I'm thinking about switching to a home made diet. Hear me out!

[dspch911]

I'm going to try this.... as soon as I get a list together I'll ask again on the things I don't know what they are and where to find them. Thanks

 

[KatTheHippie]

No problem! Everything on my list besides the parakeet food, the meal worms, and the spirulina I get at my local grocery store. The parakeet food and meal worms I get at my local tractor supply store, and the spirulina I get at walmart, or just order offline. If you can't find some of the ingredients in the grocery store, it's easy to find all of them online, on Amazon.com and order them from there for super affordable prices.

 

[Vladina]

I LOVE that picture of your boys eating off the veggie/fruit kabob...did anyone notice that look of pure joy on the face of your boy with the face mask marking? I have never seen a happier looking ratty!

 

[KatTheHippie]

I LOVE that picture of your boys eating off the veggie/fruit kabob...did anyone notice that look of pure joy on the face of your boy with the face mask marking? I have never seen a happier looking ratty!

Jameson gets really excited at breakfast time, haha!

 

[Claireybell2477]

Kat, I have a quick question about protein absorbtion: Are nuts, unsalted pumpkin seeds and protein from oats absorbed in a fairly unimpacting method? I know that seeds and oats are really good for the heart and arteries, the amount of protein makes me wary of giving them to the rats. What's your view on these items?

 

[dspch911]

I LOVE that picture of your boys eating off the veggie/fruit kabob...did anyone notice that look of pure joy on the face of your boy with the face mask marking? I have never seen a happier looking ratty!

I had not noticed that face - what an adorable smile on him!

 

[KatTheHippie]

Kat, I have a quick question about protein absorbtion: Are nuts, unsalted pumpkin seeds and protein from oats absorbed in a fairly unimpacting method? I know that seeds and oats are really good for the heart and arteries, the amount of protein makes me wary of giving them to the rats. What's your view on these items?

The amounts of fat in seeds and nuts are more of a concern than the protein levels. The proteins in nuts and seeds are pretty easily soluable, unlike the proteins found in meats, and are essential because they contain different amounts of trace elements. That's why it's important to offer a few different varieties of protein, to make sure that they're getting a well rounded, but safe and usable amount that won't impact the kidneys. They definitely are good for their hearts and arteries, and they contain healthy oils that are great for their skin and fur. So be careful on how much, or how often you feed nuts, oats, and seeds, but mostly because they can be fatty in large amounts.

 

[Vladina]

Jameson gets really excited at breakfast time, haha!

Aww, his name is Jameson, what a sweet name for him! Sorry, I am not on the Shack very much these days so I am way behind on keeping up with these cuties' names.

 

[glitchiq]

Kat, thank you so, so much for doing this! My first two girls were lab block babies (80% blocks, 20% fruits and veggies), and both died of tumors (one malignant, one benign) before they ever got past 2. One at around 1.5 and the other around 2. It was so hard to lose them, and I recently read a study where rats who ate GMO's got tumors before they were even 2, and ones that were raised on organic, whole foods were much, much healthier. No doubt we've all experienced tumors or declining health in our rats before they're even 2 and wondered what we could do to help them. Diet is so important; I only wish I'd realized that with my girls. I'll be adopting 2 boys at the end of this week, and I want to try a different approach than the lab blocks with them.

Also, I have a sort of "rat handbook" that I picked up before I got my girls a few years ago, and there's a recipe for a rat mix in the back. It was written by Debbie Ducommun, and after picking it up recently and realizing some of the ingredients in the recipe were similar to what you settled on for your mix, I figured I would ask you what you thought of it! Would you mind if I uploaded some pictures of the recipe from the book to this thread when I get the chance so that I could ask your opinion? (and anyone else who'd like to share their opinion)

 

[KatTheHippie]

I know just the book you're talking about, and I don't fully trust that recipe, it's lacking in some stuff The latest recipe I provided is pretty well rounded (with plenty of veggies and some fresh fruit daily too, of course ) And if you do really want to study up on rat nutrition I suggest you look into the book The Scuttling Gourmet. It's got a few additions, I believe the 4th copy is the most recent (It's the one I have ) And I love it so much. It goes into so much detail about everything, how to best feed old rats, how to feed babies, how to feed chubby rats, how to help thin rats gain weight. And it talks about all of the vitamins and supplements and nutrients rats need for daily life, and how best to provide it to them, and all about how their bodies process them The author is from the UK so I bought the PDF version from her through email, if you're interested I can send you her email so you can get one too!

I'm glad to be of help. Anything I can do to help ratties and their parents, I love those little guys so much. Good luck on getting your new boys! You'll have to post pictures here on the forum

 

[glitchiq]

Oh, I'm glad to hear you know what I'm talking about then! I personally preferred your recipe, but that might just be because I read through this entire thread and I could kind of follow your thought process as you developed it. Also, I would love for you to send me her e-mail! That book (er - pdf) sounds really handy to keep around!

