# Who makes there own rat food mixes?



## Charlottie (Oct 4, 2008)

Im very interested in doing this, however there are a few questions i would like to ask?

What do you have in your mixes?
Why do you choose the ingredients you have?
Do you notice the benefits for your rats? 

I have read the dog kibble is good for rats? Is there any particular brand that is good for them?

DO you find it easier to make it rather than go out and buy food?

Thanks for reading! 
Charlotte


----------



## Kare (Mar 9, 2010)

Have you read up on the Shunamite diet? It is a brilliant start
Shunamite Rats

I use to use a version of this diet for my mice


----------



## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Dog kibble alone is not good for rats. If you want something easy - rabbit food will make do, but you may need to give them fresh protein.

We make a homemade mix - this is what's in ours:

- rabbit food (we use Sneyd's Wonder Rabbit - but any good natural rabbit food will do)
- small amount of dog "kibble" (we use Skinner's Duck and Rice) - about 5% depending on who the mix is for and time of year.
- low sugar/salt cereals (less than 5g sugar per 100g) - we use bitesize shredded wheat, 100% wholewheat puffs - or whatever's on offer and fits the bill.
- low salt crackers - we use ryvita and unsalted rice cakes
- seeds - either a low sunflower parrot mix, or a supermarket/health food shop "omega mix".
- seaweed powder and dried garlic powder

Other things we add sometimes are dried pasta (puts weight on underweight rats, so we only use this occasionally if/when necessary), unsweetened dried fruits (eg bananas if we're not using the Sneyd's), berries, dried veggies, things from the Naturals range (eg herbs and dried veggies), Asda Smartprice dog mixer (because it's meat free but has vitamins in, although ours dont stock this any more), broken up "Shapes" biscuits, dried chickpeas, all sorts.

But the basics are rabbit food, dog food, crackers and cereals. And we know of many good breeders who dont add the crackers and cereals (some only feed rabbit food) whose rats are in lovely condition and health.

We did swap to a straights based mix (eg dried mixed flakes rather than rabbit food), but found our rats lost condition and health and coat sheen deteriorated a lot, plus elderly rats lost weight. So we're back on rabbit food again now.


----------



## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

Kare said:


> Have you read up on the Shunamite diet? It is a brilliant start
> Shunamite Rats
> 
> I use to use a version of this diet for my mice


Definitely a good start - read it thoroughly and buy the book if you can, because the version that's often handed around forums (40% rabbit food, 40% cereals, 10% dog food, 10% pasta) tends to not suit all rats and make some of them prone to quite a bit of weight gain.


----------



## Horatio (Jul 16, 2009)

We make our own too. It has the same basics in it each time, such as the Sneyds wonder rabbit fruity, some dog kibble (Burns) and various cereals and grains. And garlic powder and seaweed powder. Then different extras go in - dried insects/fish, herbs, etc etc etc. 

Join the Fancy Rats forum and check out the feeding section - loads of info there. Rat rations website will also give you more ideas.


----------



## Charlottie (Oct 4, 2008)

I ahve the shunamite book by alison campbell i think thats how you spell her name it was certainly a good and i found it very interesting but i thought i might be bettter to ask people who did it in practice. 

Thanks for your help =)


----------



## storm22 (Jan 11, 2009)

have read this with great interest, i currently use a rabbit mix with some biscuits added, plus fresh veg every other day at the moment, as a treat whilst growing up the boys get a little bit of cooked pasta as they adore it,


----------



## pippainnit (Feb 20, 2009)

I'd really like to start doing this too. To be perfectly honest my rats get anything and everything - within reason, of course. I've always fed them different scraps and titbits that have supplemented their nuggets, but I've wanted to try them on a home-made mix for a while.


----------



## heather king (Sep 9, 2009)

i use cat food, mixed nuts and seed, cherios plus i give them veg every day and a rich tea biscuit 2 times a week,

Oh and i am looking to rehome the rats as they were got for my son but he has lost interest in them,free, just need a good home PM me.

Hxx


----------



## MistressSadako (Jan 17, 2009)

heather king said:


> i use cat food, mixed nuts and seed, cherios plus i give them veg every day and a rich tea biscuit 2 times a week,
> 
> Oh and i am looking to rehome the rats as they were got for my son but he has lost interest in them,free, just need a good home PM me.
> 
> Hxx


That diet is absolutely terrible - i dread to think what you're doing to the rats! Cat food is waaaay too high in protein, as are nuts which should only be given as a treat. Cheerios are full of sugar and ok as the odd treat but not part of a proper diet. I'm actually shocked that people would feed their rats a diet like that - if you take on an animal you have a responsibilty to feed it properly!

As for my feeding, I've recently started feeding a "straight" based diet, which is made soooo easy thanks to a brillant new site called Rat Rations. I buy the flakes and grains no2 mix as a base ( Flakes and Grains No2 - £1.05 : ratRations.com, Rat food, base mixes and herbs) and add in some mixed seeds, herbs, bugs and dried veg and human cereals to give them some variety. They LOVE it and really enjoy digging around for all their favorite seeds. This kind of diet can be low in vitamin D so it's important to supplement this though their water (with supplements like calcivet and dr squiggles daily essentials 1) or by adding cod liver oil/fish flesh oil to fresh food about once a week. Human cerals have some vitamin D, as do dog "kibbles" which can still be added in to boost vitamins - just be careful about how much extra protein you're adding as too much could cause kidney damage later in life.


----------



## LisaLQ (Jan 29, 2009)

I would avoid nuggets too, especially those of a certain brand beginning with B. It is thought by some that they increase the risks of tumours.

Plus they're too boring for intelligent rats.


----------



## MistressSadako (Jan 17, 2009)

LisaLQ said:


> I would avoid nuggets too, especially those of a certain brand beginning with B. It is thought by some that they increase the risks of tumours.
> 
> Plus they're too boring for intelligent rats.


Definately, I can't believe I used to feed them when I got my first pair from a petshop and kep them on sawdust :|
It's such a delight to watch the ratties digging around and finding their favorite bits to eat, they get so excited about feeding time. It's also a good idea to feed a variety to fresh foods (things like cous cous, sardines, rice) as well as fresh veg!


----------



## Charlottie (Oct 4, 2008)

MistressSadako said:


> Definately, I can't believe I used to feed them when I got my first pair from a petshop and kep them on sawdust :|
> It's such a delight to watch the ratties digging around and finding their favorite bits to eat, they get so excited about feeding time. It's also a good idea to feed a variety to fresh foods (things like cous cous, sardines, rice) as well as fresh veg!


What do you use as bedding now, if you dont mine me asking?


----------



## Charlottie (Oct 4, 2008)

pippainnit said:


> I'd really like to start doing this too. To be perfectly honest my rats get anything and everything - within reason, of course. I've always fed them different scraps and titbits that have supplemented their nuggets, but I've wanted to try them on a home-made mix for a while.


Yes i do the same they get a different thing each night its not often that they get just a rat food, i like to hide the food around the cage to give them something else to do as well.


----------

