# Best UK rat food? Advice please :)



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

The internet is not being helpful today so I thought the forum might prove a better option! I currently feed my rats pets at home rat nugges but want to find out if there's anything better available in the UK. I can't afford to pay shipping prices to get anything form the US. 

Ok here are the pellet/nugget/block form diets I can find...

PAH Nuggets: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/nugg...ogle Base-_- Products-_- Products -_-Products

Burgess Supa Rat Royale: http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/burgess-supa-rat-royale-750g_1_157403.html

Burgess Supa Rat Excel: http://www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk/pws/ProductDetails.ice?ProductID=2415

Supreme Science Selective Rat: http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-4645-sup...t-2kg.aspx?=googleshopping&CAWELAID=448554123

It's not all that easy to find full ingredients/nutritional values on the internet otherwise it would be easier to make a decision! Does anyone have any ideas which of these are best and even if any are half decent? I want to give my rats the best diet possible


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

i too am from the uk and i started my rats off on the pets at home nuggets bbut found they are not good so now i make my homemade mixes.. here is a brill site i found with all the ingrediants to make them a great diet.....http://www.ratrations.com/

i havent yet ordered mine off there but i will very soon atm i use a mix of cereals nuts seeds oats wheat and veggies.


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

Oh cool that looks like a great site thanks  I've got lots of rat nuggets to use up so this is going to give me awhile to work out exactly what I'm going to do food-wise. Which is good seeing as I'm not a quick decision maker lol.


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

Only thing is OUCH at the P&P!!


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

yeah i know, i found that with most places, but its not as bad as some places about ... its the weight u see :/ i think its about £6 delivery for what i want to order. which isnt the worse theres one site i found that does the p&p per item and the delivery ended up being more than the items, hence i did not order from there. So yeah this is the best site i found. yeah i know i still have a few left myself i just mix a couple in with my home made mix to get rid of them .. there were lots of mixed opinions about them when i posted about them on here.


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

Yeh it's the price you pay for buying heavy things I suppose lol. It wouldn't be so bad but I've got 11 rats now so they get through a _lot_ of food. I don't think that the rat nuggets are terrible but I just want to give them the best I can. Might end up doing a mix of straights/grain mix with some nuggets so I know they're getting protein and guarunteed vitamins/minerals. 

It's all trial and error I suppose - to be honest all of my rats seem incredibly healthy on the nuggets but they do get a lot of fresh veggies and other grains like rolled oats, brown rice etc so I guess it ends up mostly being snack food..

I swear rat owners think more about their rats' diet than they do their own ;D


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

Lol thats true about the diet statement hehe .... erm well there is alot of food there once u make up all the mixes and would actually work out cheaper and healthier in the long run i think rather than buying the nuggets and mixing them with other bits .. just leave them out and purely go for the mixes and fresh food


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

*Re: Best UK rat food?*

Hmm I just worry about them getting a nutritionally complete diet from something I'd be guessing at. Also where does their protein come from in grain mixes? Do you just use nuts or feed them egg/meat? And I'm guessing you'd have to use some kind of supplement for calcium etc too. I love the idea of a purely homemade diet but I just have concerns because there's no way of really measuring protein levels etc.

Sorry if I'm being a pain  I've just had a lot of rats happy and healthy on nuggets and I don't want them to miss out on any nutrients if I don't get their grain mix/fresh food balance right.

Just out of interest what is wrong with the rat nuggets? Maize isn't the first ingredient and most of the protein comes from soya not meat.. the protein levels are fine, there's no alfalfa... I'm a bit dubious about homemade mixes as unless you know exactly what you're doing it could end up being just as bad as pet shop food. At least with the nuggets you know what the vitamin levels are etc

I know I'm being awkward! ;D


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

I cant remember exactly tbh it was a while ago but like i said there was mixed reviews about them there just not a good quality mix aparently... erm this was a recipe for a homemade mix ema recommended me on this site i go to her for advice alot because she has always helped me and we get along  ....

Barley Whole - I would get the 500g since thats the minimum you can order... but you'll only need to add about 1.5 cups of it to your mix each time. (So freeze the additional for future mixes)

Bran - Same as above but only add about 1.5 cups per mix.

Buckwheat - Same as above but 1/4 cup per mix.

Linseed (Flaxseed) - Same as above but 1/4 cup per mix.

Peas flaked - Same as above, but 1/2 cup per mix.

Whole oats - I would get 1kg, add about 6-8 cups per mix. This is one of your main ingredients.

Pumpkin seeds - I'd get 500g, add about 1 - 1.5 cups per mix.

Quinoa Flakes - Same as above, add 1 cup per mix.

Rice Flaked Brown - Same as above, add 1/2 cup per mix

Rye Flakes Organic - I'd get 1kg and add 3 cups per mix

Safflower - I'd get 500g, add about 1/4 cup per mix.

Soya Flaked - I'd get 1kg, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup per mix.

Flaked Wheat - Same as above, add 4 cups per mix

I would also pick up some plain banana chips (the ones on the site were sweetened and covered in honey) and some dried unsweetened coconut.

You can also add other dried healthy fruits or veg, and some nuts maybe. I hope this helps... I usually make it on a much larger


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

Thanks that's useful  I'll have to look into how much this would all cost. Unfortunately I only have a part-time job and lots of bills to pay so it can be difficult. All of my money literally goes on bills for the house and stuff for the rats..

Oops it's that late? I think I'm going to have dreams about oats and barley and unsweetened banana chips...


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

Lol i know how it feels im unemployed atm my money goes on my rats normal stuff u need and travel money and just the cost of living really.. i do voluntry work so costs me money to get to it too 
Night  its 11pm but ill but up for a bit yet hehe


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I just thought I'd jump in, hello 

Heres what I could find on the internet for a list of ingredients for the nuggets you were talking about. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this list or missing anything.

