I have tried 3 different brands of food with my small colony, and have seen noticeable effects with each change in diet.

When I first started out, I was feeding my 1:3 breeders Kaytee Forti-Diet Pro Health, which I picked up at my local pet store. On this brand, I was loosing pups left and right, the rats had an unpleasant smell, and bad allergies for some of them.

After a lot of reading, I switched my colony to Mazuri Rodent Diet (not 6f version) and had greater improvement in rat size, growth, and pup health. My rats never sneezed and seemed to really prefer this brand. However after a few weeks, my favorite little rat mama - a hooded american blue began "rusting", and it continued to spread up her back till she was almost completely tan. The rats didn't smell any better, but it was a different odor now.


After more reading, I concluded Mazuri Rodent Diet was far to high in protein and I could see the effects of it in my weaned pups. An adult, non-breeding rat will do well on 14-16% protein diet. The Mazuri I was using was 23% (Harlan also makes a 24% protein lab block). Breeding females and growing pups need a little more protein than non-breeding adults, but in my opinion, lower protein = healthier rats.

I decided to try Harlan 2018 (18% protein) which is formulated for breeding rats and young and conveniently available at my local feed store. I like this brand because of the ingredients - no animal product, ground wheat/corn vs Mazuri's dehulled soybean. I supplement with mealworms, veggies, egg and dog treats (Fruitables). Since making the switch I have noticed less smell than Mazuri, still plump healthy pups/no losses, no sneezing, and the rats can't seem to get enough of it.

My favorite rat mama is changing back to the deep gray that I love so much, the rusting effect is nearly gone, and all of my rats are noticeably more shiny.


I'm not saying Mazuri is a lesser brand - I'm actually curious about trying the 6F version (16% protein) and interested in what you may have noticed with your rats and what brand of rodent food is giving you the best results...