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Old 06-20-04, 01:19 PM   #16
BoidKeeper
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Well I've been raising rats on special dinner \dog food for two years. I've been raising my snakes on those rats for two years. All I can say is look at my snakes.
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Old 06-21-04, 12:30 PM   #17
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Trevor...
You may not notice the effects right away and they might be subtle. And even if you don't notice any difference in the health of your animals right away... why wouldn't you want to give your pets the best you can? The cost difference is minimal.
Not going to get into another "discussion" about what food is best for feeding your feeders though.

Linds... TSK! TSK! Feeding your little "mooches" JELLYBEANS?!? SHAME SHAME!! (hands another bit of pizza to her little mooch)
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Old 06-21-04, 12:44 PM   #18
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why wouldn't you want to give your pets the best you can?
Never said I didn't want to. Trust me as anal as I am when it comes to my animals if I could get actual rat diet I would buy nothing but. It's just not available where I'm located.
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Old 06-21-04, 01:01 PM   #19
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Trevor,
Formulated rat diets aren't the be all end all. I'm actually not a fan of them at all. You may want to consider the type of diet I am feeding. All the ingredients are easily available, no matter where you are located, and IMHO, it is better than the rat blocks. It is also still as easy on the wallet (I'm actually paying less than when I was feeding cheapo dog food), and still convenient enough. There are many alternatives and it is really quite easy to whip up your own rodent diets without all the undesirable additives in them. When making your own mixes you can tailor it to fit both the rodents needs and your needs as well
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Old 06-22-04, 10:45 AM   #20
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I've read all previous posts. Also I saw the links... JESUS!...
What about making our own mixed foods for rodents. Any suggestions? Except meet what are the needs of rats for ex?
For veggies is it enough the rabbit pellets?
~Greg~
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Old 06-22-04, 11:01 AM   #21
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rats usually won't eat rabbit pelletes. The problem I have with mixing your own diet is they pick through it and take what they want.

And my rats (on the lab diet stuff) I hardley ever seen them eat. Maybe once or twice every 3-4 days (which leads me to believe they were starving themselves!). When I feed them the dog food, I see them nibbling a bit every day.
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Old 06-22-04, 11:46 AM   #22
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Originally posted by sapphire_moon
The problem I have with mixing your own diet is they pick through it and take what they want.
Yeap! This is very true! I forgot about that.
So what else? Crushing the mixed food and make pellets on our own
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Old 06-22-04, 12:06 PM   #23
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Greg,
I've actually never found my rats to leave any food behind, and they get quite the variety. Horse chunks supplemented with animal protein and fat makes a good diet for feeders, and is cost effective and convenient. Of course the best diet is a variety of fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, grains, and fresh animal matter, but the diet of horse chunks and animal protein is definitely not sub-par. Having access to kitchen scraps from restaurants, etc. can make a fresh diet very cost-effective as well, but I find it too messy to feed to a large colony, as it isn't really the type of diet you can leave sitting in a food hopper.
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Old 06-22-04, 01:40 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally posted by Linds
Of course the best diet is a variety of fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, grains, and fresh animal matter
Do you mean fresh fruits and veggies? I think that they are not good enough for rodents and rabbits since causes diarrhea.
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Old 06-22-04, 02:41 PM   #25
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On a different note, although my feeders do not receive quite the same caliber diet, my pet rats upstairs receive as varied a diet as myself that includes (but is not limited to) pasta, fresh and frozen fruits and veggies (inlcuding dried cranberries to keep their systems clean), eggs, chicken, beef, bones, bread, nuts, seeds, oatmeal preparations, yogurt, cheese, and occassionally they get offered horse chunks or some holistic dog or cat food.
LOL guess ya didn't read all the posts after all My rats get a good portion of fresh veggies and fruit in their diet (as well as frozen and dried) and have never suffered from any diarrhea. After all, in the wild they don't have formulated rodent blocks or live purely off seeds.
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Old 06-23-04, 09:11 PM   #26
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Small amounts of fresh fruits and veggies are okay. NEVER feed "iceberg" or head lettuce as it's pretty much just water.
I THINK rabbit pellets are primilary a variety of different grasses. The horse chunks are great as they are made of a variety of different grains and are VERY similar to lab blocks but are a LOT cheaper. While I have found the lab diet can be hard to get and in a lot of feed stores I would have to special order it in and it costs over $30 per 25lb bag, but the horse chunks are readily available in any feed store and cost 1/3 the price for a 50lb bag.
Add in some extra protein and you're pretty much set.
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Old 06-24-04, 06:19 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally posted by annieb_mice
...the horse chunks are readily available in any feed store and cost 1/3 the price for a 50lb bag.
Add in some extra protein and you're pretty much set.
Thanks AnnieB, cause i am Greek and i don't understand what "horse chunks" means, can you be more specific please?
I made searces on google but (nothing)
Thanks~Greg~
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Old 06-24-04, 06:26 PM   #28
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I'm pretty sure she is talking about horse food. I looked at it, and didn't like it.
I saw someone talking about pig food (not the grower) one time.
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Old 06-24-04, 11:33 PM   #29
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If you go into a feed store and ask for "horse chunks" they will know what you are talking about. There are several different brands available, including Pro-Feeds and 5 Star. There are 3 different protein levels available as well. Hope this helps.
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Old 06-25-04, 06:06 AM   #30
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annieb_mice, can you send a PM with one or more brand(s) of horse chunks to see what is like?
Thanks~Greg
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