Rat questions.?

Question

I've decided to start making my own rat diet, and I've heard good and bad things about sue bees rat diet. Is it a reliable diet or are there others?

Also, what is the best best bedding for my rats? They used aspen shavings, but didn't like it. And I currently do not like Carefresh. What else is there?

Answer 1

there's yesterdays news for the bedding.

(you could also give them some tissue or paper or newaspaper (NO COLORED INK OR SCENT ON THESE)) they'll rip it to shredds and make it combfy bedding and its cheap.

idk about making your own diet but you could try

Answer 2

I have tried many homemade rat diets and I personally do not feel that Sue Bees is a bad choice, but for a little while I have been using another one that my rats really enjoy. It requires foods like tri-colored pasta wheels, organic rice puffs, whole grain or bran cereal that has less than 100mg of sodium and less than 6 grams of sugar. Also included in this recipe is dried brown rice, split peas, and raisins. These foods that I've just listed constitute their everday diet. I also drop two Mazuri lab blocks in with the food to ensure that they get all nutrients. This diet is supplemented with fresh fruits such as apple, peach, watermelon, cherries, and grapes and vegetables like lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, celery, cooked peas, and occasionally cooked beans, but not many of those. Every two days or so I give them pieces of whole wheat bread, which they love. Every week I give them oysters, which they also love. This is a very simple diet that does not cost much and the dry food I store in separate containers lasts me about three and half moths for two rats.  

I like using Aspen shavings because they reduce odor much better than Carefresh, but Carefresh is also softer on their feet. Their is a bedding called Yesterday's News, which is a great choice, and I've also made bedding using plain white paper towel and toilet paper shreddings. If you do that though, make sure that both the toilet paper and towels have no ink on them. All you do is shred them up into strips and they will keep for about 3-5 days before you change them again. Hope I helped you and goodluck!

Answer 3

Please don't try to make your own rat diet. It's a lot more complicated than it looks and it's not easy to make a diet nutritionally complete. I'd stick with Suebee's or Debbie's homemade diets if you're going to use a homemade one.

Answer 4

Ecopet and bedXcel is great.

Answer 5

I have been using suebee's only as a reference, making my own little tweaks every now and then, trying new things. I personally have been feeding my rats my own diets for several years, and they all have nice shiny coats and seem healthy. While some people say negative things about these diets, most pet store foods do a lot worse.

Here is another popular molasses diet: http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

As for bedding, as long as you do not use cedar or pine, and the bedding does not have too much dust in it, it's fine. Besides aspen and carefresh, there are also Yesterday's News, and a number of recycled paper cat litter brands in pellet form.

I use old fleece blankets to line the bottom of the cage, and wash/change them once or twice a week. I find this to be the very best method. If your rats are litter trained, it is especially worth it. Just avoid loopy material, like towels, as their claws can get caught and break off.