# mouse pellet food



## Pastelballpython (Aug 8, 2008)

hi am looking for mouse pellet food but carnt find it any i have got a pic but dont no how to post it on here i were woundering if it the breeders layers pellets thats for chikhens


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## Mischievous_Mark (Mar 16, 2008)

Pastelballpython said:


> hi am looking for mouse pellet food but carnt find it any i have got a pic but dont no how to post it on here i were woundering if it the breeders layers pellets thats for chikhens


Well now im confused


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## Pastelballpython (Aug 8, 2008)

*pellets for rodents*

heres the picture


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

Personally, I wouldn't use any pelleted food. It'd be very boring and I know I'd get sick of eating the same thing day in and day out. A nice mix full of oats and cereals is the way to go.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

That OP was umm....yeah anyway..:lol2: I dont quite know what you are after but I will try my best answer what I think you are asking.

Mouse blocks/pellets: online
Pig pellets: farm shop
Chicken layers pellets can be used: farm shop

I agree though, a mix of foods is definitly better.


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## amandy (Jan 11, 2008)

The pic looks like pig pellets, I mix my own with a few pig pellets they are always last to go.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Argo do rat and mouse pellets, about £12 per sack. Having said that, good luck finding them online!:lol2:

I also would recommend a mix though, but the pellets make nice treats or part of the mix.


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

do you feed that to pet rats?


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

Rats should also be fed on a good quality mix... Pellets are boring and for intelligent creatures like rats, they need stimulation.


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

i feed mine on the shunamite diet but i wont mind adding something else to it


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## Amalthea (Oct 2, 2007)

Shunamite is perfect... Just give them extra tidbits for treats... And loads of fresh foods. Can't go wrong with that. I feed my mice almost the same thing as my rats, just with smaller portions


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

*Argo Feeds Ltd*
Kirkwood Mill
Sheffield Road
Sheffield
South Yorkshire S36 6H
*Telephone:*
01226 762341 
*Fax:*
01226 766707



give them a ring an they will tell you if they deliver to anyone near you and then you just ask them to order it for you, its £7.95 a bag


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

missyrain said:


> do you feed that to pet rats?


I dont personally, I make a home made mix (not "Shunamite", I do a lower calorie version with straights and cereals which leaves my rats in better condition and healthier). But I do sometimes get a small bag of the rat and mouse cubes by Argo as treats or to mix into my homemade mix, as they dont contain any manky meat products like the Burgess ones do. They dont contain anything really _good_ either, but it's all variety.

I wouldn't give mine pellets on their own, as I prefer to give them a more varied and healthier diet with better ingredients.


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## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> I dont personally, I make a home made mix (not "Shunamite", I do a lower calorie version with straights and cereals which leaves my rats in better condition and healthier). But I do sometimes get a small bag of the rat and mouse cubes by Argo as treats or to mix into my homemade mix, as they dont contain any manky meat products like the Burgess ones do. They dont contain anything really _good_ either, but it's all variety.
> 
> I wouldn't give mine pellets on their own, as I prefer to give them a more varied and healthier diet with better ingredients.



Lisa I don't suppose you've got a link to feeding straights and cereals. Like how much of what, or what can be used.I'm using my own mix of the shunamite atm, and whilst I've had no problems I can pin down to it, I've had to change it around so much to keep their weights healthy. Also had tumors on two of my girls. They were rescues with breeding unknown, but I've seen someone else mention that since switching to straights they've had no tumors at all...all their rats they know the breeding of, and i'm probably grasping at straws, but any way I can try to prevent tumors sounds good to me. My one concern is I have literally no spare space here or anywhere I could keep sacks of food. So I suppose the next question would be, does anywhere sell smaller bags? Sorry for all the questions!


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

This is what I feed mine - I'm afraid I do it all by sight, not weights, and it changes to give plenty of variety...but here's the basics.

- 1/3 (roughly 7-8kg) sack of mixed flakes (peas, maize and barley in one sack - available from farm/stable suppliers) *OR* a good rabbit mix such as Mr Johnson's Supreme (with or without fruit)

- 1 scoop of fish or duck based (no chicken - not even chicken fat) dog food (optional - you can give them fresh protein instead)

- 3-4 scoops of 100% wholewheat (no meat or gravy) dog mixer (terrier grade from Jollyes, or Asda Smartprice)

- 1 box of 100% wholewheat puffs (Morrisons do these, Asda too I think) and other cereals if I have them handy (under 5g of sugar per 100g - such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat, some brands of cornflakes and rice crispy style things)

- 1 packet Ryvita (dark or normal, or even the seeded ones) - broken into small pieces

- 1 packet of unsalted rice cakes - broken up

- 1-2 small bags of Asda seed mix (or Holland and Barrett "omega sprinkle") *OR* 1 scoop of low sunflower parrot mix

- Optional extras: 1 sheet of egg noodles (leave it out if your rats are overweight) broken up, 1 bag of dried chick peas (if I'm using straights I use this every time for their copper content, if I'm using rabbit food it's an optional extra), dried fruit (unsweetened banana chips, dried cranberries, dried pineapple etc - but not mango or citrus fruits), dried veggies (carrots are good if you can find them), or any of the Naturals ranges of dried veggies or herbs make a nice addition (mine love the veggie crisps).

