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maria-mar

maria-mar

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
561
Location
Portugal
I've been giving my rats a homemade mix but i'm not yet satisfied with it.
I wanna try an already made mix, but in the place i live in, it's not really easy to find rat food for sale.
Stores do sell good brands, but only the rabbit, gerbil, chinchila mixes... not rat mixes, since no one buys them.
Well, today i found a online petshop that has rat mixes for sale :bunnydance:

But now i need your advice to pick one... Please!!! :D
Here are my choices:

- Versele-Laga Prestige Rat Crispy http://www.girafaonline.com/catalog/pop ... ?pID=20258
- Versele-Laga Prestige Rat/Mouse Duo http://www.girafaonline.com/catalog/pop ... ?pID=20268
(although i'd doubt of this one... rats and mice have different needs :/)
- Versele-Laga Prestige Rat Nature http://www.girafaonline.com/catalog/pop ... ?pID=20232
- Sunny Green Premium for Rats http://www.girafaonline.com/catalog/pop ... ?pID=60619

Thank you so much!...
 
I would definitely recommend the Duo food.

Rats & mice actually have the same needs, it is common for food to be for rats & mice.

The Duo looks like a traditional lab block!! which is much healthier long term than a seed mix.
 
Of the ones you posted the Duo is your better option. The protien is ok as long as you supplement it with veggies.
 
I agree with the Duo. It's 18% protein, which is not so bad, lower is better so you supplement with veggies daily, this will bring down their protein intake for the day... and the fat is only 3%.
They also have the Rat Complete at 20% protein and 5% fat which is not so bad either if there's nothing else available.
The seed mixes, my worry is the 7% fat, that is very high. Fat actually contributes to all kind of issues especially tumour growth.
 
Oh!... Thank you so much for all your answers, i guess i was mistaken XD

But... you mean the Duo is only blocks, not a seed mix? I wasn't really going for only blocks, it may be healthier, but my rats really hate them, it's the last thing they eat (when they eat them). Maybe they'd like those?... I don't know.
Isn't there some excellent seed mix for sale that i could try to find?
 
The problem with seed mix, they are very high in fat and you can't guarantee that your rat eats bits of everything in from the mix. For a fully balanced diet, they need a bit of everything. The block contains everything! What happens to the rat that only picks out the nuts and sunflower seeds from the mix, he will be severally lacking in nutrition.
As a supplement like say you fill up the bowl once a week with seed mix and do not refill until they've had all their blocks for the week would be ok to do as well. It gives them variety but giving them a different mix of veggies daily also gives them variety.
 
maria-mar said:
I wasn't really going for only blocks, it may be healthier, but my rats really hate them, it's the last thing they eat (when they eat them).
Click to expand...

It's not necessarily that they hate them. But if you are putting out different stuff with them each day, it is like giving a small child a choice between a healthy meal of meat and potatoes and ice cream. They will fill up on the ice cream everytime and never eat the healthy stuff! ;)
 
You're right, but i don't really agree with feeding them only blocks.
It's the same as if you could only eat bread slices for the rest of your life... boring XD There must be a healthy option.
There are good seed mixes, and if i really can't find a good one for sale, i'll go for a homemade like debbie's or the shunamite.
 
Debbie's would be a good mix, the Shunamite, I'm not sure if they changed it but I didn't like it before.

I can tell you... if all humans had a block to eat that contained all the nutrients we needed and we had our daily veggies and fruits, we would all be in the best of health... no more obesity, arteriosclerosis and other diet related issues.
 
We would be very unhappy humans too... :/
If we could control our diet, balance it, eat only the ealthy things, there would be no need to eat only blocks.
There is still people in the world who eat ealthy diets, and they still get sick.

I'm not feeding my rats with candy or anything, i just don't agree with blocks.
 
A dog loves its dog kibble just as much when it is 10 years old as when it is 2.

I have a very sick rat who is 2 years and 4 months and she is STILL trying to eat her lab blocks rather than all of the other delicious stuff I have in there to try to build her energy. Crazy girl! My rats love their lab blocks from the time I get them to the day they leave me. I honestly do not feel they are bored.

I know it is personal preference, but it truly is not that bad to do a lab block + fruit/veggie diet! :D I wouldn't do it (and I'm sure neither would Jo or anyone else) if we thought we were depriving our rats.
 
My rats love their blocks...its the quality that matters most of all. If they are cheaper, low-quality blocks then they won't like them as much. I used to feed mine a homemade mix but found that my current and some of my past rats did MUCH better on a lab block staple with supplementing :) They had less health issues, weight issues and they lived longer :D

I would go for the block staple. Rats don't know they are eating "bread" everyday and thats when you can get creative with their supplementing of veggies/fruits, etc :)
 
Well, i can try the Duo and see if they eat it, i just don't want to force them in case they don't like it :wink:
I'll try to order it and see how it goes ^_^
 
Blocks are wonderful because they provide the nutrition rats need.
Most mixes don't, even if the rats would eat all of the mix.

My rats love their lab blocks (Harlan 2014).
And the elderly or ill ratties love eating their mushy lab blocks with a bit of olive oil.
My rat's diet is probably more varied and interesting then mine is
... in addition to lab blocks always available in their cage, they get daily veg and some fruit, so have quite the variety over the course of a week. Plus they also get the occassional healthy treat.
 
I'm not a fan of the suebee's mix.

The argument in favour of blocks isn't saying that you can't offer your rats a cereal mix every couple of days as a treat. They still get to pick out their favourites and will just eat less of their blocks on that day. The key is to only offer them a very small amount so it is truly a special treat, not something to fill up on.

Their daily veggies are also a good way to vary their diet.
 
Happiness should not depend on what we eat.
All living beings need to eat to survive, not survive to eat.

Back in the day... I fed my rats dog food and suebees mix. My rats were all sick, bad coats, leaky eyes, obese and lazy. My exotic vet was horrified that I fed this diet. She made me switch to a strict blocks and veggie diet and my rats changed dramatically. They all lost weight, they became active and happy. Cande's eye cleared right up and they all had smooth coats. And started to live longer lives.

I've had people tell me that my rats must be unhappy due to the diet I feed them.
Check out all my youtube videos... I've got super happy rats. :thumbup:
 

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