# rat food



## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

How come it's costing you do much? 
You can tweek mixtures to suit your own budget etc 

I feed 18 rats on £20/£25 every 5-6 weeks?


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## Maltey (Nov 29, 2011)

I have 8 and whilst I don't know exactly how much it is I can assure you it's not that much or I'd be stone broke by now!
Might it be better for you to buy RR in bulk?

Are you weighing out how much you give them? Perhaps you're losing a lot of it in waste?


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## MrRustyRead (Mar 14, 2011)

best person to answer this would be SimplySardonic as im pretty sure she makes her own mix as well but it doesnt cost her as much as you i spending i dont think.


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## RattyCake (May 18, 2012)

You don't really need special seed mix. I used some wild bird seed but anything will do as long as the fat content isn't too high. If you're making 10kg of food, the mix should be more like:

5kg Banana Brunch
3kg Mixed Cereals
500g Seeds and Nuts
500g Pasta
1kg Burns Kibble

Make sure you buy the mixed cereals from supermarkets as the RR mix is ridiculous! Also, push the postage limit to its max. So if 5-10kg is £6.50 shipping, order 10kg worth of stuff.


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## Lavenderb (Jan 27, 2009)

I spend about £5 a month on my 3...the rest of the mix is made up from human food, fresh veggies...fruit...don't buy ready mixed foods. I make up my own mix. Cheaper if you shop around. You can buy pasta, cereals cheaper . I buy a big tub of mealworms and that last ages. My rats get a lot of healthy leftovers from our food and some treats aswell.

It takes a bit of homework to source ingredients elsewhere but it will pay off.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Maltey (Nov 29, 2011)

To be honest I think your seed content is a bit high anyway so that will bring the cost down.
The banana brunch is a good base and then add bits to it rather than it be just part of it if you see what I mean?

What ratty cake posted is actually quite a good mix and will be significantly cheaper.
With RR you really have to 'play it' to get the most out of it.
Don't buy rice or pasta on there- it's much cheaper in the supermarket.
Cereals are cheaper if you're making a small mix and can't keep them fresh and you're also certain they're low in sugar.
If you can get decent supermarket cereals and you're making a biggish mix then that's the better option.
Their dried fruit and veg bags I find really good- we don't go through a lot of fruit and veg so for me they're easier and provide less waste and they get their fresh a couple of time's a week when I've been shopping. 
And like rattycake said, play around with the postage, one 50g bag of something can tip you into the next bracket.


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

I know I don't have rats (just mice) but your current mix is costing more for your 4 rats than I'm spending in 4 months for 37 chubby mice Wobble :lol: With my mouse mix I buy the big bags of oats or mixed muesli from supermarkets (although i often use Holland and Barrett for all my food when they have their penny sale on or bogof offers online and just order in bulk. £50 of food lasts me 4 months ) , and the same with all the nuts I put in their mix. The seeds I can get cheap from a farm supply shop. Do you have any farm shops near you? They might have things like big bags of seeds and grain cheaper. I know that a lot of mouse breeders use chicken food called layers pellets to mix into their mixes which works out pretty cost effective, so maybe some one could tell you if you can use it for your rats. The dearest bits in my mouse mix are the walnuts, so if you shop around and see what you can get in supermarkets or supply stores you could end up with a better quality mix much cheaper


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## chrisd (Aug 25, 2011)

I have 4 rats too and I can't believe you are spending that much! I bought a 5kg bag of rat rations stuff and I mix it in with [email protected] rat nuggets and I bought that about a month ago and still have nearly 3/4 of a bag left! 

Either you are feeding them too much or buying too expensive ingredients. Although rat rations postage is expensive its not guna cost you £30 so I'd recommend that


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Hi Laura before I made my own mix i used to use rat rations no7 then add in some of there harrisons Banana brunch.

I make up a 60l tub now of my own mix as you know and it's lasted me 3 months. I still have 20kg left of the Johnston and jeff cockatail and parakeet mix left and the galah mix as I mixed it all together and that's all in a 60l tub too. There is prob more actually as altogether it came to 32kg enough to last me at least 8 months poss longer. Yes it cost me £45 but that was a few months ago I bought it and I've still got over 20kg left.
And I buy cheap cereals I've still got a tub full of them left.
All I need to buy is my harrisons bb at £13.50 and my dog eats burns so that's not an issue. 
So that's feeding 10.
So when I run out in a few weeks I've only got to get the harrisons bb at £13.50 and then I'll have another 3 months worth.


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

I spend £12 on banana brunch, £4-5 on dog food 
Then I get two £1 bags of seed mix (dunno how much heavy it is) 
Then the rest on two bags of dry pasta, bran flakes, corn flakes and weetabix all tesco own brand it makes a huge box full that keeps 18 going for 5-6weeks 

I sometimes go fr cheaper dog or cat biscuits as mine don't tend to eat them anyway. Buying smaller bags will cost you more in the long run


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Maltey (Nov 29, 2011)

Well yes, because we all do!
With only 4 rats a 10kg bag of RR will last you months and months and the postage is only £7, so £35 for months is not bad, better than what you're paying now anyhow!
If you really would prefer to make your own mix then you can use any seeds, I buy a load of seeds and nuts from the pound shop!
Not sure about this dog food though as I can't open the nutrition page!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Yes if you go to your pet shop and ask if they sell small bags of cockatail and parakeet mix they should stock it. It's all the same anyway.

I've heard csj dog food is good so you could just use that instead of the burns.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## Maltey (Nov 29, 2011)

O yes I managed to find the link thanks but my internet is driving me insane.
It takes me like 10 minutes to post a reply at the minute!!!!


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Not sure on gerbs but hamsters have to have a high protein of 18% as that's what I've been told and it's also on the back of Harry hamster that I use for my Syrian. I also add in the seeds to her mix and the cereals.

Rats need a protein level of around 12-14% especially as they get older because too much protein will cause kidney problems mostly in males. Stick to making separate mixes if I were u. That's what I do with my mice,rats and hamster. They all have there own tubs with there own foods in.


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

Yes I'd use Csj in a rat mix it's not a bad food for the price, i buy wild bird or parrot mix from the local pet food shop he does bags cheap (around a 1kg bag or so for £1.12 ish) I get two of those to mix in

Or I go to the £ shop they do bags of bird food they are suitable 

I dont often buy expensive dog food I just check its not full of rubbish and the protein levels if it's ok I buy it mine have never had burns as I personal think it's over priced and is pretty much the same as skinners duck and rice!


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

i always fed my rats on a diet called the Shunamite diet, it consists of a base food plus adding cereals, rice cakes etc, its pretty cheap and very good for them, if you google it you will come up wiith some ideas


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## DumboRatLove (Mar 6, 2012)

i use rat rations no7 complete flakes and grains+ cereal and nuggets.


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