# Yet another Mazuri rodent food topic



## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Sorry if this has been mentioned before in any of the other Mazuri rodent food topics about the protein content. In the 5663 version of the food it has 23% protein, which most would agree that is too much. However, "protein" is pretty vague. There's different kinds of proteins out there, from animals and plants. The first ingredient of Mazuri is Soybean meal. Soy definitely has protein and I can imagine that kind of protein would be much healthier for them than protein from animals. In the other kinds that have less protein, the main ingredient is corn. Isn't soy generally healthier than corn?
Also, this is off-topic but the harlan website got me thinking...
http://www.harlan.com/products_and_..._models_by_product_type/mutant_rats/zucker.hl
Does Mazuri produce mutated/inbred lab rats and mice for scientific research like harlan does, or are they strictly part of the animal food industry?


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

Sorry if my questions weren't clear.

Is protein from plants healthier for rats than protein from animals, or does it need to be avoided no matter which kind it is?
Is soy healthier for rats than corn?


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

As far as I know either is acceptable, but obviously too much meats will add too much protein. Rats are omnivores so some meat is perfectly natural for them. I give them vegetarian lab blocks but occasionally give them some chicken. They can not have meat fat though as they have no gall bladders.

I believe soy is healthier, but corn isn't particularly unhealthy (so long as its not dried kernels which can have fungus) it just doesn't add much in the way of nutrition. Harlan has soy in their ingredients as well.

If you choose to go with Mazuri, go with the 6F breeder kind, as that has lower protein.

Mazuri does not participate in any research that I know of.

Another thing people like about Harlan is that their ingredient list is accurate, the percentages don't change. With other brands, they can change the proportion and don't have to change the label, which makes people uncomfortable.

I use harlan but I totally understand boycotting them if you find a suitable alternative.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

I know both meat and plant proteins are fine... but the point to where they become too much might be different. I'm wondering if rats can better tolerate high protein levels if it came from plants instead of meat.
Thank you very much for the tidbit on animal fat. But the main ingredient of Mazuri 6f is corn, and fourth on the ingredient list is "porcine animal fat preserved with BHA" whereas with the 5663 version, soybean meal is the first ingredient, and there actually isn't any animal fat in it at all. I know this is a very narrow view of the ingredient list, but I would rather have some idea of what is in my rats' food rather than looking at just the protein content....


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

mazuri formulas also contain animal (fish) meals which are preserved with potentially carcinogenic ingredients. that's one reason i've switched to harlan  also, on nutrition labels, usually the protein content is only the minimum percentage.. it could be much higher in a different batch of food. you have to be careful with that one.

it's not that corn is an entirely bad ingredient... in ground/powdered forms in blocks it is much easier for rats to digest than feeding whole kernels in seed mixes and such, and is much less prone to growing mold and toxins like whole kernels. it is kind of a filler ingredient, but so is soybean meal lol. it's still kind of controversial and in the air about whether or not processed soy food is good or bad, so i personally prefer to stick to the corn based stuff. or oxbow regal rat, which doesn't have much of either (though suffers the same fish meal preservative issue) and most rats don't like the taste of it.


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

Protein is the main source of essential amino acids. This is why the type of protein is important: some amino acids are found in some protein sources but not others. This is also why a variety is good - to ensure all essential needs are being met. Too much of either protein is going to be bad, and I really doubt a rat can tolerate more of one over the other. Protein is still processed similarly, no matter what the source, its just the building blocks of that protein may be different.


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