Rat Food

[Hales80]

What does everyone feed their rats? I want to give my babies the best nutrition possible, so im interested in what everyone else feeds their rats? Most of the American sites talk about some sort of block food, do we have the equivalent here?

Regards
Hales

[theratpatch]

the "block food" you are referring to is what we here call "lab Blocks/Cubes" and is our equivalent to American rat block food.

Our ratties have a home made dry mix available to them at all times which is made up of Large Wild Bird Mix, Dog Kibble/Lab Blocks, various Breakfast Cereals, Rolled Oats, Processed Bran, Wholemeal/White Pasta, Water Crackers and other Biscuits. Our mums and bubs receive a very similar dry food mix although theirs is higher in protein and I use smaller pieces in the mix as much as I can since bubs are smaller. The main difference in the babies mix is the addition of kitten biscuits. Most nights they receive a separate dinner along side their seed mix. This can be anything from wholemeal bread/rolls, cooked rice or pasta or cous cous with added vegetables, scrambled egg, baby food/cereals made with soy milk, porridge, tuna and other tinned fish, 3-4 bean mix, fresh fruit, tinned cat or dog food. They also get other random food depending on what is in the house at the time...THey are fed better than me, lol (as I'm sure lots of our rattie friends do) ;D They get trats of mini choc drops and mini marshmellows

[Leeann]

Hi Hales, Welcome to the forum.

I make my own mix for mine, based on one called 'The Shumanite Diet' which was originally made by a rattery person in England.

I have pm you the link to it.

Leeann

[Hales80]

Hey there guys, thank you for your replies. Just another few quick questions. What brand of dog food do you feed, should it be the low fat varieties or puppy/kitten as my babies are only 7 weeks old? Is it better to feed biscuts or wet food? Also where do I get these lab blocks from?

Thank you
Hales

[theratpatch]

My adults get fed Science Diet Senior 7+ dog biscuit in their dry food mix

My lactating mums and bubs get fed Royal Cannin Baby Kitten biscuits, I have never had any problems with the protien content being pretty high although I am sure some people feel more comfortable feeding puppy biscuits instead

I do also occasionally feed my bubs and mums wet puppy or cat food

As for where to get Lab Blocks from- some petshops will sell them or order them in for you, otherwise pet produce shops should have them ;D

[Hales80]

I have a 7 year old maltese who eats mature dog biscuts, just put some in for the ratties and they have been an instant hit!! Im slowly building up their food, so my next shopping adventure should be fun!!

Ta
Hales

[Australian Rat Forum]

For those people not sure of what people are talking about when they talk of Lab Blocks or Rat Cubes here are some photos to help you understand.

[ashana]

Ok, so i am not the only one that spoils their rats with great foods and some bad treats.
We feed them a mix of parrot seed mix, weetbix, cashew nuts, oats. Plus they get apple, peas, corn etc when i am cooking i find little bits.
Then they get their treats of nutra grain, milo cereal, twisties etc.

I don't like the rat cubes as they tend to be avoided when rats get lots of healthy, fresh foods
Aimee

[erynne]

I feed my boys a Rat & Mouse mix I found in Woolworths. It's called Peter's Rat Mouse Mix (funnily enough). It's got quite a fair few seeds in it, sunflower and the like but they seem to like it. I also give them a lot of veggies, they love tomato and snow peas
I'll probably be changing their diet very soon now that I know more about them and what they like.
Any ideas on the bestest thing to feed them that's readily available??

[Gothic Shadows]

I prefer home made dry mix for rats because you know whats in it and it can be more filling.

The generic “rodent mixes” containing grains and seeds sold in pet shops and food shops do not even come close to providing all the nutrition rats need.

Of course rats, like people, are omnivorous which means they eat both plants and animals.

A human diet is much better for them than anything else.

So basically meat, fish, chicken, vegetables (both fresh and cooked), fruit, nuts, eggs, soy products, a little bit of dairy (such as yogurt), cooked pasta and rice, basically just about anything you eat you can give to your rats and it will be much better for them than anything else.

