What really is the best rat food?

[stitsy&codyPig]

Hi everyone I was wondering what the best food for pet rats is?

[stitsy&codyPig]

Does anyone know what the best rat food is?

[amfeider]

http://www.critterstore.com/ox-850.html this is oxbow ratit is probably the best.

[Slap Maxwell]

Oxbow Regal Rat is what I heave heard as being the best. But of course rats need fresh food, too. They need an omnivourous diet. (Meat and veggies/grains)

[stitsy&codyPig]

Thanks amfeider & slapmaxwell for the help! Slap what fresh foods do they need?

[Slap Maxwell]

http://members.tripod.com/~GreeneyeG...nutrition.html is a good nutrition page. They don't mention giving your pet rat a teaspoon or two of cat or dog food, or cooked chicken a few days a week.

[stitsy&codyPig]

Thanks slapmaxwell! So I should give him chicken and dog/cat food? If yes then do I give him dry dog food or caned? I always have both because I have 3 dogs and 3 cats.

[LuvMyPiggers]

I'm not Slap, but I think she meant dry because I believe canned can cause diaareha (I didn't spell that right did I?). I think Mazuri also makes rat food.. not sure of the quality though.

[stitsy&codyPig]

thank luvmypiggers!

[minnie]

Hi

I had bought Oxbow rat food for my boys & they didn't touch it, I had mixed it with a homemade rat food that I had gotten from I think thier group site is called Ratpalace.com, or theratpalace.com the food I make & got the receipe for is called Suebees, my rats love it & its much more healthier than feeding them store bought rat food. I wish they would have liked the Oxbow rat food because I had heard it was a very good food but they won't touch it. The Suebees mix does have some dry dog food called Nuto Lite in the receipe & they love that. I also give them a rice mixture as a treat every other morning called Cream of tweet, its really for birds but my rats love it & also every other day in the morning I give them cut up fresh fruits & veggies, fresh pea's seem to be a favorite, brocolli, carrots & apples

Rats make great pets, I love they way they greet me when I enter the room I have them in which is my office, sometimes they act like little puppies when thay come out to play
Two out of the 7 I have are not as people oriented but they come around eventually, & I can't cuddle with those 2 as much
But my other 5 they hang around on my shoulder, lap & like to be petted like a dog

I used to be groosed out by rats especially those tails but now I think they are wonderful

Minnie

[stitsy&codyPig]

I agree minnie they are awesome pets! I love my rat so much! He also rides on my shoulder and my head!

[Zenith Cherry]

I've never used Oxbow so I can't say whether it's good or not from experiance, but what I've found that my rats really like and that's worked for years is Paradise Found: Mouse and Rat. It has seeds, grains, corn and a bunch of varied food stuff and it's very low budget. I've tried a bunch of other pet store brands and this is the only one that they've truly liked. If you find one that your rats are crazy about, make sure and tell me so I can try it out.

[Ly&Pigs]

Since this thread has been dug up and replied to, I am going to respond to it now. The best diets aren't the common mixes for rats that you can find in the stores.

There are lab blocks such as Harlan Teklad which provide complete nutrition that are better than seed/nut mixes. There is Suebee's mix which supplemented with certain brands of dog foods such as Innova Senior that make good diets. Also you want to supplement with fresh veggies, occasional fruits, they can have dried fruits as well in moderation. Plus there are many other foods they can have.

I personally don't like the store bought mixes because I feel they don't provide complete nutrition. They tend to be full of nuts which are high in fats, corn products, seeds and other stuff.

Here is a link to Suebee's mix. ratsrule.com - suebee's rat diet
I use this myself along with the Harlan Teklad blocks, fresh veggies, fresh and dried fruits, cooked whole grain pastas and rice, a bit of meat 2-3 times per week (usually chicken, tuna or other fish)and other treats now and again. Other treats include cooked oatmeal, yogurt, dark chocolate M&M's, bits of bread soaked in olive oil, and bits of things off my dinner plate from time to time (healthy things).

[Piggersrule]

That was some great information LY. I will be fostering 3 ratties, I pick them up on Sunday. I used to have rats years ago and I am so excited about getting these 3 males.I could use all the diet information I can get. One of the males is very obese and needs to be put on a diet. LY, what would you reccommend for a diet change? From what I understand, the rats are being fed quite a bit of nuts and seed mixes. I intend to stop feeding the nuts and seeds and feed more fresh foods like veggies. I am going to provide him with floor time for more excercise. Any help would be appreciated.

[Ly&Pigs]

I would go with what I mentioned above. It's an overall healthy diet. If you'd like to try the Harlan Teklad blocks, I have about 14lbs.+ of them and can sell you some to try if you'd like. $1 a pound + shipping costs. That's the price I payed for them. Just pm me if you are interested. I have way more than I can use.

I'd definately get all of them off of the store bought mix stuff.

My girls get "bedtime" instead of floortime. I take everything off the bed then toss them on the bed with some pvc pipes, a balled up sheet and kleenex boxes, etc. They have a ball on my bed every night for about an hour or so. They won't jump off and it's so much fun to sit on the bed with them and play. We have rattie wrestling, rattie tosses and just overall good fun.

[suzilovespiggie]

I so miss my rats! They are the best little creatures. I used Rats Rule all the time and fed them suebees diet along with all that Ly has said. My daughter and I cheated abit though. They loved cheetos, popcorn, and fortune cookies. Those were fed in moderation, but Curly, our skinny, would do anything for a cheeto!
Piggersrule, is the cage you have for the fosters more than one story? Rats will climb and go up and down ladders. They love to explore. I have a 4 story rat condo and my rats were all over, up and down, sideways in it. That too gives them exercise. Getting them on a good diet will help also. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Ly&Pigs]

My ratties cage sits next to my computer desk. We don't eat dinner at th