That's about it. I might have forgotten something lol, but I dont think so. I know some people make mixes completely from Holland and Barrett cereals and ingredients, but I think it might work out rather expensive. Maybe it might be worth clubbing together with some local rat owners and sharing sacks? Really you only need space for one big sack if you can get the mixed flakes, or rabbit food. The rest is general grocery stuff.:2thumb:


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## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

LisaLQ said:


> This is what I feed mine - I'm afraid I do it all by sight, not weights, and it changes to give plenty of variety...but here's the basics.
> 
> - 1/3 (roughly 7-8kg) sack of mixed flakes (peas, maize and barley in one sack - available from farm/stable suppliers) *OR* a good rabbit mix such as Mr Johnson's Supreme (with or without fruit)
> 
> ...



Ah thanks for that Lisa, have saved it to a word document and shall have a hunt around. I do have quite a lot of the stuff already, suprisingly. I expected it to be a lot more complicated I think :blush:


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Must say I'm not an expert on rat nutrition, I started with the "shunamite" style diet, but found the high levels of cereal, pasta and dog food made my rats overweight. So I cut them out. I've heard some people believe the low quality chicken in pet foods can increase the rates of cancer, so I stopped feeding Burgess Suparat (or any dog food containing chicken). Then I realised they weren't eating all the Alpha Herbal, and the biscuits in it looked a bit brightly coloured. So I thought - I'll swap that for a different healthier rabbit food or try the straights. It's not something I've come up with on my own, just a series of changes I've made to the diet most people use for their rats, if you get me :blush:

I juggle it about a lot too. For kittens I give them more fresh protein up until about 10 weeks. Same for nursing mums. Or sometimes I'll add extra dog food to their bowls (I use Skinners duck and rice, by the way). If their coats are a bit dull and I have a show coming up, I'll put some more seed mix in. If they're getting too porky, I cut back on the noodles and dog food (or just pick the bits out of their bowls if it's only certain cages LOL).

I dont think there's any hard and fast rules, I just stick to low sugar/salt and as little colouring as possible. And absolutely no chicken for my does - even if it's a myth, which it could be, I'd not like to risk it.


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## missyrain (Feb 14, 2009)

shunamite diet i use all there mix plus more cost loads though they are a bit fat now i no why! 
sorry for being a pain lisa is it does what get lumps more than boys then? or is it both i only have 1 girl with a lump the rest are young 
and shes only 16 months old


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## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

I must admit the last two batches of alpha herbal I've bought have been very brightly coloured. With the first batch I thought it was a one off. But I've noticed it in the second batch and also the shapes have changed. So was looking to get them off that asap as I don't like artificial colours in their food. I tend to avoid food that contains them so I try to do the same for the animals.

I hadn't heard that low quality chicken may cause an increase in the rates of cancer either. So will be changing their kibble too. Thanks again for the advice.


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## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

I think the problem is that everyone adopts their own version of the "shunamite diet" from basics they read on forums or get off other people. I'm fairly certain if we all read the book (which I havent, I admit), it'd say one mix doesn't suit all - but you get people saying it must be...(I cant remember the amounts so guessing here) 10% "kibble" and 10% pasta and 40% cereals and 40% alpha herbal....but while that may work for some rats, it wont for others. 10% pasta and the same in dog food is going to be quite fattening for some rats. But for others it might be fine. I think the other mistaken fact is that "all breeders feed shunamite". When I joined a well known rat club forum, I found out most breeders feed rabbit food with dog food mixed in as and when. It might be similar, but I'm sure that's what they'll have fed well before the other diet came about - and may even have been the starting block for that.

So it's not that I dont feed the "shunamite diet", it's just that I dont feed the perceived "shunamite diet" that's bandied around the forums. I dont think even Shunamite feed that exact proportion to all of their rats.

I dont want folks to think I'm anti-"shunamite", truth is if it hadn't been for reading about it I could have been feeding reggie rat or something similar, with does riddled with tumours and health problems. The "shunamite" diet was a good starting block for me, it didn't work in it's basic form, so I mutated it. It's now my diet - and it's working ok (apart from one major fatty). It pees me off that anyone feeding a home made mix is put under someone else's label, as if they dont have their own brains to work things out for themselves :lol2:

Sorry I wittered on a bit there (tendency to ramble on this pain relief). Yes, does are more prone to cancer, and _apparently_ there is a link to poor quality chicken. I dont know if that is true, it may be a myth, but so far with my home made mix and no chicken for my girls, I've not had a lump yet. Having said that - my does are still quite young - the oldest only just being 1 this month. Sooo...it might just be wishful thinking. I still believe the biggest cause of cancer in rats is probably genetic, if people dont keep track of their lines and therefore breed from rats which may be carrying a genetic predisposition for cancer, then it's just carrying it on and on. I cant say "dont buy pet shop rats!" because I'd be a big hypocrite, but I do think that if you want the healthiest rats - you're best of going to a breeder who knows their lines really well. Eg. Jim breeds rats. Jim supplies pet shops. Jim has no idea where his rats end up, so cant find out what their health is like as they age, or what they die of. How does Jim know which of his lines are healthy? He doesnt. But he still breeds and gives them to pet shops.

Jim could be a home breeder or a rodent farm, but you get the gist. Diet is obviously contributing factor, but I think if mum died of cancer, and siblings died of cancer, then a related rat will probably die of cancer.

And I wittered on a bit more :blush:


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