# Advice on rat food



## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

hi guys

after a bit of advice on what to feed my ratties. they are about 5 to 6 weeks old and on a standard rat muesli from my local pet shop with a little bit of fresh food each day (mainly carrots and apples at the mo). However want to move them onto a different, healthier, more natural mix. have seen this on rat rations

Flakes and Grains No7 - Kidney Friendly - £0.79 : ratRations.com, Rat food, base mixes and herbs

and would like some advice on whether its suitable and what I should add to it.


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## Alice Childress (Nov 14, 2010)

If they are only babies you'd do better going for:

Flakes and Grains No1 - £0.61 : ratRations.com, Rat food, base mixes and herbs

The kidney friendly one is more suitable for older rats who shouldn't have too much protein.

You'd then have to add other ingredients and a vitamin supplement (the daily essentials from the same website!) to create a balance mix though. So it might seem a bit complicated at first! Once you get the hang of mixing it all it's easy enough.

Basically you want to aim for a ratio of...

40% the base mix (above)
30% added human cereals (so things like rivetta, rice cakes, corn flakes, pasta)
15% dried veg/fruit and seeds (I make the mix about 10% seeds for a glossy coat)
15% protein (so soya flakes, nuts, meal worm, dried egg)

More or less all of this is available from rat rations. However, with a straight mix you do need to add the supplements to make sure they get enough vitamin D and calcium.

Then on top of the dry mix you want to feed about 20% fresh foods when they are adults! As babies they need more or a 50/50 split with plenty of extra protein - things like chickpeas and eggs and chicken with lots of fresh green veg.

If it all seems a bit daunting you can make up easier mixes. I'd recommend Fancy Rats | Home for more advise on feeding! They have it all there!


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

Thanks  have ordered the flakes and grains mix and the supplement. should be able to get the rest from health food shops and supermarkets I think. 

With the nuts can they have any type of nut or is there certain ones to avoid? also see theres millet sprays on the website, didnt know rats could have them, thought they were just for birds!


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## princesslea (Jul 6, 2010)

manic rose said:


> Thanks  have ordered the flakes and grains mix and the supplement. should be able to get the rest from health food shops and supermarkets I think.
> 
> With the nuts can they have any type of nut or is there certain ones to avoid? also see theres millet sprays on the website, didnt know rats could have them, thought they were just for birds!


Millet is great for them, I hang them from the bars and they totally ransack them lol


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

princesslea said:


> Millet is great for them, I hang them from the bars and they totally ransack them lol


cool, defo want to try them on that


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## siberiankiss (Sep 24, 2010)

That first mix you linked to will be fine - but you will have to add a little extra protein until they are about 12 weeks old; things like dog kibble, dried insects/fish, EMP etc as babies need a little more than adults in order to grow nicely. I feed my boys based on kidney-friendly principles throughout their lives and have never had a problem with kidneys, therefore I wouldn't say the kidney-friendly RR mix is suitable only for older rats. It's a sensible precaution


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## Alice Childress (Nov 14, 2010)

siberiankiss said:


> I feed my boys based on kidney-friendly principles throughout their lives and have never had a problem with kidneys, therefore I wouldn't say the kidney-friendly RR mix is suitable* only *for older rats. It's a sensible precaution


I didn't say 'only' 

I wouldn't personally put my rats on a low protein diet from a young age as a precaution though, as protein is essential for growth. Mine move onto it from about 18 months onwards, but each to their own.

As for which nuts - all nuts are fine for rats I believe. People will often say though that you shouldn't give them too many as they are high in fat. So you might not want to add too many in each mix.


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

have been out shopping for them today in town so in addition to the food I ordered off rat rations they now have apricots and banana flakes and mixed nuts from the health food shop and millet sprays off the market. have some bran flakes, weetabix and pasta in the cupboards that they can share. am just a little worried that they might be getting enough protein  have seen some websites that offer products with tuna in as a source of protein for rats. may be a daft question but can rats eat normal tinned tuna meant for humans? I have a lot of that in the house at the mo


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## siberiankiss (Sep 24, 2010)

Yes, tuna is fine. Tinned mackerel in tomato sauce goes down a treat too.

Babies need about 12-15% protein, adults about 10%. What you are feeding plus a couple of fresh protein-rich meals a week (a hard boiled egg, fish, chicken etc) will be fine. You won't have to alter the mix itself so long as you are providing that additional protein during the first couple of months.


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## manic rose (Mar 12, 2011)

thanks for the advice  will be interesting to see what they make of tuna. want these boys to have a good diet


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