Also feeding healthy treats to your rats can help create a stronger bond between you. But if you give your rats a treat every time you see him, they might start grabbing your fingers even if you don’t have food.

Tell your rats when you have food by saying “treat” first. That way they will know when you have food, and when you just want to play.

Dont give them anything as a treat that they will normally have as its not really a treat then. So use things like a drop of yogurt as a treat or blueberries or something else that you wont be giving them every day.

[wart]

My boys are strange - they LOVE their lab/rodent/rat/whatever blocks
They also get 'Hygrain - Track Torque horse feed' as their dry food, and I usually put some dog biscuits/stale weetbix/stale breakfast cereals/pasta/anything else I might have in the cupboard in there as well.

I also buy a cheap block loaf of bread ($1) and place it in their cage - which lasts them 4-7 days. They usually nibble at it - though the other night they got creative and excavated the insides and made themselves a new home

THEN, they'll get breakfast and dinner What they get depends on
1. What I feel like preparing
2. What I am having for dinner
3. What I have in the cupboard

So things they get include:
babyfood (they don't seem overly fond of the sweeter types),
yoghurt (both soy and normal),
cream cheese (just a dollop on the end of my finger/per rat),
vegetable/fruit off cuts from breakfast/dinner (pumpkin, rockmelon, honeydew melon, apple, zucchini, cucumber, capsicum etc),
avocado (occasionally)
oriental/asian vegetables (really easy to grow ,
corn,
soy milk (which they love).

I'm sure they get some other things, but thats just off the top of my head.

My boys aren't too fussed on sweet foods, they tend to like the savoury ones the best
My brother's boys go one further. Their favourite food?
Rice crackers!

They prize these above all else, including avocado

Zoe

[rach]

I have tried the seed mixes from supermarkets and my boys always left some so I began looking into other mixes. I found one online called Suebees and is basically cereals, dried pasta, dried fruit and dog biscuits. They love it and now there are no more left overs
They get a treats to I have a stash of yoghurt drops, peanuts, cheese flavoured rat treats, and seed bars! They are in rattie heaven then!

[Leeann]

Suebees' is the american version of The Sumanite Diet which is from someone in england.

But if your stuck for a dry mix until you can work out a home made one, then probably the Peters Nibble'N'Gnaw is one of the better ones to use. It has less grains in it than the other ones supposedly for rats too.
It can be purchased from Pets at Home in Narre Warren about $8 for a kilo bag, also available at BigW stores too.

[littleraton]

I started my rats off on the dry pet food that the store gave me when I first purchased my first ratty. However, I soon discovered it really wasn't very nutritious at all. Lab blocks are okay, and I usually have a hanging container in our cage with a few of the cylindrical chicken and rice flavoured blocks. I also usually have a mixture of other foods though.

My advice would be to find a really extensive pet store (ideally one solely for small animals or else an actual rattery), and buy one of the small bag of mixtures and try it out with your rats. I find it's always good to vary the mixtures, so next time you run out, try a different type. At the moment I am using a mix called 'mouse and rat feast - meat lovers' - it contains seeds (but do make sure not too many as they can be very fattening for your rats!), lentils, various bits of dry food meats, etc, oatmeal bits, and dried vegetable bits.

It's also always nice for your rats if you give them bits of fruit and your own human food (though make sure it isn't bad for them first - milk, cabbage, onion, chocolate, etc).

As a treat you might want to buy them a bit of mince meat or tofu (my rats actually love tofy - I'm vegetarian).

If you really want the best nutrition possible though, there are also food mixes at most large pet stores that offer added vitamins and minerals for your rats.

Hope this helped and hello to your rats!

little raton

[matttherat]

lab cubes dayly and fruit and veg twice a week ,
i stay away from cat and dog biscuits because the food dies thay use can build up over time in the rats liver.