Goosemoose Pet Portal

My girls just turned 4 months old, and it's time to buy new food. Regal Rat had said not to feed until 4 months old, and Mazuri just recently got stocked where we shop.
I just want to know, in this boards opinion, which is the better of the two foods.
Please don't suggest something else, as these are the ones available where I am, and while I give lots of wholesome and nutricious snacks (Kale, peas, grapes, etc.), I prefer having an 'all in one' feed instead of a mix like Suebee's. 
I know both Mazuri and Regal have been reccomended to others as good foods, but I'd like to know which one people like best.

Thankz!

I've seen too many reports of the Oxbow being rejected by the rats.  I'd feed Mazuri.  I'll leave my personal opinion on Oxbow out of this.

It really comes down to which one your rat prefers.  I'd probably try Mazuri first, but it's a personal choice.  If you do a search, you'll find many threads regarding both foods.  There's probably one on this front page, if not, then on page 2.

Oxbow is the highest quality, but some rats lose weight on it so you should supplement with Suebee's or something else.  Mazuri has some really terrible ingredients, I would never feed it.

My crew love their Oxbow... I certainly wouldn't supplement with a suebees mix cause the rats will load up on the bad stuff first and leave the good quality pellets for last and my not even eat it at all and simply wait for more grain mix which is very lacking in nutrients.
In my personal opinion... and going by ingredients as well as protein and fat levels, Oxbow is far superior to Mazuri.

I second scubbs and jorats.

I agree that Oxbow is superior in regard to nutrition. My old rats loved it to start and slowed down eating it later on. The reason being, I'm sure, that they crave variety. I now feed Suebee's grain mix and harlan teklad blocks, however when they run out, I think I'll be switching back to Oxbow.

In the small amount of research I've done, I've learned there's a possible link between a high amount of corn in the diet and cancer in rats. Because of this I hate feeding any food with "ground corn meal" or other corn ingredients, and most blocks have this as the first or second ingredient. Oxbow has no corn in it and does have soybean ingredients. Oxbow also has less fat and less protein than Mazuri.

I trust Oxbow. I feed my rabbit and guinea pig Oxbow pellets and hay, also. I've never had an issue with quality. I'd recommend it.

I recommend OXbow for rabbits and guinea pigs, but I am one of the ones that tell rat people to avoid it my experience was so bad.

I personally would go for the Mazuri hands down.

I'm also one who does not trust anything with corn in it. It's nothing but a filler. I've also heard reports in the news about how bad corn can be for people as well.
I wouldn't be surprised one bit if corn can cause cancer in rats.

My rats absolutely HATED Regal Rat and wouldn't eat it.  So I bought Mazuri from Petsmart and have had better luck with that.  I also include some of the Suebee mix too, and give them fresh vegetables, fruit, baby food, baby cereal and other healthy yummies for variety.

Deb

I would try Regal Rat over Mazuri.  :)

I tried Oxbow. My rats hated it. Absolutely refused to touch the stuff. When I initially bought it, they ate it. But a week or so after that...they wouldn't touch the stuff. I switched to Mazuri, and that's what they've been on for a while now.

This is when I get confused. If they hate it that much to totally refuse it, why does it take a week for them to stop eating it?

Yeah. That confused me too.
Like they ate it, and I was like "Yay", and then they stopped eating it and refused to touch the stuff.

There must be a lot of rats out there that like it though, or learn to like it, otherwise they would surely pull it off the market. Supply and demand.

Before we jump up and down on the corn issue.

Soy itself isn't the best either.  There is enough evidence out there that it may cause cancer also.

So, no, no food is perfect.  If your rats eat the food and do well on it, feed the lab block of your choice. 

Actually someone posted on here in the past that the company is aware of the problems and is looking at reformulating it??

My rats thought it was candy at first.... then after a couple of months it was a disaster they had lost weight and were very unhealthy.

It's news to me.  :)

Well, if you look at organic dog foods like Karma, which contain no corn, wheat, or soy, then yes, you cna actually call that a perfect rat food. I personally wouldn't feed my rats mazuri or oxbow. Any lab block is crap in my eyes

But that dog food isn't a complete diet for ratties is it?

Well, dog food isn't a complete diet either.  So, it's not perfect. 

Pet food can be a scary thing.. especially with meat ingredients. The downer cows that are unfit for human consumption end up in most pet food, along with scraps. I was talking to someone today who visited their friend's farm a few years back and saw a dead cow out in the field in 100 degree heat. She asked hours later what they planned to do with it. They said they sell them to the pet food companies and there would be a truck to pick it up later that day or the next.. at this point there were flies all over the thing and who knows what killed it in the first place. The rationalization behind it was that the pet food meats are cooked at such high temperatures, it's virtually supposed to kill anything that may be harmful.. but does that make me feel comfortable feeding it to my pet? No.

It seems with food (pet and human) it's a matter of picking the seemingly least harmful (which is ridiculous).

 However as far as rats eating Oxbow for a while then not touching it, I think part of that is that they crave variety. They get bored with the same old thing. And I've noticed this with EVERY block or dog food I've tried. Also, I think many people think their rats aren't eating enough if they slow down on blocks, but the fact is they are 1lb animals that don't require tons of food a day and when they are eating such a concentrated, balanced diet, they shouldn't NEED to eat a lot daily. MOST rats, especially males, are overweight. They overeat. The most fit male rat I've ever seen eats exclusively Oxbow. He's also healthy at 3 or 4 years of age. I don't agree with feeding just one thing because I feel it does a lot mentally for a rat to forage and have a variety, but the fact is they tend to go more for the junky things, just like people. They don't always WANT to eat what's best for them...

