rodent feed

[KORBIN5895]

I need some ideas on rodent feed. I was feeding mixed seeds, corn, oats and venison jerky. I am tired of the seed mix even though it was a great filler. Last night I bought a bag of whole grain shredded wheat, oat meal and barley. Mixed that with puffed wheat and a vegan dog food I picked up and viola new rodent chow. Do you guys have a recommendation on other things to mix in? I am looking for larger items because seeds are a pain in the can and the hulls just build up way to fast.

[jarich]

Alfalfa pellets; theyre high in calcium and some other key nutrients. Plus they are cheap and easy to find. Also grass seed, which is cheap and plentiful this time of year too. That is one of their biggest food sources in the wild.

What the heck is vegan dog food?! Yikes, that sounds ridiculous!

[Snakefood]

I mix hog feed, large seed mix (none of that millet stuff) and high protien kitten food. works for both my rats and mice

[KORBIN5895]

Alfalfa pellets; theyre high in calcium and some other key nutrients. Plus they are cheap and easy to find. Also grass seed, which is cheap and plentiful this time of year too. That is one of their biggest food sources in the wild.

What the heck is vegan dog food?! Yikes, that sounds ridiculous!

Sweet! I have alfalfa pellets! Didn't think they would eat them. What ratio would you recommend?

I know the manager at the local pet store and get their damaged product that they claim and have to throw away. I will look up the brand if I have the bag. I chose the vegan stuuf because of the lack of dyes.

I was thinking hog feed but all of the local stuff is medicated. I sell these mice to the pet store and they usually end up snake food. So I want as little meds and chemicals as possible.

[Snakefood]

What the heck is vegan dog food?! Yikes, that sounds ridiculous!

It was originally created to combat allergies as (at the time) it was thought that dogs primarily reacted to animal based protien sources, (which has now been totally debunked, they can be allergic to anything just like us). However, it stayed popular with extremist vegans who wanted their carnivorous animals to eat vegetarian too!!

[insignia100]

Oh, don't get me started on vegan pet food (especially cats! No! Bad! *thwack!*).

[Snakefood]

Oh, don't get me started on vegan pet food (especially cats! No! Bad! *thwack!*).

Me too! I had to really think of how to word that before typing. I used to be a vet tech and, oh the stories I could tell you about stupid people with innocent pets!!

[jarich]

Be careful of feeding your rats high protein kitten food. As well as having way too much protein for a rat, those often have very high fat contents too, which gets passed right on to all your reptiles. Its best, if you are using other kinds of pet food as rodent food to use a good quality, adult formula dog food. Remember rats are omnivores, so their protein requirements are much lower than a cat (obligate carnivores) and high fat diets make them obese, therefore a lower quality food for your reptiles.

[Snakefood]

I don't think I mix enough into it to make my mice/rats obese. They definately don't look obese, when not preggers of course. and when I say high protien, what I mean is "not Alley-Cat" (you know what I mean?) I guess what I should be saying is high quality.

[jarich]

Its not just about the way they look, its about stored fat as a percentage of body weight. Generally speaking rodents in cages are about 10% more body fat than rodents in the wild, and thats when fed rodent chow (which is lower in fats than cat food). While its not gonna kill your snakes or anything, its just better for them to have a lower fat source of food. Especially given the lazy nature of captive reptiles. Thats why I say switch to the old age formula dog food. Its got less fat and generally the same level of vitamin/minerals as the young formula. Its a win win situation.

Kevin, as far as a ratio for the alfalfa, Id say give it to them as about 25-30% of their dry food. Its a great food source.

[infernalis]

Corn flakes, bran flakes, unsalted tortilla chips (they love those)

[exwizard]

Kent has a rat chow that works very well for both our rats and our mice. It only costs us less than $15 per 50 lb bag. Its convenient, none of it goes to waste and supplies all the nutrition outr rodents need. Theyre all healthy as can be because of it.


Its not just about the way they look, its about stored fat as a percentage of body weight. Generally speaking rodents in cages are about 10% more body fat than rodents in the wild, and thats when fed rodent chow (which is lower in fats than cat food). While its not gonna kill your snakes or anything, its just better for them to have a lower fat source of food. Especially given the lazy nature of captive reptiles.

Our rodents are captive but theyre definitely active. We have multiple rodents per tub or lab cage and theyre never still, especially at night.

[jarich]

Rodent chow has the advantage of not letting the animal pick and choose what it wants. (we mammals like to eat what tastes good instead of what is good for us, rats are no different) All the nutrients are mixed together in each bite. I think in general, if you aren't willing to spend a good deal of time making sure you are providing them with a balanced fresh food diet, then rodent chow is the way to go. Its still a little fatty, but the vitamin and mineral content is good.

[lumpbump]

I need some ideas on rodent feed.

My rats eat mazuri 6f. They say its supposed to cut down amonia in the urine. Also its got all the good stuff breeding colonies need and protein content is not too high. Its a purina product so if you have feed stores in your area that are certified purina dealers they can get it for you. It costs me about 32 dollars for 50 pounds. Google mazuri.

[KORBIN5895]

My rats eat mazuri 6f. They say its supposed to cut down amonia in the urine. Also its got all the good stuff breeding colonies need and protein content is not too high. Its a purina product so if you have feed stores in your area that are certified purina dealers they can get it for you. It costs me about 32 dollars for 50 pounds. Google mazuri.

Will do!

Also what do you guys think of adding movie popcorn? I just gave some stale popcorn to the mice and rats an they went psycho! I was thinking I only live five minutes from a theater and could probably get loads for free.