Goosemoose Pet Portal

Someone had mentioned a good dog food (for rats) that was in a green sparkly bag.  I can't for the life of me remember what kind it was..... help.

Solid Gold. ;)

Yeah, that's it!!!  I could picture the bag in my mind's eye but I just could NOT remember the brand.  LOL  Most people feed the "Holistic" version of it.

Deb

Solid Gold Holistique Blendz -- it's the one I use. ;D

While it's the subject, has anyone noticed greasy spots accompanied by thinning hair on their rats since starting this food? One of mine has always had sensitivities but now another one developed it and another is starting to thin and get oily as well. They are not overgrooming either. Perhaps it's the fish meal in it? I'm at a loss. The other 2 have never had issues but it seems to be related to diet in Shakespere. I'd love to switch to Pet Guard but cannot find it around here and cannot manage to feed it to 5 rats and 3 mice at the moment. Maybe when I have 1 or 2 rats left and the mice but it's too darn expensive!

I've been feeding two varieties of high quality dog foods with my mix for the past few months. Solid Gold Holistique Blendz is one of the 'staples', while I switch out the second variety (Canidae, Chicken Soup, Innova). I really like the SG and am definitely seeing the benefits. I thought that I would see additional pros/cons to feeding this mix once I started raising litters on it. Well, I've recently had my first litter where the mother had been fed this mix and now they will be eating it as well. They are nice sized pups, best I've seen in awhile and the mother is doing great too. With her first litter she experienced some weightloss during the last bit of her nursing but this time she is just as 'fit' as before she was bred. Loving it!

 My males have matured better on this than males I've had previously. I've not noticed any fur or skin problems, Heather? They are definitely not oily.. just smooth and soft coats.

 At this point I am seeing more pros than cons to feeding SG along with my mix, along with an alternate dog food. The only con is that I have to continuously make up new batches of mix every few weeks vs plopping block out of a bag into a bowl. Oh woe is me ;)  :thumbsup2:

-Melina

Is dog food better than the Harlan blocks? I feed my dogs Solid Gold but ordered the blocks from the internet thinking it was better for them. If you feed dog food what else do you put in it. My guys are getting the blocks, Sue Bees mix, and fresh fruit and veggies right now.

i have a question about my rat food. i dont no alot about rats, ive only had my 2 baby boys for 3 days now. from the pet store the gal suggested (and i bought) kaytee forti-diet, it says for mice, rats, & hamsters. is this food okay? should i use something else?
thanks alot!!

Connor

Kaytee = worst choice ever. I wouldn't mulch my garden with it. In my experience, most of the pet store employees don't know any more than the fact that the word "rat" is on the bag.

The Harlan blocks are more complete, and if you feed them, you don't actually need anything else. If you choose to use dog food, you must also supplement with other things, such as a mix similar to mine. Fresh foods are always good, no matter what diet they are on. ;D

well im going to try to get some "real" rat food ahha as SOON as possible, cause i dont want my ratties unhealthy.
thanks!

Connor

Connor13 -- - You can order Harlan Teklad (aka "HT" on this forum) through certain rescues like Kim's Ark. If you find that ordering online is too much of a hassle (you'd need to have a Paypal account set up), you can get Mazuri rat food from PetsMart.  It's not as good as HT, but it's *far* superior to the Kaytee Forti-diet stuff the pet store sold you.

Just an idea of what I feed to my boys--> Every day: HT 2018, Kashi 7 grain puff cereal, Total flakes, whole grain tri-color rotini pasta, fresh fruits and veggies (every other day), occasional cooked chicken, tuna fish, or hard-boiled egg.  I also give them some dog kibble from time to time (Nutro Lite).

When fed with a good quality grain mix, dog food is MUCH better than lab blocks. ALL lab blocks (including Teklad) are chock full of fillers and not very good ingredients.

diabolique- thanks! okay so i have a paypal account so ill try to order some cause the nearest petsmart is over 300 miles from where i live  :puppy_dog_eyes:  so till then i should just feed them stuff like what u feed ur boys! thanks

People have varying opinions on the quality of different lab blocks vs. high quality dog foods. The dog food being discussed in this thread is *excellent* if you can get it.  If you would like, I can sell you a couple pounds of HT to get you started and then you can use that with some of the ingredients I mentioned above.  You can go to your local grocery store and buy rolled oats, Total flakes, Kashi puffed grain cereal, and tri-color pasta. If you mix those ingredients with a good lab block or high-quality dog food, and offer fresh fruits and veggies every other day or so, your ratties will be getting a good diet.

i would rather buy the dog food diabolique, cause i have  no local petsmart or petco. buying the dog food is the most hassle free. if i was to buy and use solid gold, then what other mix would i have to include?? your mix? or a different one?
thanks!

Connor

If you use the Solid Gold dog food and the other ingredients I listed, they should be in good shape. If you do a search on the forum (or even Google) Suebee's Mix, you'll see other ingredients that you can use in your mix. The dog food would be fed as the staple diet, and then you'd supplement that with the other mix ingredients and fresh fruits and veggies.

so if i was to mix solid gold with your mix, what ratio approx? 1/2, 1 mix 3 solid gold?
thanks again

Connor

I just bought a bag of Wellness Core - Reduced fat....no corn, by-products, grains, ect. It looks like great food. I made up a new mix tonight and added it in.

I was using SG Holistique, but now the bag is finally gone and I wanted to try something different. I was happy with it, but the Wellness looks much better to me.

I generally use half and half.

okay suebee I'll try to do that pretty quick so my poor little ratties dont have to eat kaytee anymore  :confused:

Connor

And I'm sure this has been stated somewhere, but where have people found the "Solid Gold" at?  Are there any "chain" places that sell it?  I've not heard of it... :wave2:

I have to buy it at the local Natural Foods store. Not a chain. I haven't seen it in PetsMart (the only thing I buy there is bedding, honestly), and I don't do Petco, so I have no idea what they sell.

You can try this:

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/stores/

I just tried it for me, with a 10-mile radius... one Petco in the area came up, but not the one closest to me. Weird. Two other small stores in my area also came up, in addition to the store I shop.

Hey, thanks!  My local petco here (Peoria, IL) has it!  Only one 15 lb bag left for $28.99; I think I'll go get it and try it on my RATS AND DOGS!  :yelcutelaugh:

Is that a decent price? 

Hope they like it! 

I don't usually buy that big a bag! LOL! I did once, because the smaller bag was out of stock, but I don't recall what I paid for it.

I've gotten it at a store called "Pet Supplies Plus".

Deb

i hope they have it at either my local overwaiti or extra foods.  :laugh:

Did you try the link I gave above to find a store near you?

Thanks for the link, Suebee! I found that there is a grooming place .3 miles from me that carries the Solid Gold, and another small shop about 2 miles from me that has it. My boys have been getting HT 2018 and sometimes a bit of Nutro Lite dog kibble, but I'm always looking for more variety in their diet. Thanks!

closest to me is 30 miles..

I'm feeding 7 rats on the organic veg PetGuard, five of whom are big boys.
Can we say $$$ouch$$$.

It's such good food, though!
I just keep telling myself I'm probably saving money on vet visits. ;)

Melissa

Can you find PetGuard in Canada?

 I get my Solid Gold at Pet Supplies Plus. The shop is right near my workplace, otherwise it'd be an extra 25 mile drive just for SG! I know other stores near here sell it, but I've found the best price ($27 for 15lbs) at PSP.

-Melina