Dog food for mice

Wellness Senior was the first thing i looked for, and they did not have any. I'll try another store next time, i hope to get some lab blocks soon too from the feed store mintioned above.

Hey is cat food ok? I have been feeding my rats Nutro Max Cat Gourmet cat food (got it for free and couldnt resist trying it as I dont have a cat). I am basically giving them the cat food, cheerios, kix cereal (once again free), and little odds and ends that I am not eating (like bread, buns, noodles, and occasionally a little cheese :P). I have a feeling the diet is probably lacking and this may be why I have yet to see babies even though the rats are ~3.5-4 months old. I read that they can breed from 2 months of age so I'm doing something wrong... They just dont seem to be growing very fast... The cat food is 30% protein, 10% fat, 6% fiber. After reading this thread, I would guess 30% protein is too high for them... I got around 75lbs of it for free so what can I do?

Give it to a rescue shelter. Rats will get kidney failure from too high protein. They only need 16-18% protein for breeding/rearing.

Nutro is crap cat food anyway, alot of fillers, but the shelter will appreciate it.

Rats need a high quality diet to thrive and grow. They shouldn't be bred at 2 months of age, where in the world did you hear that? It's like a 9 year old girl getting pregnant. It's possible, but is it good for them? NO..

They need to be 4-6 months old and over 250g. If they are not, then you need to separate them. They need to be robust, well-fleshed, healthy coats, and have enough body weight to successfully breed. I would separate your rats, make sure they have same-sex buddies, and let them grow up.

Find a Purina Mill feed store, order some Mazuri 6F or 9F, mix up a mixture of dry pasta, cheerios, total flakes, long-cooking oatmeal, and a few other whole grain cereals, and you're good to go.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Give it to a rescue shelter. Rats will get kidney failure from too high protein. They only need 16-18% protein for breeding/rearing.

Nutro is crap cat food anyway, alot of fillers, but the shelter will appreciate it.

Rats need a high quality diet to thrive and grow. They shouldn't be bred at 2 months of age, where in the world did you hear that? It's like a 9 year old girl getting pregnant. It's possible, but is it good for them? NO..

They need to be 4-6 months old and over 250g. If they are not, then you need to separate them. They need to be robust, well-fleshed, healthy coats, and have enough body weight to successfully breed. I would separate your rats, make sure they have same-sex buddies, and let them grow up.

Find a Purina Mill feed store, order some Mazuri 6F or 9F, mix up a mixture of dry pasta, cheerios, total flakes, long-cooking oatmeal, and a few other whole grain cereals, and you're good to go.

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Lol thanks for the reply. I didnt realize that feeding that to my rats could kill them. I think I saw the thing about breeding at 2 months on some other website that I found by searching "rat breeding" or something on google. Btw, thanks for mentioning the weights. I'm going to weigh them after this post to see if they are too small or not. Btw would the males fight if I put them together? About the feed store, I live in pittsburgh so I dont think I am going to be able to find one too close. At the one reptile show that I go to, there is a rodent vendor that sells rodent block. Its like a few dollars for a ziplock freezer bag full. Is that comparable to the Mazuri food? Thanks again!

The males shouldn't fight, especially if they are younger. I only have 1 or 2 boys(pets, mind you) that like to start things. They are both older and need their junk cut off :)

The bags of blocks should be ok, just ask what brand it is. Some brands are awful and some are very good. You want a protein % between 16 and 18%. Lone males should have between 14-16% or they can have problems such as allergies(scabbies, itchy skin), and kidney problems from too high protein. You don't want the first ingredient to be corn. It's pretty much a filler.

Hope that helps some!

www.ratguide.com helps too, especially with things you can feed them and things you shouldn't. Also talks about what pattern/marking types shouldn't be bred because of high risk of genetic health problems.

I was under the impression that Pedigree dog food was mostly filler: aka corn. Plus I'm guessing most of the meat in there is meat byproducts.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

The males shouldn't fight, especially if they are younger. I only have 1 or 2 boys(pets, mind you) that like to start things. They are both older and need their junk cut off :)

The bags of blocks should be ok, just ask what brand it is. Some brands are awful and some are very good. You want a protein % between 16 and 18%. Lone males should have between 14-16% or they can have problems such as allergies(scabbies, itchy skin), and kidney problems from too high protein. You don't want the first ingredient to be corn. It's pretty much a filler.

Hope that helps some!

www.ratguide.com helps too, especially with things you can feed them and things you shouldn't. Also talks about what pattern/marking types shouldn't be bred because of high risk of genetic health problems.

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Well the females are all ~210-230g and the males are ~250-300g. Since I hadnt read your reply yet, I put 2 of the males together and left the room for a few minutes. Upon my return, I noticed the larger one bullying the smaller one and his leg was bloody. I dont have the room to seperate all of the males and have a spare tank for the females. is their current weight close enough to the 250g or should I just try to find an extra tank somehow? I could probably put 2 of my normal balls together to make an extra slot for rats... Btw, to keep some part of this on-topic, I know you said nutro cat food was no good, but what about the dog food? Its pretty expensive and the protein on the senior food seems to be in the right range. Would it be good to mix into their diet? If I am ruining the thread with all of these questions, just pm me instead. Thanks!

If the boys can still smell "woman" on the others, they are more likely to fight. I also have never had any of my boys fight. I have 2 males actively breeding at any given time, and 3 others waiting on the bench. When they get reintroduced, it's in a clean tub that none of them have been in, and I have yet to have any problems.

Did you hear them fighting or watch it happening? And how much blood was there? Males and females have to reestablish the pecking order, as all rats have a social status within the colony.

Well, I walked in and saw the bigger one on top of the smaller one and the smaller one had an open wound on one of it's back legs about 1cm long and .5cm wide. There was a little bit of blood trickling out and the bedding was a little bloody.