The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Mybeautifulboys

New Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
2
Location
England
I have a lone rat called otto after his cage mate Eli died 4 days ago (2.3 years old). He and his brother have always been fed on science selective rat food along with fresh fruit and veggies and other treats throughout the week. However, a couple of weeks before Eli got ill both him and otto seemed to eat less of the pellets and would take a long time to eat them but went crazy for their veg etc. Now otto is on his own he isn’t so keen on the pellets still he seems to need encouragement to eat them yet with other stuff he goes mad for and has no problem eating. I know he might be eating less due to grief however I have been wondering for a while now if I should change his diet, even when Eli was still here. I heard about the shunamite diet years ago but always found it so confusing until recently watching a video by YouTuber emiology. I want to try this and wondered if this recipe could be suitable. I was thinking 50% science selective or another lab block, 10% protein such as a dog food, I have both senior and adult dog food at home is either okay? 25% processed grains i was thinking pasta and 3 different low fat cereals 10% herbs and veg I thought the pets at home naturals fruit salad and maybe some dried dandelion sounded okay? And 5% seeds although I’m not sure what to get as mixtures don’t seem to contain all the good ones I read somewhere that hemp seed pumpkin seed Nyjer seed are all great but can’t seem to find a mix of all of them and I’m not sure I can source several different lots?
does this sound okay or should I stick with just science selective and fruit and veg or just add someother recommended bits? Maybe just some of the stuff I said rather than all? I am desperate for him to live a happy and enriching life now he’s on he’s own as I won’t be getting any more rats due to the heartache. Any advice appreciated I’ve been not stop worrying!!!
 
Rats really don't need dog food ever. They can get enough protein from grains and veggies and seeds which you can can offer them as a supplement. But I would keep offering the pellets, it's formulated for all their nutritional needs. It should be their staple food.
 
I heard about the shunamite diet years ago but always found it so confusing until recently watching a video by YouTuber emiology. I want to try this and wondered if this recipe could be suitable.

I haven't read the Scuttling Gourmet books but if you're interested in the Shunamite diet, that's where I'd start (website link). Then I'd check out the information Jemma from Isamu Rats has available (website and youtube channel).

I watched the Emiology video you're talking about and I just don't think this is her area of expertise.

I give my boys a rat pellet as their staple diet. For variety and enrichment, I also give them a homemade mix. I loosely make the mix based on the Isamu diet but the mix is really only a supplement to their primary diet, maybe 25%, so if it's not 100% complete, it's not the end of the world.
 
Back
Top