And of course I'll post pictures; I'm already in love with them. Two adorable PEWs! I don't know if you remember hearing about the New York Highway Rats, but these boys were in utero while it was all going on! Their mom was rescued and had them and their sisters soon after. I'm happy to give them a home (and a well-balanced diet, courtesy of Kat :wink

 

[glitchiq]

I was also wondering, for your fruits and veggies, do you have a specific rotating schedule that you'd be willing to share with us? Or any guidelines for what you choose to feed them each day? Love the fruit and veg kabob idea!

 

[KatTheHippie]

Oh, I'm glad to hear you know what I'm talking about then! I personally preferred your recipe, but that might just be because I read through this entire thread and I could kind of follow your thought process as you developed it. Also, I would love for you to send me her e-mail! That book (er - pdf) sounds really handy to keep around!

I know just what you mean It's easier to understand a follow what I was doing since all my info is here since the beginning, instead of blindly following a recipe in the back of a book. This is the email: [email protected]

And of course I'll post pictures; I'm already in love with them. Two adorable PEWs! I don't know if you remember hearing about the New York Highway Rats, but these boys were in utero while it was all going on! Their mom was rescued and had them and their sisters soon after. I'm happy to give them a home (and a well-balanced diet, courtesy of Kat :wink

I do! I'm from NY originally, and when this happened it was killing me that I couldn't do anything to help those poor babies. Are you from New York, or are you adopting from someone that got some of the ratties who were sent to other rescues? I'm so excited for these boys, they deserve only the best after what happened to them and their family, and they're going to have such a good life with you

 

[KatTheHippie]

I was also wondering, for your fruits and veggies, do you have a specific rotating schedule that you'd be willing to share with us? Or any guidelines for what you choose to feed them each day? Love the fruit and veg kabob idea!

I don't have a specific schedule, mostly it's what in season, and what I can find available in my local grocery stores I avoid stuff like iceberg lettuce which is mainly just water and not a lot of nutrition, and instead give them different greens that are high in nutrition, like Kale, spinach, carrot tops, collard greens, romaine, and red/green leaf lettuce, and herbs like basil, cilantro, and parsley. I'll try to give them 4-5 of those mentioned above every day, and just mix up which ones I give them. Acidic stuff like tomatoes I don't give every day, only about 3 times a week, just to keep their tummies from getting upset, but they love them. I give them fresh garlic often (about 5 times a week) because it does wonders for their immune systems and it's easy to mix a small amount into their veggies I keep my veggie ratio higher than my fruit ratio because veggie are more nutritious and fruit has a higher sugar content, but they'll eat just about everything, and get excited for their salads, haha. Since you're gonna have boys, avoid mangoes and don't give them the skin from oranges or any other citrus fruit because there's the chance that it contains too much d-limonene which is detrimental, but don't worry about it TOO much because there have been studies that it takes a LOT of it to effect them in any way

 

[glitchiq]

I do! I'm from NY originally, and when this happened it was killing me that I couldn't do anything to help those poor babies. Are you from New York, or are you adopting from someone that got some of the ratties who were sent to other rescues? I'm so excited for these boys, they deserve only the best after what happened to them and their family, and they're going to have such a good life with you

Thanks for sharing her e-mail with me! And no, I'm not from New York. Their momma was rescued and brought to a rescue in Northern Maryland, and I'm from central VA, so I have around a 3 hour drive ahead of me to go pick them up!

I don't have a specific schedule, mostly it's what in season, and what I can find available in my local grocery stores I avoid stuff like iceberg lettuce which is mainly just water and not a lot of nutrition, and instead give them different greens that are high in nutrition, like Kale, spinach, carrot tops, collard greens, romaine, and red/green leaf lettuce, and herbs like basil, cilantro, and parsley. I'll try to give them 4-5 of those mentioned above every day, and just mix up which ones I give them. Acidic stuff like tomatoes I don't give every day, only about 3 times a week, just to keep their tummies from getting upset, but they love them. I give them fresh garlic often (about 5 times a week) because it does wonders for their immune systems and it's easy to mix a small amount into their veggies I keep my veggie ratio higher than my fruit ratio because veggie are more nutritious and fruit has a higher sugar content, but they'll eat just about everything, and get excited for their salads, haha. Since you're gonna have boys, avoid mangoes and don't give them the skin from oranges or any other citrus fruit because there's the chance that it contains too much d-limonene which is detrimental, but don't worry about it TOO much because there have been studies that it takes a LOT of it to effect them in any way

For the garlic, do you just chop up a clove and smuggle it into their salads? And thanks for letting me know what to avoid with boys!

 

[KatTheHippie]

Thanks for sharing her e-mail with me! And no, I'm not from New York. Their momma was rescued and brought to a rescue in Northern Maryland, and I'm from central VA, so I have around a 3 hour drive ahead of me to go pick them up!

Wow! That's quite the long drive, what lucky babies! You must care so, so much about them to go that far out of your way to adopt them :heart:

For the garlic, do you just chop up a clove and smuggle it into their salads? And thanks for letting me know what to avoid with boys!

