Killing our pet rats

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This concerns me as well, and I would love to know if anyone has more info! I currently am feeding oxbow which doesn't have corn but still has soy which is high on the list for the probability for GMOs :sad3:
 
If anyone knows please let ME know too! Obviously, the effects in rats are irrefutable and sadly IGNORED. What do they think it will do to people :(
 
I don't think it's ignored but I think you have to recognized that those studies are done by giving rats a huge amount of one type of food. If you give a good variety of veggies (only frozen veggies are not enough) and stay away from other processed foods as much as possible, rats do well. There isn't a high incidence of cancer in young rats (in fact, wild and half wild rats that end up kept as companion animals seem to be more prone to aggressive malignancies earlier in life) so I don't think rat blocks have a significant negative impact. They have far more benefits than risks to feeding a diet with a staple block. I have read accounts from many people that have tried the homemade mixes (they all include processed foods) and they all say their rats were healthier when they switched to blocks.

It's important to read the methodology when looking at research papers, not just the results.
 
I agree with Victoria and Jorats as well. I try to stay away from hormonally-loaded, GM, etc. foods. That's the reason I have my own garden and stuff.

I really wish there were organic lab blocks for rats, however, there currently aren't and I think that the benefits of a nutritionally-complete diet outweigh the risks. :(
And there is no way to make a nutritionally complete homemade mix. Even if you get the proportions and ingredients PERFECTLY right, the rat will still choose more of some things than others to some extent.
 
I have been very lucky in that most of my rats live past two years of age, and some past three years of age. They have been on Harlan 2014 their whole lives except for one bag of Oxbow. They get some variety of food, but (unfortunately) not a crazy amount of fresh veggies. The ONLY thing exceptional that I do for them is give them distilled water to drink. So I do NOT believe that these blocks are detrimental to their health.
 
GMO foods have been shown to accelerate aging, irritate the gut, cause organ damage, etc
They have been shown to cause numerous health problems and disease in various animals including people.
Thus it is reasonable to assume that GMOs also cause these health issues in rats

Since the lab blocks are their main food, and the lab blocks contain GMOs then it is reasonable to expect that this is causing all sorts of health issues, and likely early death in our pet rats.

I feel horrible when I feed my rats their lab blocks because I know that this is and will harm them.
I wish there were an alternative.
 
I can't seem to find the Harlan blocks other than in a HUGE bag through a feed store; I can only find the Oxbow Regal Rat and the Kaytee blocks for rodents and am currently using those while also supplementing with as many organic fruits, veg, and grains as possible. I also use filtered or bottle water only. It's not even that easy finding organic foods for people without having to seek out specialty stores that are often not close to home.

Sometimes, it all becomes quite exhausting; all we can do is our best.
 
Carol Weekes said:
I can't seem to find the Harlan blocks other than in a HUGE bag through a feed store
Click to expand...
The last time I got Harlan, I bought it from Flower Town Chinchillas which is in Ontario. They break open the 33 lb bags and sell it in 10 lbs as well. I think they sent me two 5 lb bags. It costs me more for shipping than for the food...
 
I always buy my Harlan from Flower Town Chinchillas. I actually just got two bags this afternoon. I'm only 45 minutes from their warehouse so I could go up and pick up orders but I choose to have it shipped. For me, being in Ontario, it's actually cheaper to ship than to spend money on gas and time.

I ordered two 33 pound bags. The food was $56 and the shipping was $23. The food arrived the next day. I'm feeding 32 and a 33 pound bag lasts me one month. So for me, every rat eats a pound a month. http://www.chinchilla.ca/product.php?catID=7

I'm not sure how many rats you have, but the opened bag lasts 6 months and if you freeze it I believe it lasts 9-12.
 
We contacted Oxbow and asked that they offer an organic rat food with non-GMO ingredients. We contacted them as the Ottawa Pet Rat Rescue, and we told them that we know this product would sell, from conversations we've had and connections with rat owners throughout North America. We've had some emails back and forth since then, and they are interested. If enough people wrote and asked, and they realized there is a demand....enough for the work involved to formulate a product and market it, who knows?
Please write to [email protected] and ask that they offer this.

