Would this be a complete diet for rats? I'm new to the rat world so I don't know much...?

Question

I just adopted 2 baby rats from the shelter and right now I'm feeding them Kaytee forti diet which I have now heard is really bad for them. I was wondering if this would be a complete diet:

1) Lab blocks for my pet health food store. (1st 4 ingredients are: soybean meal, wheat middlings, ground corn, soybean oil - 17% protein, 5% fat)

2) Rat kibble from the pet health food store. (It doesnt have any seeds or c**p like that in it. Every piece of food looks the same. Like mini lab blocks - 15% protein, 4% fat. Sorry, don't know the ingredients right now.)

3) A LITTLE guinea pig food for variety

4) Eukinuba, small breed, senior dog food. (9% protein, 3.5% fat)

5) Fresh fruits and veggies everyday.

I'm not that experienced with the whole rat food stuff but I did a little research and made this up. Oh, and I did hear about Harlen Teklad and Oxbow regal rat and I can have them shipped to me but shipping is about 15$ where I live and I really cant afford that much shipping costs so I have to use whats available to me and those arnt. So what do you think? Does it need tweaking? Thanks! All input is apreciated!!

Answer 1

too long to read... i feed my mice/rats bisquets o.o

Answer 2

I would forget about the guinea pig food. There's no reason for that.

Senior dog food is something I would wait until they're adults (6+ months at least) before feeding.

I feed:

Mazuri lab blocks & Regal Rat kibble. The senior girls get Blue Buffalo senior dog food mixed in.

They get a slice of melons, some peas & carrot pieces, Total cereal, plain uncooked oatmeal, and Kashi Go Lean cereal mixed together (rat sized portions) as a daily snack.

They also get all-natural dog biscuits for treats.

Answer 3

Yes, except do not give them dog food... It can seriously harm them. Fresh fruit and veggies and birdseed would probably be the best and cheapest diet for them, along with some stale bread crusts for their teeth. Giving them cheese and peanut butter once in a while is very good, too. They also love about one tablespoon of cream per rat. Put all the cream in a dish and put all the rats near it. The cream'll be gone in 10 seconds flat. Just dont give them any milk unless they are under 1 week old. Raw oats and bran/Life cereal is great, too if you dont mind spending a bit more. Mine loved unsalted crackers with peanut butter and some strawberry bits. You can also feed them tuna/salmon and they luv it, or raw chicken/beef. Not too much meat, though, only about 1 tablespoon per 2 rats

Luv,

  Moon Wolf

Answer 4

Lab blocks are good.  I like Harlan Tekklan best, but Oxbow regal rat is really good too.  I would try to get one of those 2 brands as they seem to be the best food you can find.  Try checking if a pet store near you will special order them for you, many do.  Also, Petsmart is starting to carry Oxbow now I think if you're okay with shopping there.

If you go for dog food, you need to use a senior type, and a good brand.  Eukenuba has a lot of fillers and other junk.

Ideally, young rats should get about 18% protein (Not much more then that) and once they're done growing, 14%.