?


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

Mazuri, Regal Rat, also you can look into getting Nutro Lite dog formula it is the best dog food available for ratties

:EDIT: Mazzuri sucks though LoL i would go with the dog food if i ABSOLUTELY had to


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Chthonicfox said:


> I read that echinacea should be used during flare-ups of myco or other respiratory problems


Where would I find something like that? A health store? Grocery store?


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

I get mine online but any health food or holistic store too just make sure it has no alcohol in it


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

Awesome, thanks!


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## Chthonicfox (Jul 20, 2007)

I just purchased some echinacea from a local pharmacy.  Look for the tincture (liquid) form of it as long as it is not in alcohol. Some brands will have "alcohol free" right on the bottle, and most children's brands don't have alcohol in it. I read that echinacea should be fed 2 drops per day for one week on and one week off until there is an improvement, but for a maximum of three weeks. It can be mixed with water/juice or food if the rat won't take it as it is.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

There are many conflicting theories on how ofter to give it (ie - one week on one week off, two weeks on two weeks off, three weeks on one week off) but i thihnk that if you have pet store rats that have unknown genetics I would do the two weeks on two weeks off. Plus the three weeks on one week off always seems to thrpow people off they sit there and think "ok what week is it?"


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## shawnalaufer (Aug 21, 2011)

DAILY- Homemade Rattie Cereal 
Mix
Our homemade Rattie Cereal 
mix contains the following ingredients:


DAILY- Homemade Rattie Cereal Mix
Our homemade Rattie Cereal mix contains the following ingredients:


YUM!


Whole grain wheat flakes
Toasted whole grain oat cereal
Fiber cereal
Puffed wheat
Puffed rice
Puffed millet
Pearled barley
Dried split peas
Unshelled, unsalted raw sunflower seeds
Dried cranberries
Dried tri-color pasta spirals with spinach and tomato flavor
Dry rolled oats (oatmeal)
Solid Gold Holistique Blendz dog food
​I usually make a big batch of this and keep it all fresh and pest-free using a Gamma Vittles Vault Plus (15 lb size).

Various pureed baby food, fresh and/or frozen fruits,veggies, and fresh herbs including but not limited to:
apples, bananas, prunes, peas, corn, bok choy, fresh parsley, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, melon, green beans, dark leafy greens, various berries, etc. I try to alternate fruit, veggie, fruit, veggie, etc. 


*The following supplements are also given:*

​SUNDAY, TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS- Green Mush™

Healthforce Green Mush™ powder mixed in that day's fruit or veggie baby food flavor of the day.


DOSE PER RAT:

1 tsp Green Mush + 2 tbsp water + 2 tbsp fruit or veggie baby food + 4 tbsp multigrain baby cereal


Green Mush is an extremely potent and comprehensive array of nature’s most nutritive and cleansing superfoods, grown and processed to maximize their benefits for your companion animals’ health. Organically grown, Green Mush is unlike traditional multi-vitamin/mineral products as it is exceptionally absorbable and contains thousands of phytonutrients, protein, and amino acids. 


*Ingredients:* Whole leaf barley and wheat grasses, spirulina, broken cell wall chlorella, horsetail herb, nettle leaf, burdock root, alfalfa leaf juice, dandelion leaf juice, kamut grass juice, barley grass juice, oat grass juice, sea vegetables (Nova Scotia dulse and Icelandic kelp), carob pod, Nopal cactus, plant source digestive enzyme complex (protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase, alpha-galactosidase, bromelain, papain), CoQ10 (40mg per 9.5g or 13.4g per teaspoon), ginger root. Also contains a comprehensive probiotic mixture of beneficial organisms including A. Agilis, L. Acidophilus, R. Arrhizus, DDS-I Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Bulgaricus, A. Brasilienese, B. Brenis, P. Chrysosporium, A. Citreus, L. Casei, P. Calcis, S. Cellulase, P. Denitrificans, S. Faecium, S. Fradiae, P. Flourescens, A. Globiformis, S. Griseoflavus, P. Gelatic, B. Lipolyticum, A. Luteus, A. Lipoferum, A. Lwofii, B. Laterosporous, P. Marinoglutionsa, B. Macerans, P. Nigraclens, P. Putida, L. Plantarum, B. Pumilus, B. Polymyxa, B. Stationis, L. Salivarius, B. Subtilus, B. Succinogenes, A. Simplex, B. Subtilus, S. Thermopolis, A. Terreus, M. Verrucaria, T. Viride, K. Zopfit



*Monthly Supplements*
​Hard boiled egg in its shell (the shell is a good source of calcium)- once a month


Alcohol free, flavored echinacea (helps boost immune system)- daily the first two weeks of the month (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off). I use Zand's Kids Insure Immune Support in Raspberry flavor. 
1 drop per rat. I found its easiest to put the drop on my finger and let them lick it off.


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