''Wheat, Maize, Peas, Soya, Chicken Meal, Poultry Fat, Dicalcium Phosphate, Fructo-Oligosaccharides.''

The wheat is good. But wheres the other grains? Wheres the extra fiber? Rats staple food should be grains, and a good variety of them. Wheres the good energy source?

Maize is the second ingredient, so theres quite a bit in there. Its a cheap, filler ingredient. Very little nutritional value. This is the ingredient thats keeping weight on your rats and stopping them looking malnutritioned from a poor quality diet. A very small amount of maize is okay, but it should not be the second ingredient. This also makes them taste good to the rats.

Peas as the third ingredient? I don't understand why this is even an ingredient, let alone as the third ingredient... as they are so much better for the rats fresh. Not a bad ingredient, just not what you want in your staple.

Soya - again doesn't need to be so much of it in there. Theres no evidence to prove soy is good or bad for rats yet. I add some soya nuts to my mix... but its not a main ingredient.

Chicken meal and poultry fat - Yes rats eat meat too... but in very small amounts. And a lean meat would be better, instead of just the fat and poor quality cuts. This should not be in your staple AT ALL, they would only eat it on occasions. Its a common misconception to think you can not get protien from grains. You can!! Rats require a CARB based protien instead of a MEAT based one. So if fed for extended periods of time, these nuggets COULD damage your rats organs. Similar to how rats can survive on dog food and look healthy - but the damage is all on the inside. 

For the Dicalcium Phosphate, most rat food contain it. Do rats need a calcium supplement? This is just bone meal, 23% calcium. It has not been studied enough yet, and although considered safe.. is it needed? is the dose right? 

Fructooligosaccharide is a artificial sweetener. It exhibits sweetness levels between 30 and 50 percent of sugar in commercially-prepared syrups. Its a much healthier choice over sugar... but in a rat food?

So yeah, those nuggets are GARBAGE. There have been very little studies on rat food, I personally have my doubts about lab blocks being any good after studying the ingredients. So I make my own homemade mix and my rats do fantastic of it. (I do feed lab blocks on the side, I break them up and add to my mix, but the mix itself is their staple) My rats are big, healthy, shiny and soft. From an all natural diet :] As I breed my rats and place them in homes, I get useful info on how they grew on that diet and I can compare it to my rats. I am fostering some rats who eat Harlan, they are healthy and soft. But small compared to siblings on my diet they are considerably smaller and not as shiny. The vitamin K put in rat food artificially is what gives them the shine, but my rats get it from a healthy natural diet.


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

Thank you ema for posting lol u r my savour lol so helpful for me so thank you yet again .. i know it was u that bought the issues up with me when i first asked and obviously i asked not long ago about that site .. which i havent bought off yet but i will i think next week is when i get some money i can spend on that 

Thanks again and now hopefully they will get all the info they need rather than me trying to explain


----------



## PEG (Aug 19, 2010)

ema-leigh : I'm interested to know what your homemade mix consists of? I want to feed my rats the best possible food they can eat and are right now on HT lab blocks and Suebees mix


----------



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I am also interested. I feed Harlan.
I am open to all food ideas, I have Subees, Oxbow, and various Harlan teklad variety as well as Hamster living world Extrusions.


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

The list that Stacey previously posted on this thread, I wrote that. Its a good basic recipe for a mix. Theres not enough info for anyone to claim the diet is ''complete'' and you may find different/other ingredients available to you in your area. I'm still waiting for the results from Sorraia's food findings, so I can know how to improve on my own mix and make it complete. 

You don't always have to order the ingredient online, because as mentioned the P+P might be a bit too much. Search for whole sale bulk food stores in your area, or check out grocery stores


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

Thanks Ema that was a great post  It's good to know exactly why it's not a good diet. Think I'm going to have to start saving up so I can give them a homemade mix. Rather annoyingly October is gas/electric/water bill month so I'm competely skint next month. Argh!

I think rat owners should get given an allowance from the government so we can all feed our rats on a natural and healthy diet.

I'm guessing if I add natural grains etc to the nuggets that would be ok? I can't really afford to just throw them away so I need to use them up somehow..

I'm now searching the internet in an attempt to find somewhere close by where I can get my ingredients so I can escape the nasty p&p.

Also thanks to stacey for being so helpful! I know I've been a bit of a pain but you've been great


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah if you feed some grains along side it would be a good improvement, they need to be switched over gradually anyway. Oats will give them a good energy source which they are lacking in from the nuggets, maybe some bran for fiber. Once you switch to the grain mix, you can freeze the nuggets and add a cup or two to each mix you make. 

If you have a ton of these nuggets you need to use up quickly. You could crush them down and bake them into little ratty cookies. The ingredients are a bit harsh to be a staple diet, but they would be a welcomed treat.


----------



## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

Ooo nugget cookies - I like this idea. They have whole oats added to their food at the moment, I'll try and add a couple more grains before I switch their diet completely so they can get used to it a bit. Might have to borrow some money from my partner! Luckily she has just got some leopard geckos so now understands my rat obsession a little better as she's just as bad with her new babies


----------



## ][stacey][ (Nov 4, 2007)

lol its ok u havent been a pain .. im just a bit useless at giving info on things sometimes because i do have a very bad memory  ema is and has been super helpful to me and so i always seem to turn to her when i have questions  so thanks ema.

and yeah some of those things i can get at the supermarket some not and i found there actually more expensive especially at like those health food shops omg double triple ect the price in there ouch


----------

