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Rodent Feed

S

Swizz

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I took the step into breeding rats and was wondering what everybody uses for Food? I live in the Detroit area and can't seem to find any feed stores or any rat block food for that matter.


Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Shawn
 
Go here http://www.purinamills.com/OurProducts.aspx?product=labdiet

On the left where it says dealer locator, search using your zip code. I think the default search is a 25 mile radius.
Call one of the places the search returns and see if they will be willing to order some for you since chances are they will not have any on hand.

Purina manufacturers Mazuri and Purina Lab Diet and any dealer of Purina products should be able to special order either for you. I suppose it would depend partly on the distribution center their orders are filled from. When I used the product, I used Rat Diet 5012.

If you prefer to use a dog food, choose one with at least 20% protein and no red dye.
 
I don't know Detroit but in Ohio they sell it at Pet Co, Pet Supplies Plus, almost any Pet Store. A little tip is also that they don't advertise for Rats as much as they do for Hamsters, Gerbils, Ferrets. Rats are the least popular Rodent. With Rats though you can intermix. Ferret cages are more preferred and perfect for Ratties. Also if you can't find food at the Pet Store labeled for Rats then Hamster and Gerbil food is the next best thing because they are just about the same. IF you can't find that you can order it offline and if you don't like ordering off line or for whatever reason don't sweat it. Rats can eat just about anything.

The basic rules to feeding human food are if its not healthy for you don't feed it to them. No chocolate, no peanut butter, no brussel sprouts, sunflower seeds and unsalted peanuts in moderation. I use a wet food dish and a dry food dish. The dry food dish consists of a couple yoogie treats, rat blocks and seed mix and healthy kashi cereal. Just read the nutrition label. There are three main things to watch for on the nutrition label. Sodium, fat, and sugar. Also cholesterol. I like the labels that are loaded with vitamins. There are quit a few healthy cereals out there.

My wet food dish looks like a salad bowl. They eat better then I do. lol Shrimp, pepperoni, turkey lunchmeat, lettuce (the greener the better), carrots, cucumbers, they'll get chicken from dinner and they love oysters, broccoli, strawberries, cauliflower. There is ALL kinds of stuff and each Rat has its own flavor, its own tastebuds. What mine will eat yours might not. Things like chocolate are debatable and peanut butter but you have to know when to do it, how much and for what reason. Ice cream will help get a skinny Rat back on a healthy weight. Diluted peanut butter can help a squirmy sick Rat take meds. Just remember everything in moderation and if you have any questions just ask. :)
 
Maybe it's just me, but I don't know anyone maintaining a rat colony to raise feeders that keeps them in ferret cages and feeds an expensive gerbil food in between mixing up some homemade gourmet mix.

Getting a skinny rat to put on weight? Getting a rat to take meds? My rat doctor is Dr. Boa Constrictor M.D. and he has a very effective treatment program. :rofl:
 
Clay Davenport said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't know anyone maintaining a rat colony to raise feeders that keeps them in ferret cages and feeds an expensive gerbil food in between mixing up some homemade gourmet mix.

Getting a skinny rat to put on weight? Getting a rat to take meds? My rat doctor is Dr. Boa Constrictor M.D. and he has a very effective treatment program. :rofl:
Click to expand...
lmao!!! Boa Constrictor M.D.!!! I love it
 
Getting a skinny rat to put on weight? Getting a rat to take meds? My rat doctor is Dr. Boa Constrictor M.D. and he has a very effective treatment program.
Click to expand...

:rofl:

He also cures aggressive rates too.
 
Swizz said:
I took the step into breeding rats and was wondering what everybody uses for Food? I live in the Detroit area and can't seem to find any feed stores or any rat block food for that matter.


Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Shawn
Click to expand...

Well, to find a feed and seed store you will probably have to look in the more rural areas. If you do and they are Kent dealers, Kent has started to make a rodent feed. I have been using it lately with great success. It's also cheaper then Mazuri. I bought a whole pallet and got it for $10.67/ 50 lb bag.
 
kmurphy said:
He also cures aggressive rates too.
Click to expand...
Yep. Agressive rats, one that escapes, one that drops off on the litter size, basically any rat that has any problem what so ever gets a doctors appointment. He's part medical doctor, part psycologist, he can cure whatever ails them.

Oh wait, I forgot, we're supposed to refer to the cute little buggers as Ratties now
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
I gotta go to the grocery store now and pick up $200 worth of rat food lol.
Anybody know where I can get a good deal on about 50 ferret cages?
 
Thanks for the help everybody. I'll look in the phone book and call some places up....If I can't find any feed stores I'll just pick up a bag of dog food w/o red dye.