My rats have been eating Harlan now for.... about a year, and they eat it with the same gusto they began with.  They get 95 -97% their staple block, they do not get a mix of any kind, just occassional table scraps.  So I dunno, but I just don't think that is the reason they stopped eating the Oxbow and lost an unhealthy amount of weight.

well i didn't say it was a complete diet. I use this dog food in a mix.
I don't feed my rats anything I myself wouldn't eat. I loot at the ingredients in lab blocks and any food formulated for rats and say pretty much yuck, I would never eat that. I look at the ingredients for foods like Karma and Timberwolf, and it's all stuff I could actually eat if I wanted to without barfing. And I've actually been tempted with Timberwolf because it smells really good. I want my babies to eat the best and healthiest diet, something they'll enjoy.

I have harlan now. My rats thought it was great when they first saw it, but now eat very little of it if it's all that's left in the cage... And that's the exact same behavior I saw with another set of rats I had when I was feeding Oxbow. I don't know why some people claim their rats have unhealthy weight loss on Oxbow... not that I don't believe it, just that it seems very strange considering it's a balanced diet and I've seen many rats that did very well on it. I don't know why certain rats would like it to start and then stop eating it well and lose a bunch of weight. I question how unhealthy the weight loss is though, having not seen it for myself I can't say anything for it either way.. but I know from experience working in an animal hospital how many people think their dogs are too skinny when they're perfect and perfect when they're overweight. I chalk it up to the fact that MOST dogs are overweight, and that's what people see as the norm. And I can see how easily that would apply to rats as well. Only my two young boys are a good weight right now, two others are slightly overweight, and my biggest boy (who people would call a "squish" and see as a "normal" male rat, is OBESE.)

If these rats losing weight lost it gradually then plateaued and maintained, then that's not unhealthy. If they continued to lose and their back bones became too easily palpable and their ribs had no fat cover, then yeah, this would be unhealthy... but I have never seen this with a rat who wasn't wasting due to disease.

A healthy rat should LOOK leaner than most ANY pet rat I see on a regular basis looks, they should have a SLIGHT fat cover over there ribs, padding over the back, and their stomach SHOULDN'T protrude out on the sides or underneath. Again.. just saying, it seems most rats are overweight, so I do question whether the weight loss people are seeing is unhealthy or if their rats are finally becoming fit.

I am a registered veterinary technician myself, and trust me I know an unhealthy animal vs. a healthy lean animal with a perfect bcs.

My rat had lost 50 grams from her ideal weight on Oxbow Regal Rat.

I always tell people to use what works for their animal, but with any new food keep a close eye and especially with the Oxbow.

Hahaha! after reading all of this it makes me glad I went organic. It's a little more expensive but I live in Ohio and you can find it affordable there. I wish there was organic rat food to feed. I was feeding organic cat food to my cat but can't find an alternative for rats anywhere.  >:(

Well, this thread was started for a full, complete diet that you don't have to add a mix to.  So, you have to feed lab blocks then.  Harlan, Mazuri or Oxbow are your best of the 3.  Mine didn't do well on Harlan (2014), and I've not fed Oxbow.  A part of me is wondering if while yes, low protein is best, if that 14% may be just a touch too low.  Is Mazuri on the high side - certainly.  But, it remains the easiest to find in most places and it's an acceptable lab block.

Mine are on dog food (solid gold) and Suebee's.  I've got males who are over 2 lbs.  I've got females who are .5 lbs.  They are all healthy.  My only "fat" rats are the Smeezies who were eating a seed based diet.  My 2.5 lb males are HUGE - they are long, stocky built rats.  They are at a BCS of a 4-5/9.  Nothing wrong with them.  The same way the girl who is .5 lbs is TINY, she's the size of a teenaged rat and isn't getting bigger.  I don't call most of my rats squishies - they don't have "moobs" on the boys, and when I do the disrespect dangle pose, they don't get huge fat rolls going on.  The Smeezies are smooshy squishes.  By now, nothing much is going to change that I don't think.

Oxbow Regal Rat ... but try them on a small bag.

But the best is Harlan ... strongly suggest Harlan 2014 (or 2016 if you can't get the 2014) ... although you do have to order it from places such as Kim's Ark.  The best food for rats plus they love it!!!

I would never use a mix for reasons already stated by jorats.

Great that you are supplimenting with daily vegs and fruit. 
I do that too.

I've tried to 2018 Harlan ( I think that's the formula) My rats did well on this but after I ran out of that I tried what Kim's ark marked "The Best" Harlan. My rats ate it but then they lost a lot of weight their raisins were mushy and after that bag I've had to feed Suebee's and Mazuri. Or basically anything I could get my hands on. I would have ordered 2018 again, but San Diego is having trouble/communication problems. I ordered a big ole 40 lb bag of Oxbow yesterday. They've never had it before so I think I just took a 60 dollar leap of faith here.  :yelcutelaugh: I find anything you have to buy 3lb bags of in the pet store a pain and a hassle, an expensive hassle. I have 13 rats and they go through that 3lb bag in less then 3 days.  :-\  I can't wait to try oxbow. But it seems as if there are mixed emotions on whether it's good enough for a good demographic portion of it's consumers.


I think it's best determined which is best by the individual rat, as they are all different in their own ways. It should be compensated for either way it goes, if they like the food or not.

I have my rats on an organic diet as well, and they love it. I agrre, they should make an organic rat food. Most likely they never will though.
What kind of organic diet do you have your rats on?

Yes, please do, enlighten us.  :poke:
I'm all ears... I mean eyes. LOL