What to feed Breeder Rats when Mazuri isnt AVAILABLE??

Hey everyone!!

WHat do you guys recommend to feed my rats if I cant find Mazuri 6f locally anywhere? I have been using dog food for the moment and giving them treats daily! I only have a tio of them until I can get my rat rack done!:headbang:

Kent Rodent Diet

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Kent Rodent Diet

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What type of store sells that stuff?:D

Do you have a livestock feed store or a Co-op nearby? They can special order you some in.

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Originally Posted by aldebono

Do you have a livestock feed store or a Co-op nearby? They can special order you some in.

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Mauzuri or Kents Rodent stuff? I called and asked our feed store and the guy had no idea what I was talking about!

I feed all my rats Nutro Natural Vegetarian Dog Food. They've been doing great on it, I like it better than Mazuri personally.

The guys over at National Pet Pharmacy sell 200lbs of Native Earth (high quality lab block, same as Mazuri) for $85 and only $5 to ship, that's only $.45 a pound, unless you are buying by the ton I don't think you could find a better deal, even at your local feed store.

Or if you don't need that much or don't want to stock up you can order single bags for just $5 shipping to your front door.

Adam, I use Kent and it works out to be .32 cents a pound

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Adam, I use Kent and it works out to be .32 cents a pound

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What are you paying per bag. I pay 12.99 per bag of Kent. And if i get a whole pallet its $10 per bag

Even cheaper?!?!

I do pay like 16.85 a bag for it which sucks

How many bags are on a pallet?

Where do you buy it?

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

What are you paying per bag. I pay 12.99 per bag of Kent. And if i get a whole pallet its $10 per bag

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Even cheaper?!?!

I do pay like 16.85 a bag for it which sucks

How many bags are on a pallet?

Where do you buy it?

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Theres a Factory about 90 mins from me where i can buy the pallet. I think pallet is 30 bags Cant remember. As I only bought a pallet once.

Normally i pay my price at local Feed Store that carries every Kent and Mazuri product.

Just checked and there is a factory about that same distance from me as well.

Good to know you can buy direct from the source!

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Theres a Factory about 90 mins from me where i can buy the pallet. I think pallet is 30 bags Cant remember. As I only bought a pallet once.

Normally i pay my price at local Feed Store that carries every Kent and Mazuri product.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Just checked and there is a factory about that same distance from me as well.

Good to know you can buy direct from the source!

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Yep, i dont do it often as i dont have a truck that can hold that weight at once. My father does but hes always on leave with FEMA so im sol.

is there any issues with using dog food? I use Pedigree honestly because it is the only dog food big enough to not fall through the screen on the top of the tubs. I ended up using 3/4 mesh and it was a bit big so this is the only food thats big enough to not fall through. Is there a huge difference in using dog food vs. lab block? I have about 10 females breeding so im not a huge breeder just trying to breed enough for my own collection.

Might be 1/2 inch not sure but all the dog food ive tried falls right through.

Dog food is just that Dog Food. I Wouldnt feed cheap dog food to my dog let alone rodents, that will become your snakes nutrition.

Most dog foods are higher in fat and protein which is bad for the rodents.

So what about Loyal dog food sold at Cal_ranch? Thats what we feed our champion blood line Euro Great Danes that we breed! The rats eat it up like crazy and seem to grow pretty well on it! :headbang:

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Originally Posted by Johnny84

So what about Loyal dog food sold at Cal_ranch? Thats what we feed our champion blood line Euro Great Danes that we breed! The rats eat it up like crazy and seem to grow pretty well on it! :headbang:

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Their eating it up as its not got what they need. So they eat and eat trying to get nutrients, but end result is over weight rats. Production slows down and so does the litter size.

As Rich said it's not a matter of whether it is a high quality or a low quality dog food. The problem is that it's dog food not rodent feed. The nutritional needs of the two are just different. Look at it this way, if you have a pedigreed champion dog and you feed him the best dog food money can buy, that same feed wouldn't work for your thoroughbred race horse. Could he live on it? Most likely but he won't what he needs to perform at 100% from it. That's what you're trying to do with your rats, get them to produce as many healthy offspring as possible. So it only makes sense to buy a feed that is nutritionally formulated specifically for a rodent.

Okay then! :D

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Adam, I use Kent and it works out to be .32 cents a pound

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The problem is Kent isn't usually available on the east coast. The closest store to me that carries it is over 100 miles away, and I don't know of any places that will deliver it to you door step.