Goosemoose Pet Portal

hey as some of you know i only got my babies last nite.. i was thinkin for their dinner tonight about giving them some rat mix, grilled chicken fillet and boiled rice with a hard boiled egg without shell. then a couple of grapes each. they are 9 weeks old.. is this ok??

That sounds like a LOT of food for such young rats...

Even when I give my adult males grapes as a treat, they get about half a grape each.

When you say "rat mix", what do you mean?

I'm guessing Suebee's,or rat Blocks or something?

And yeah,that's quite a load of food,my girls are 3 years old,and they can't eat that much..

its called reggie rat mix but i dont think they really like it that much so im going to change it this week.. do u think i should limit it to the rice maybe a spoonfull and a small bit of chicken each and half a grape each??

sorry if its a little stupid, am just a new rat mammy and want them to have the best of it... :BlueDumboSmile:

If it's a mix with seeds and corn and stuff, get them off that right away...that's the worst possible food for rats.  You need to get a good quality lab block.  You can buy Mazuri from Petsmart, or (even better) order Harlan Teklad (get the 2018) from Kim's Ark online.  With a good lab block, you don't need to give them so many "treats", and giving them chicken every day may actually be too much protein.   A little bit of fresh veggies and fruit is plenty every day.

Reggie Rat isn't the greatest diet, IMHO.   The above suggestions (Mazuri or Harlan Teklad)  for basic diet mix are good ones. 

The basic diet should be about 75% mix (blocks) and then add in grains (like whole grain rice/ cereal mixes like "Suebee's Mix") and fresh veggies and sparing fruits (1 inch square or less portions)   to round out the diet.  Your rat can certainly have little bites of chicken (again small pieces) with their meals.   My large rats do get a whole grape each if the fruit du jour is grapes.    (  Little ones, half a grape. )

White rice is a starch that's high on the glycemic index (a simple carbohydrate) but whole grain or brown rice, quinoa, pilaf -- can make a nice add-on treat.

You can try different veggies, fruits and whole-foods like fish or little scraps of egg, etc  for variety -- but keep the main portion of their daily diet formulated foods as you start out.

 :rattysmiley:

IMHO, I think it should be more like 50% lab blocks, 25% Suebees, and 25% fresh ingredients.

The more fresh food the better, as long as they are getting balanced fresh foods.

I've heard alot of people saying seed mixes are bad, but I was just wondering why?

(oh boy, I just went to take a look to see if my mix had dried corn in it, and I turned on the light and interrupted some sleepy time... I've never been glared at with so much force, :eek:)

I feed a lab block as the main part of their diet, but I also give my rats a handful of this mix about every second day/every day and a 1/2 (a small handful between the two of them... i have small hands...). (and yes they get lots of veggies too).

Seed mixes are like junk food for rats.  It's like us eating french fries and potato chips.  They sure like it, but it doesn't help them stay healthy at all.  Plus, the dried corn in those mixes can harbor a fungus that can make your rats sick.

Store-bought seed mixes, despite the various companies' best intentions, are not nutritionally appropriate for rats. They are too fatty, too high in protein, and often contain ingredients that rats can't even digest -- such as alfalfa. Not only is it a nutritional waste for your pets, it is also a financial waste. This is why many people who wish to offer variety make their own mixes out of healthier, human-grade ingredients. :)

My mix recipe (combined with a high quality dog food) is just one of them... there are many variations: http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html

That said, lab blocks are nutritionally complete, and the best option.

My post was a little unclear -- I've typed this in a better way in other threads  :doh:  but my "75%" includes mixes like Suebee's or other dry grain along w/ blocks. -- So yes, you're right.  Though I do fruits and veggies as about 20-25%.   And more veggies than fruits. 

And yes --most seed mixes are just stale, bottom-of-the-barrel quality (usually) and not very nutritious. Rats especially tend to pick and choose from them what they like (the fatty seeds) and leave the other 'nutritious' bits behind.

Some seed mixes are fine and can be used as a "sprinkle" to the regular diet. That's what I do with them. Like a topping.

Alright, so it's not like I should just throw it out. I'll pick out the corn, and serve the seed mix as a "topping"... should last a while. And I won't buy anymore. Why pay for something like that when my parents have plenty of veggies in the fridge :BlueDumboSmile: