# Rat nuggets ?



## fluffosaur

I feed my ratties the rat nuggets from pets at home - they clear their bowl instead of chucking bits of food all over the place. I mix it up with dry cat food, ham, cheese, treats, everything etc.

Is this bad? I just read in another thread that it's bad for rats to feed them nuggets but I do it to save on waste & so I can see when they need feeding again.

My ratties seem fine, healthy & well-fed so any advice appreciated!!


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## waterlilyold

Mine have a dry mix with nuggets in it which is always topped up, it consists of also seeds, dried pasta , rice puffs puffed wheat, almonds, etc.
They have dinner of vegie and pasta and egg mix varieated. If yours have dry mix on tap and another bowl at dinner time of vegies etc then they won't be hungry. Sometimes I also give them weet bix or cornflakes for brekky or toast etc, but not everyday.


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## fluffosaur

OK thanks!

I always share my breakfast with them & usually some of my lunch too. They hoover it up!


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## SEVEN_PETS

I wouldn't feed nuggets because it's boring. I know you add stuff to it, but it seems you feed them quite a lot of protein and dairy products. The best food to give to rats is:

A rabbit museli mix
Good quality dog food kibble (such as Burns)
Dried pasta
Cereals (such as oatabix, shredded wheat etc).

It has all the nutrients they need and it is low in fat. I would imagine a diet of cheese and ham isn't too good. Do you feed them vegetables too?


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## MerlinsMum

_Hmmmm....... If chicken nuggets are made of chicken, what are rat nuggets made of?_


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## fluffosaur

Oh yes, I feed them everything really. They get carrots and apples and whatever else happens by the dining table! Small amounts but they get a nice varied diet. I feed them the nuggets so I know how much food they're getting as they finish the bowl without leaving any bits.


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## LisaLQ

The problem with nuggets is that they cant be altered to suit different ages and sizes. Old rats need different diet to young ones, rats prone to being overweight need a different diet to ones needing feeding up (eg after illness or rescuing)....etc.

A rabbit food based diet is by far the easiest adaptable and healthiest, as you can add protein in differing amounts for different ages (eg more for kittens, less for elderly rats), you can add other things and tinker about with it until you find the best for your rats.

Nuggets will will give some of your rats an ok-ish diet (with poor ingredients, none will ever have an excellent one). But not all of them. Plus some people believe that a certain brand of nuggets (the same company who make Pets At Home ones - although I'm unsure if they're the same ingredients) is responsible for an increase in mammary tumours in their rats.

If you feed your rats a muesli mix and they leave some, then you've fed them too much. Either leave it in til they're finished (dont top it up), or feed them less - you're aiming for their bowl to empty an hour or two before you're due to feed them again. If they still leave some, feed them less again or leave it in til they're done. Simples 

Edited to add - there is some brief information on what I feed our rats on my website: www.bohemianrats.co.uk


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## SEVEN_PETS

LisaLQ said:


> The problem with nuggets is that they cant be altered to suit different ages and sizes. Old rats need different diet to young ones, rats prone to being overweight need a different diet to ones needing feeding up (eg after illness or rescuing)....etc.
> 
> A rabbit food based diet is by far the easiest adaptable and healthiest, as you can add protein in differing amounts for different ages (eg more for kittens, less for elderly rats), you can add other things and tinker about with it until you find the best for your rats.
> 
> Nuggets will will give some of your rats an ok-ish diet (with poor ingredients, none will ever have an excellent one). But not all of them. Plus some people believe that a certain brand of nuggets (the same company who make Pets At Home ones - although I'm unsure if they're the same ingredients) is responsible for an increase in mammary tumours in their rats.
> 
> If you feed your rats a muesli mix and they leave some, then you've fed them too much. Either leave it in til they're finished (dont top it up), or feed them less - you're aiming for their bowl to empty an hour or two before you're due to feed them again. If they still leave some, feed them less again or leave it in til they're done. Simples
> 
> Edited to add - there is some brief information on what I feed our rats on my website: Bohemian Rattery - Home of the Bohemian Rats


excellent advice!!! rep coming your way


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## fluffosaur

Thanks for your input! I'll have a look at the different foods available next time I go to the pet shop.


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## jaxx

I use rat nuggets for my furbabies but I mix it with rat muesli and rodents delight treats, plus some shredded wheat. They also get a load of fresh fruit and veggies and the odd yoggie as a treat.


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## KathyM

I don't think there's a single complete rat diet on the market that I would feed my rats as their main mix - it seems strange that after so many years of most rat owners migrating onto a rabbit food based mix, that someone hasn't taken that and cornered the market when all foods marketed for rats are pretty poor. Someone could make a fortune with a high quality mix.


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## LisaLQ

fluffosaur said:


> Thanks for your input! I'll have a look at the different foods available next time I go to the pet shop.


Avoid Burgess Excel and Reggie Rat, plus anything the pet shop makes up (they're too full of nuts and seeds and rarely much else).

Go for a good rabbit food or guinea pig food (not nuggets - Alpha Herbal, Sneyd's Wonder Rabbit, Harrisons - either rabbit or guinea pig, Mr Johnson's Supreme, Burgess Supanatural etc), and pick up a small bag of James Wellbeloved or Autarky senior. Even better if you can find a fish or duck based food.

Mixing wise, I'd say my mix is about 70% rabbit food, 5% dog food, 20% cereals and crackers (ryvita, unsalted rice cakes, bitesize shredded wheat, 100% wholewheat puffs etc and some wholewheat - no meat - dog mixer eg Asda Smartprice), and the final 5% is extras such as seeds (either H&B's "omega sprinkle" or low sunflower parrot mix), dried fruits (cranberries, unsweetened bananas, apples etc), dried veggies/herbs (from the "naturals" range in pet shops). But to be honest, you could get away without the extras, and just go 95% really good rabbit food and 5% dog food. Maybe 90% - 10% in winter.


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## SEVEN_PETS

KathyM said:


> I don't think there's a single complete rat diet on the market that I would feed my rats as their main mix - it seems strange that after so many years of most rat owners migrating onto a rabbit food based mix, that someone hasn't taken that and cornered the market when all foods marketed for rats are pretty poor. Someone could make a fortune with a high quality mix.


exactly. that is spot on.


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## spoiled_rat

Rupert Rat, not Reggie rat, is pretty decent for a complete mix, certainly way above in terms of quality than anything else out there...shame the others wouldnt follow suit


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## KathyM

I would've agreed with you til very recently. I bought two sacks of RR last month and both were dusty and not very good quality. The rats refuse to eat the nuggets in it too. I don't think it's a patch on a good rabbit food mix personally, it's not got a lot of variety to it and the quality is questionable when they can't even report the ingredients right? Their site has said it contains chicken, then soya, then chicken and now it depends on what sack you get I think lol.


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## fluffosaur

I had no idea that rat food was basically useless from the shops! I'll buy a bag of rabbit food and see how they go with it. =)


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## SEVEN_PETS

fluffosaur said:


> I had no idea that rat food was basically useless from the shops! I'll buy a bag of rabbit food and see how they go with it. =)


you need to have a good quality dog food with it too.


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## LisaLQ

The only exceptions are Rupert (not Reggie) Rat, Xtra Vital and Pets at Home muesli, although I still prefer to make my own as I know what's in it then.


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## simplysardonic

I use 50% Supa Frutti as the base mix, although I want to change it to something better- theres a lot of wastage because of the pellets in it. This is mixed with 5% dog kibble (Burns chicken & brown rice), 10% wholewheat pasta & 30% cereals (a mixture of rice cakes, barley, puffed wheat, Ryvita, corn, flaked peas, jumbo oats, shredded wheat) with an assortment of different additions (hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, safflower, kelp, various herbs, dried berries, shredded unsweetened coconut etc) making up the last 5%, with fresh vegetables as a side dish
I only started them on this about 8 months ago, formerly giving a mixture of nuggets & branded rat food but they look so much sleeker & healthier on this mix


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## fluffosaur

Right, I'll try that then! I fed them rice cakes last night & they wolfed them down! It was SO funny watching Rolo trying to get this massive rice cake into their den for them all to share.


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## SEVEN_PETS

I feed this mix:

25% Pets at Home Rabbit Museli
25% Supa Fruiti
10% Burns dog kibble
10% Dried Pasta
30% Cereals

I used to use Alpha Herbal Deluxe and Harrisons Banana Brunch as bases but it was getting too expensive so got these bases. They eat it all except the pellets in the rabbit museli so a small amount of wastage. With the Alpha Herbal Delxue and Harrisons Banana Brunch, they ate it all and there was no wastage.


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