% of Protein Questions

[ama1997]

Hey Ive been reading and I have been seeing alot about What % of protein is ok or needed for rats. Breeding males and females and growing babies. The lab blocks I could get from the local pet shop has 23% protein. I have herd thats way to high. Is it and why is it so bad. Also whats a good % of protein to have. I know lots of people use the Mazuri 6f. I wasnt able to get it in time before the racks were finished. So I picked up this stuff from the local pet shop. I also didnt want to spend 30.00 or so on shipping. Then I find out the local Mazuri dealer cant get the 6f for some reason. Anyways whats the right % of protein and why?

[munding]

the ziegler that was on ralph davis' rat barn video has 18% protein. i feed mine purina 300 for chickens as i cant get any lab block's here. it has 17% protein. i just throw in some dog food that has high protein to even things out. if 18% is working for him, then that's good enough for me. i mean, he is producing in between 500-1000 rats a week to feed all of his bps weekly.

[littleindiangirl]

Here's what I take away from all of these percentages of protein in diets and why 18% is a good number.

Growing rats need a higher percentage of protein for growth, cell repair, bone density and muscle growth and overall health. The same can be said for breeding and nursing females that have a taxing amount of energy going into raising their young.

Adult rats at a year of age do not need the same high amount of protein. This is especially true for males. I feed my adult males a diet of 14% protein. Their hair, skin, eyes and body mass are doing wonderfully, they are bright and active and I would say in much better health since being taken off of the general higher protein diet used for the rest of the colony. (oxbow regal rat is their food, plus some other homemade mixes and fresh fruits)

Females, nursing does and growing youngsters could do very well on a 20-22% diet, but it must be noted that high protein diets do have a certain risk involved.

Rats are sensitive to certain foods, and these foods or diets high in protein cause allergic reactions. Food allergies are also remarkably genetic, with having the allergies passed on to a certain degree to the offspring.

Allergies from a high protein diet can cause severe itching and inflammation. You may even see the raised areas on the skin if all the hair has been scratched away. The constant scratching can do damage to the skin, abrasions, and leaves the doors open for many kinds of infections. Bacterial and fungal. Both of which can be quite painful and debilitating to the rats unless treatment is exercised to control the spread. (A diet with too high of fat can cause the same allergic reactions of skin lesions along with obesity, which increases the chance of stroke and diabetes)

Rats do need animal proteins, they are omnivores, but do not do well with high percentages of animal proteins like some found in cat diets. I do not recommend cat kibble ever, some may do, but I see no reason for it. My own kittens food is close to 30% protein!

For rats (especially males), too high of a protein can cause organ problems with liver and kidneys. Over time this can cause liver and kidney failure, and ultimately death.

So how can we feed an entire colony what they need, while supporting nursing does and growing youngsters and not over doing it for our adult male rats that have different needs?

16-18% protein. If you wanted to do like me, feed the 18% to nursing females and the 16% to the resting females or breeding rats. That's how I do it, and I feel that it is doing quite well for me.

(The 14% Oxbow is given to my resting males back in the bachelor pad)

[amon]

Dear Connie,

Do all these info apply to mice as well?

Thanks

[littleindiangirl]

Dear Connie,

Do all these info apply to mice as well?

Thanks

I have no experience with mice unfortunately. I bet Deborah, Becky and a few others know what's going on with them. The only thing I know is Mazuri recommends the 9F for mice on their product description. I would imagine those little speed freaks do well on the 9f.

[ama1997]

Ok thanks I seen on one of those rat forums that a 20% protein some said is ok if thats the only sorce of protein. Since I do have a bag of this 23% protein stuff Im going to use it until its gone. Im working on getting the Mazuri 6f. Im trying to find it around here so I dont have to have it shipped. I have used this stuff I have now before. I didnt really have any trouble with it before. But the reason I stopped using it was because they were wasting alot of it when I was using tanks. Now that I have the racks built they dont waste any. While they were in the tanks I just used dog food. I have no clue what % protein it was. And they did great on that, but now with the rack I cant use the dog food. So I am going to get something lower in protein like the Mazuri 6f, and see how that goes. Thank again for all the help.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Do all these info apply to mice as well?

I feed Mazuri 6 F to mice as well and it works great.

All my rodents are fed a mix of Mazuri 6 F and 18% protein dog food (3 parts mazuri + 1 part dog food)

If that helps.

[ama1997]

Well I found a place that can get the Mazuri 6f. Its not that bad of a drive about 30 min or so. I will be changing to that once it comes in. Thanks again for all the help.