Maybe half a clove, or a little less if you're only going to have 2 boys. A little garlic goes a long way! And yes, I'll normally chop it up really fine and mix it up in their veggies

 

[glitchiq]

Wow! That's quite the long drive, what lucky babies! You must care so, so much about them to go that far out of your way to adopt them :heart:

Thank you so much! I really love them; all their hammocks have been ordered, the old CN cleaned up, new food and water bowls, some cute IKEA fleece picked up, etc. I hope they love it! raying:

Maybe half a clove, or a little less if you're only going to have 2 boys. A little garlic goes a long way! And yes, I'll normally chop it up really fine and mix it up in their veggies

Sounds great! A little bit ago on the thread you mentioned smoothies? I was wondering if you still offered them those; I was thinking of maybe once or twice a week I could take part of their daily fruit and veg serving and blend it with some plain, low-fat, unsweetened vanilla yogurt? That sounds like a fun treat! Like some strawberries and kale or something.

Also, I've been considering growing dandelion, mint, watercress, parsley, basil, cilantro and maybe arugula ever since reading about them on this thread! I think they'd be easy to grow on the windowsill in my room, and maybe it could serve as a small step towards growing more of my own veggies. Plus, I'd only need to grow a small amount for the boys, since there's only two of them.

 

[glitchiq]

Sorry for another question!

I've been googling all the pre-packaged ingredients on the list, and I didn't see that Healthy Select parakeet seed or Minute Rice Multigrain Medley were organic/non-GMO certified. My family has really been trying to steer clear of GMOs ever since some health problems began with my mom, so I was wondering what exactly was in the parakeet seed and the rice medley that contributed to the rats' diet. For the rice, I could just buy brown rice, red rice, wild rice, and quinoa (I'm happy to find that I have some of these things on hand already!), but I was wondering how much rice medley was in each packet so that I could add the appropriate amounts of the individual ingredients to the mix. However, for the parakeet seed, what separate ingredients would I need to use to replace it? I know that you said the parakeet seed and medley made it easier and less expensive, but I wanted to experiment with the long way 'round. Thank you!

Just to verify, everything is left uncooked, right?

 

[KatTheHippie]

Sorry for another question!

I've been googling all the pre-packaged ingredients on the list, and I didn't see that Healthy Select parakeet seed or Minute Rice Multigrain Medley were organic/non-GMO certified. My family has really been trying to steer clear of GMOs ever since some health problems began with my mom, so I was wondering what exactly was in the parakeet seed and the rice medley that contributed to the rats' diet. For the rice, I could just buy brown rice, red rice, wild rice, and quinoa (I'm happy to find that I have some of these things on hand already!), but I was wondering how much rice medley was in each packet so that I could add the appropriate amounts of the individual ingredients to the mix. However, for the parakeet seed, what separate ingredients would I need to use to replace it? I know that you said the parakeet seed and medley made it easier and less expensive, but I wanted to experiment with the long way 'round. Thank you!

Just to verify, everything is left uncooked, right?

No problem! I'm happy to answer any and all questions! Anything I can do to help! You can definitely make your own "rice medley" mix. There's about a half cup of the mixture in each packet, and equal amounts of all of the ingredients So 2 tbsp of brown rice, 2 tbsp of wild rice, 2 tbsp of red rice, and 2 tbsp of quinoa.

As for the parakeet seed, it's easiest to buy that because of all of the ingredients in it, and some of them would be difficult and/or expensive to find on their own. It contains not only seeds, but some dried veggies, herbs, greens, flowers, and fruits too. It also contains some supplements which I find helpful, like copper, vitamin D and vitamin B-12 (Vitamins D and B-12 help prevent hind end degeneration in older rats. They're not TOTALLY necessary for younger rats, but very helpful as rats age.) It would be best to email the company and see what they say about GMO's. Maybe they are GMO free, who knows . If they aren't, it would be best to try and locate another bird seed that's similar, and non-gmo, so that you'll get the full nutritional content. That's going to be difficult though, I did a lot of research before settling on the Healthy Select seed because I liked it's ingredients and the fact that it doesn't contain a bunch of artificial dyes and excess sugars and junk, which a lot of bird seeds tend to have.

And yes, all for the mix is left uncooked Just mix it together dry and you're good to go!

 

[KatTheHippie]

Sounds great! A little bit ago on the thread you mentioned smoothies? I was wondering if you still offered them those; I was thinking of maybe once or twice a week I could take part of their daily fruit and veg serving and blend it with some plain, low-fat, unsweetened vanilla yogurt? That sounds like a fun treat! Like some strawberries and kale or something.

Yup! I make myself a smooth for breakfast each morning, and the ratties get a bowl of it too. They love their smoothies Plain yogurt works just fine, or like you said, some low-fat, unsweetened vanilla.

Also, I've been considering growing dandelion, mint, watercress, parsley, basil, cilantro and maybe arugula ever since reading about them on this thread! I think they'd be easy to grow on the windowsill in my room, and maybe it could serve as a small step towards growing more of my own veggies. Plus, I'd only need to grow a small amount for the boys, since there's only two of them.

I plan on starting a little window-sill herb garden too It would be much easier and cheaper long-term to grow them myself, I eat a lot of herbs and greens too, and I have a bunny who also consumes them. Maybe instead of one window sill, I'll need a few! haha