# Shunamite diet for rats



## Jun1or (Mar 11, 2011)

Hiya,

I know there are a few fancy rat breeders on here and I wondered if anyone uses the Shunamite diet? 

I've been looking into it and as I've found it a bit confusing, wondered whether someone could enlighten me?! lol.


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## Kare (Mar 9, 2010)

I use shunamite for my mice. 
Think of the whole as 10 cups worth (or jugs worth if you are making huge amounts.)

You pick a base (rabbit food preferably or rat food if you need to use it up) and that makes up about half, so 5 or even 6 cups worth
Pick a cereal, and that makes up most of the rest, so 3-4 cups worth
Then half a cup of good quality natural dog food, ie Burns or James wellbeloved etc
and half a cup of wholemeal pasta

I made up some last night, it contained...
5 cups of fruity Rabbit food off the list
4 cups of crunched down weetabix and porridge oats combined
half a cup of burns dog food (I have a nearby little pet store where I can buy it loose)
half a cup of dry pasta.

You should still be feeding fresh food some veg, herbs, fruit etc daily as well.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

The only person who uses the Shunamite diet is Alison of Shunamite rats.

If you're asking is there anyone who makes their own mix, then yes I do, but I tend not to stick to the ratio that forum folks _call_ the Shunamite diet (40% rabbit food, 40% cereals, 10% pasta, 10% dog food) as I find it's too high in cereals and pasta and makes for overweight rats.

Our diet is roughly 80% rabbit food, 10% cereals (shredded wheat, value rice crispies as they're lower sugar than branded, Ryvita) and 10% extras such as barley rings, wholewheat dog mixer (the kind with no meat in), extra flakes (barley at the moment), seaweed powder, seeds, herbs, dried veggies etc. We dont add dog food to ours at the moment, they get fresh protein as youngsters, adults tend to manage fine with veg protein from the rabbit food alone. In fact I know several breeders who only feed rabbit food and fresh extras.

There's more info on my website.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Jun1or said:


> Hiya,
> 
> I know there are a few fancy rat breeders on here and I wondered if anyone uses the Shunamite diet?
> 
> I've been looking into it and as I've found it a bit confusing, wondered whether someone could enlighten me?! lol.


I've got the "The Scuttling Gourmet" book, but as I live very close to Alison of Shunamite I just go and buy her ready mixed up food.

It's great because it has so much stuff added into it and I know that my boys are getting a well balanced diet, so I only need to add fresh food - and it's no more expensive (if not cheaper) than the rubbish rat mixes you buy in pet shops!


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## Jun1or (Mar 11, 2011)

Hiya,

Thanks so much for the replies. It now actually does make sense. I'm pretty sure I will be doing something along those lines for my rats when they arrive. Also I have been considering 'upgrading' the mice's feed and have been adding a few extras in from what I've read. I don't like to just buy off the shelf completely as surely they must benefit all round from variety.

Thankyou for taking the time to reply.


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

i found my rats are much healthier and less likey to get fat and less picky when i mix my own rather then buying off the shelf.

i use rabbit food around 40%. dried and fresh fruit 10% dog biscuits( science plan or eukanuba puppy) 30% and pasta 10% flaked maize 10%


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

30% dog food is too much. You might want to drop that down to about 5-10% max.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Sounds like too high a protein level, especially if it's puppy food and especially if the rats are fully grown.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

I dont add any dog food at all, at the moment, but when I did, it was around 5% of my mix at the most.

It really does depend on the quality of the food too, Science Plan may be expensive, but in their case it doesn't make it a good food (in fact, it's pretty average/low when you read the ingredients, you can get much better for cheaper).


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