Baby food diet?

[CassF]

My friend asked me this the other day and I wasn't too sure that answer but is it possible to give a rat a diet of mainly a variety of baby food (ie baby cereal, formula, that mush stuff that comes in like a thousand flavors, etc) and of course fresh veggies and fruit??

[scout]

It's not an ideal diet, by any means. If the rat is healthy, then it should be getting a diet of lab blocks with some fresh fruits and veggies. Only when a rat is unable to eat a solid diet do rat owners resort to baby foods.

[Kiwi_and_Mango]

I agree with scout, also if they were kepy on a puree/liquidized diet you would find their teeth would grow longer quicker, as they would have less hard substances to munch on. I'd rather eat solid things than liquid things as my main diet, Ratties probably would too, they can't really bite and chew baby food, it just involves licking. It would be best to stick to Lab Blocks, or Suebee diet, whichever you use.

[merlin7676]

Baby food does have it's uses though...it can be very good for giving meds to stubborn rats. And it works great for a treat. When I go the grocery store, I always pick up a jar for my boys and give them some during playtime..their favorite being turkey rice dinner    As soon as they hear the spoon clicking on the jar, they literally sprint  across the bed and jostle to get the good stuff

Shawn

[AneesasMuse]

I use it as a treat also...

Poodah does the cutest little dance, with loud bruxxing, on my shoulder while I prepare his oatmeal and raisins in the morning. Of course, he also does this dance when I cut up his dinner stuff too... chicken breast, veggies, fruit. I think it's a combination of him feeling special cuz he gets to "help" while the other ratties wait for me and/or he just loves to eat!   

[CassF]

Well her rat is really old and doesn't eat much and even when he does she says he has a hard time eating but when she gives him baby food he licks every inch of it from the bowl.

So feeding baby food is ok then? can someone reccomend which kinds she should give to ensure enough vitamins, etc are getting to her rat??

[Panda Phil]

 Has she tried other soft foods like wheat bread, squash, pears, and soy milk?

 I give my boys a jar about once a week as a treat and they love it. I generally go with the organic types with as many different ingredients as possible. Current fave is the Gerber Vegetable, Turkey and Barley.

[CassF]

Well I know she usually mixes organic soy milk and the baby food together and occassionally blends fresh fruit and veggies up into mush.

[scout]

I used to feed my old rats lab blocks that had been soaked in something tasty, like unsalted chicken broth or soy milk. The lab blocks have all the nutrition they need. Your friend can also supplement with a dab of nutrical or nutristat paste, available from any PetSmart.

[Roxy's Ratties]

I think my rats diet is pretty good.  It does include baby food, but not at all as a staple.  I feed a HUGE variety because that way they get a little of everything.  They do get a large amount of a high quality dog food, because they will NOT eat lab blocks.... at all.  I used to feed that, and I realized that they wouldn't touch it after I started adding in other things.  They get a mix of Suebee's diet (Oatmeal, cereal, rice puffs, etc.), dog food, baby food every few days, warm oatmeal or rice cereal every few days, fresh veggies and fruits, and a few treats like mashed potatoes, cooked veggies, peices of chicken, a salt-less cracker (like the oyster ones), and other treats.

Could your friend maybe put peices of other things in the baby food for taste?

[gem_max]

I give lighter coloured baby food as part of a brekkie if I have some leftover and if they look really crazy in the morning watching me prepare my breakfast (and I often dont like to share ), but I've found ones that are darker coloured or smell strongly give them the runs and they look bloated. I mainly keep a jar on hand if I'm coaxing them, or say when I was preparing their new cage and making a lot of scary noises. I found if I went and gave them a little bit every so often they didn't cower in the corner... they were still pretty new. So yeah I'd say mixing the baby food with something to add interest is great, anything to add excitement or distraction for an old rat, but just watch their poos. Vegetable casserole gave Beta a nasty bout of ratty IBS, even though it was all acceptable ingredients!

[CassF]

Apparantly her rat refuses to eat lab blocks even if soaked She buys Innova senior dog food and soaks it,he'll eat that but she's still worried he's not getting a proper diet? is there something she can get to complete the diet?

[Ligeia]

This page has a chart with reccomended daily allowances of the nutrients rats need.  If you check the labels on the baby food and try to get close to those numbers, you should be fine.

[Roxy's Ratties]

What about making her own baby food and using vitamin supplements?  The advice I was given was to make the baby food and freeze it in ice cube trays. 

That way, she knows what her rat is getting is good for him.

[Kati33]

Moose still eats lab blocks, but since she is smaller and had lost weight last time we were at the vets, every night she gets some baby food (ice cube size, since that's how I freeze it!) mixed with crushed lab blocks. I take a hammer to them first and then grind them up in a coffee grinder. Maybe she would go for that?

[DolciLady]

I'd choose baby food with meats in it if I was using it as a main course.  And for extra protein, I'd probably smush up a boiled egg  (the white is where most of the protein is, the yellow is where most of the fat/cholesterol is).  I'd also grind up lab blocks into a powder and put them in the baby food like Kati does.  Babyfood disguises a whole lot of stuff they normally turn their noses up at, I've found. 

Robin