Rat/mouse nutrition question

[Shelby]

Normally I feed one scoop of dog food to one scoop of my cereal mix (puffed rice/wheat, pasta, cherrios etc) but now that I've switched to lab style cages, the food hoppers will only hold the dog food. Will it harm the rats to only feed the dog food, and not the cereal mix?

[Ginevive]

Hm.. I am not an expert on this, but I would be afraid there may be too much protein?
I feed mine lab blocks from SunSeed. They seem to be working out really well; fat, healthy rats that are breeding out of control!

[sweety314]

I was feeding dog food to my daughter's pet rat Scabbers, and he started getting "bites"/scabs. The vet said it was diet related. Went with the vet's directions of fresh fruit/veggies, stopping the dog food and little to none of the rat food mix (ya know...corn, seeds, etc. from the pet store). Scabs cleared up. Looking to get a female & start breeding my own since my BP won't eat the juvies that I've bought the last 3 times---of which Scabbers was the first.

Any suggestions as to cages, diet, as I get started??? I've never bred rats before, just cared for the established colonies in college.

Thanks!!

[Shelby]

I've fed dog food for months. At least with the cereal mix, there has been no problem.

[diggy415]

I feed mine all sorts of food, variety of large and small billed bird food, dog and cat food whole corn, veggies,squash, rice, bread you name it. They love it and i do great by it. Large litters and jumbo adults to boot!! You can PM me if any particular questions.

[sweety314]

........You can PM me if any particular questions.

Hi. Just tried to PM and I'm locked out. It says you're not accepting PMs or unable to accept PMs.

Is there some other way that we can communicate. I'd appreciate your offer of help in answering some of my questions. Thanks heaps!!!!!

....On later thought....... I think I'll just copy my questions and tag them on here. N-E-one else w/ideas or suggestions???

Thanks! R.

"I'm interested in starting my own rat breeder program, but even w/the reading, have some questions. How lg does the female have to be before I can breed her? I bought it as a sm/juvie, but my BP wouldn't eat it. If I can't return her, I'll start my own colony. A 10g tank should be big enough for the mom and new litter, right? I know I probably need to move the adult male to something bigger than the 10g tank he's in, but how big and is there a prepped feed you'd recommend so that the rats are healthy for the snake's needs??? My vet didn't like the rat/mouse mix from the pet store. Said it was that that was causing Scabbers to get the scabs/"bites" on his skin.

Sorry for the ??s, but I must be missing the right sites or something. I haven't found much info. online to answer them all."

Thanks for your help!!!

[Jeanne]

"I'm interested in starting my own rat breeder program, but even w/the reading, have some questions. How lg does the female have to be before I can breed her?I bought it as a sm/juvie, but my BP wouldn't eat it. If I can't return her, I'll start my own colony

They can breed as young as 6 - 8 weeks of age. But thats does not mean that they should be bred that young. I do not reccommend breeding anything younger that 5 months, and even then thats just me, others will let them breed younger, but I do not feel it to have any benefits at all, plus the litters tend to be smaller at that age and she may not be "ready" to have babies are far as caring for them.. this could cause her to kill off any litters produce, maybe till she gets older, but from me experience, it seems to sour them on baby rearing as an older juvie/young adult often times they continue to kill litters after that. Making them uneconomical and useless for whatever your purpose.

A 10g tank should be big enough for the mom and new litter, right?

A 10 gallon wont do for long and IMO is really not big enough at all, but whatever you choose either way.. once the babies are weaned, you will want to consider learning how to sex them right, so they can all be separated by sex, otherwise, you may have a quick over population of rats who are inbred.

I know I probably need to move the adult male to something bigger than the 10g tank he's in, but how big

IMO a 10 gallon is a bit small, 15 gallons plus is good, if you are leaving him as a lone male. Some give less room for thier rats, but I like to atleast not have too small of a home for them.

and is there a prepped feed you'd recommend so that the rats are healthy for the snake's needs??? My vet didn't like the rat/mouse mix from the pet store. Said it was that that was causing Scabbers to get the scabs/"bites" on his skin.

I use large hook bill (parrot food), lab blocks, cereals, small amounts of dog food like bill jack and add veggies and a few fruits to thier diet for suppliment/treat purposes. Occassionally, they also get chicken bones (from left overs) and steak or pork bones (also from left overs). The better of a diet you feed them, makes them better for your snake/snakes.

[sweety314]

Thanks for the answers!! I know rats are omnivorous....but I always thought, (that like pigs) if you give them meat, it will encourage them to, or increase the chances that they'll eat their litter(s).


Hmmmmmmm, means I'll need to wait a little while before considering breeding. The female is too small right now, and the feed store said they'd take her back. I'll try to return her tomorrow, and trade for a couple of mice again. At least that way I know Baby will eat since it's been about two weeks. *sigh* I don't think Baby's fasting, just that the food isn't the right size. Pthththththt

[frankykeno]

I mix my own food too and did go overboard on the dog food. My really old retired breeder male, LeRoy, got all scabby from too high protien poor old guy.

I actually get my dog food as free samples from the pet store (free is always good!) Lots of different flavors and very nice quality! I add in rat block, a bit of parrot mix (they sell it bulk at the pet store), cereal like total or banana nut crunch (they love that stuff!), bit of large flake oatmeal and a small bag of human trailmix (no citrus). Cheap, easy and they waste none of it.

They also get hand treats and bones to chew on. Once per week they get the end slice from a sandwich loaf dipped in a bit of olive oil. They adore this treat and it makes their coat condition just like a baby rat! I share one slice between 4 adult rats.

We are currently waiting to see if our two female rats are finally preggers. They are both certainly old enough and I left one of my males in with them for 2 solid weeks so they best be LOL.

Quick question, something I saw somewhere online (who can remember)....should I add in dry milk powder for the preggie ladies and when they are nursing or will the above mix provide whatever calcium they require at this time?


~~Jo~~

[SatanicIntention]

No, I wouldn't give them any milk products except for a little yogurt or vanilla ice cream every now and then. You can always mix up a little bit of oatmeal or baby cereal, or even give the females some soy milk. They will just shovel it in. I like to mix some wheat baby cereal with soy milk(vanilla), warm it up and give it. Sometimes I'll mix a little strawberry yogurt in there too. They go nuts over it, especially if it's warm. You can also cook some brown rice mixed with chicken broth, that's always a favorite. Spaghetti noodles are good, especially if you put a little sauce on 'em. YUM!

I also finally found a good dog food for them. It is Wellness Senior, and is low in protein and fat, and high in fiber. Has lot of awesome ingredients. The dog food needs to have a meat product as its first ingredient, not a corn product. Corn shouldn't be anywhere in it anyway. It's just a filler, and is gross... Try Iams, Science Diet, Nutro, Eukanuba, and the Wellness. Look for the lamb and rice formulas and the senior formulas that are under 20% total protein. I only put maybe 1/4 -1/8 of an 8lb bag in my mix, and when I make my mix, it fills up about half of a 60-70qt rubbermaid tub.

I just need to write out a mix and make it a sticky, LoL. And yes, I know... My rats eat better than I do...