I also worry about GMO and avoid it for myself whenever I can, so I try to do the same for all of my pets. I use oxbow, but not much, and supplement with lots of fruit and veggies, grains - a homemade mix, preferably all organic if I can afford it (yikes!) and find it. If you want long-lived rats, studies prove that limited caloric intake significantly lengthens their lives, (and ours.) Fat rats are not healthy rats, just like with people. But, many argue that rats live short lives as it is, and one of their few joys is yummy treats and food, so why deny them? So, if you give them endless supplies of food and treats, then you have to come to terms with the fact that they are probably not going to live as long. Female rats live longer if spayed, as it decreases their chances of getting mammary tumors and PT. So if you're spaying your females, that would be one reason they're living longer.
 
I did contact Oxbow a few months ago and they also told me they would look into it. But they would need a lot of interest and we would have to keep in mind that would drive the cost of the food way up there which I know would deter a lot of people from buying it.
 
Non GMO food isn't more expensive .... but I would be willing to pay more for a good quality non GMO vegan rat block
Like Joanne, I already pay more for shipping the lab blocks then the cost of the blocks

My rats are vegan ... as I do not want to support animal cruelty
so I feed Harlan 2014, daily vegs and their treats are organic fruit, organic quinea, organic cheerio type things, organic puffed wheat etc
I feed them organic whenever possible as organic is non GMO and has no pesticides
All my rats are neutered or spayed and they receive excellent vet care ....

The problem for me with oxbow is that it is not vegan and it has GMOs .... if they get rid of the GMOs it will still contain the corpses of murdered animals :(
 
Have you looked into Harlan? Get off your high horse, you're supporting animal cruelty when you buy their blocks.

ETA: HT does not claim to be vegan, only free of animal protein or fish meal. There's a very good chance some of the added vitamins and minerals are animal derived.
 
I don't think SQ is on a high horse, I think she's doing what she can to limit her impact on animal cruelty. We don't know the truth about many products until we research them, like IAMS for instance, which has been exposed for animal cruelty. But I think it's commendable to not purchase products, be it pet food, human food, clothing, etc. if a more humane or healthy alternative is available.
 
Honestly, the bottom line is if Harlan Teklad blocks were causing damage to the rats laboratories would demand change or stop buying. They invest a lot of money into their genetically modified rats and they need to live long lives for MANY studies. That helps me feel better about it not being organic.
 
I don't have enough money to buy myself organic or GMO free food, unfortunately, so I wouldn't be able to spend more for organic rat food. I mean, in a perfect world my whole family (my animal babies included) would eat organic/non-GMO, but at this point in my life that type of living isn't attainable. I don't feed my rats extra corn or soy products, specifically to avoid the added GMOs.
 
Can someone provide credible sources for these claims about GMO food info. If you want to make these claims, fine. But you need to site CREDIBLE sources. Without scientific, peer reviewed evidence, none of these claims should be taken as truth. This is why we HAVE the scientific method.

AND even with the scientific evidence, you need to take into account dose, frequency of feeding, how they were fed, how the results were interpreted AND sometimes most importantly, who funded the research. For example, if Monsanto funded research saying that GMO foods are fine and all is well, are you going to believe it? This same thing holds true of a company who wants GMO foods gone. If they fund a study saying that GMO foods are bad, you should think that there is a huge possibility of bias there. Who would gain from the outcome of that research??

People see scientific research and things like "Dr. So-and-so proved this" but never look into the actual study. Look at the amount of people who STILL believe that vaccines can cause autism from ONE lousy research paper YEARS ago. This research has been disproven time and time again through various methods and people still believe it! It drives me batty.

I dont know about GMOs, I really don't. Personally, I dont care and quite honestly, in my experience, organic can cause just as many issues as GMOs. Just PLEASE be objective when you read things. Look at the research and ask if it is good research, look at the funding agencies and see if they have an agenda. Look deeper then just the headline of the paper...
 

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