Dog Food For Rats?

[munding]

philippines. i already asked around. they dont have block food. they feed the rodents here purina 300. i think its for poultry or something. my brother lives in CA. i can stock up on block food when i visit him around june.i can get maybe a year's worth of food. how long does it take for the block food to expire?

[Hotshot]

I'm not going to sit up here and say I feed this this and this I feed freakin dog food...

[littleindiangirl]

The block food expires after 6 months. I know there are people that feed hog feed, Blue Ribbon is the name. If you have a chance, check out the ingredients of whatever feed you do decide on. Rat's cannot digest alfalfa, so thats a big no no. Again, I say if you can print a copy of the ingredients to Purina's Mazuri or Harlan Teklad Global Diets, and try to get the closest match in protein, fiber, and ingredients, you should be off to a good start.

[munding]

ok. i will. thank you connie

[Desert]

The block food expires after 6 months. I know there are people that feed hog feed, Blue Ribbon is the name. If you have a chance, check out the ingredients of whatever feed you do decide on. Rat's cannot digest alfalfa, so thats a big no no. Again, I say if you can print a copy of the ingredients to Purina's Mazuri or Harlan Teklad Global Diets, and try to get the closest match in protein, fiber, and ingredients, you should be off to a good start.

Check the ingredients of Mazuri 5M30 6F is there alfalfa meal on that ingredient list?

[littleindiangirl]

I know there is alfalfa in Mazuri, but it is not the main ingredient and is more of a filler. Just something we have to deal with. Rat's still cannot digest it, so yes, Mazuri shouldnt have it but they do.

[munding]

i currently feed my hooded rats Vitality value meal. its made up of:
Crude Protein min 20%
Crude Fat min 10%
Fibre max 3.5%
Moisture approx 8%


that's the closest to block food that i can find here.

thank you

[littleindiangirl]

That brand looks pretty good ingredient wise. Just a note, if your one or more of your animals does get scabs on the face, neck and behind the ears or scratches incessantly it will most likely be a food allergy (If you've ruled out Lice and Mites already), and those allergies are quite genetic.

As an example, I have a male rat that we held back 3 off spring from, females. He has allergies to certain foods (fatty foods from scraps, he no longer gets scraps) and he will get scabs on his face and neck for weeks. 2 of his 3 daughters also exhibit those same allergies, just not to the same degree of severity.

If you do have rats that display allergies to the dog food, it may be wise to not hold back any from those litters. Especially since you cannot get anything else.

Good luck with your future litters!

[munding]

yes. ill check them regularly for allergies. so far, they're doing good on that kind of dog food. thank you.

[Desert]

I know there is alfalfa in Mazuri, but it is not the main ingredient and is more of a filler.

Mazuri uses it as a filler? That's interesting information. Would you mind citing any references that corroborate this? Thanks.