Btw Clay, The cage/rack plans are your site are fantastic. I just finished the rat rack from your design


Thanks!
 
I have Pets that get treated like Queens, and then there are feeders. Healthy cereal isn't expensive. Neithers good Cat food. Its beneficial if you can learn as much as possible. Question. Do you take your feeders to the Vet? No, yes? I could make healthier food. :raspberry
 
Leighanne said:
I have Pets that get treated like Queens, and then there are feeders. Healthy cereal isn't expensive. Neithers good Cat food. Its beneficial if you can learn as much as possible. Question. Do you take your feeders to the Vet? No, yes? I could make healthier food. :raspberry
Click to expand...


Yeah, I'm going to take 100 rats and 200 mice a week to the vet right before i feed them off. That will make it more cost efficient. :rolleyes:
 
Clay Davenport said:
Yep. Agressive rats, one that escapes, one that drops off on the litter size, basically any rat that has any problem what so ever gets a doctors appointment. He's part medical doctor, part psycologist, he can cure whatever ails them.

Oh wait, I forgot, we're supposed to refer to the cute little buggers as Ratties now
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
I gotta go to the grocery store now and pick up $200 worth of rat food lol.
Anybody know where I can get a good deal on about 50 ferret cages?
Click to expand...

OMG if its gonna cost you $200 to feed yours then I'm so screwed. Gotta find that 2nd job to feed mine and a 3rd for the vet bills.

Oh wait , I have a vet. Amana 5cube . Open all day & night , best thing is the drop off service. To date tho they haven't found a cure for dead. Kinda disappointed there. :D
 
Clay Davenport said:
Maybe it's just me, but I don't know anyone maintaining a rat colony to raise feeders that keeps them in ferret cages and feeds an expensive gerbil food in between mixing up some homemade gourmet mix.
Click to expand...
My six rats aren't snake food. They are pets that produce food for my snakes. As I want both my pet rats and the pet snakes that eat their offspring to be healthy, I feed them well. They each have two food dishes, one for hamster mix, the other for lab rodent cubes. This is augmented daily with either greens or carrots, as well as cat kibble and small milkbones on which to gnaw. I will sometimes dab some peanut butter on the end of the milkbone as a treat. I also put a teaspoon of vanilla extract in the gallon water jug I use to refill their bottles. This reduces any smell from their urine.

I chose my pets for their temperaments and for their beauty. Each one is different in markings and color. The rat pups are not and never will be the primary source of food from my snakes. Rats are intelligent animals, and I can't bring myself to rear them under factory conditions. My rats will be bred bimonthly, so I will produce but two litters each month. That's enough to keep some rat pinks and fuzzies around to offer problem feeders. Because the parents are healthy and well fed, I can also keep any pups needed to replace breeders after they are retired, as well as to offer to any friends looking for a pet.
 
jaxom1957 said:
The rat pups are not and never will be the primary source of food from my snakes. Rats are intelligent animals, and I can't bring myself to rear them under factory conditions.
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, what is the primary source of food for your snakes? Are you buying them from someone else who can bring themselves to rear them in "factory conditions"? If so where does the real difference lie?

While I suppose 6 breeder rats would technically be a colony, maintaining that small a number would allow you to keep them as you describe if you so chose, and that's great for you and your rats.
I think most people who raise rats as feeders generally have more than that though. Myself, I have about 60 breeders at any given time, in addition to the mice. My colony would be considered small by the standards of some.
My approach is if I'm going to raise my own feeders, then I'm not going to be buying any. As a result it's simply impossible to treat them as pets by any definition of the word. They are treated humanely, with plenty of food and water, but their sole purpose is to reproduce, and do so in a cost efficient manner.
 
Clay Davenport said:
Out of curiosity, what is the primary source of food for your snakes? Are you buying them from someone else who can bring themselves to rear them in "factory conditions"? If so where does the real difference lie?
Click to expand...
My primary feeders are mice, bought from themousefactory.com. Mice are less intelligent, but the real difference is in what *I* have to do. I am not opposed to raising feeders in a food factory, whether that be rodents for the snakes or cows for me. There is simply a level of participation that I won't accept. I felt the same way when I raised dairy goats. I could not bring myself to kill such an intelligent animal for food, but had no problem with others who had the stomach for it doing so.

It isn't a question of morality, but of squeamishness. I spent much of my childhood living on farms and ranches, and I am quite capable of killing and butchering rabbits, chickens, pigs, even cows. There are some animals that strike a chord with me, that I react to on a subconscious level and treat differently.
 
jaxom1957 said:
My primary feeders are mice, bought from themousefactory.com. Mice are less intelligent, but the real difference is in what *I* have to do. I am not opposed to raising feeders in a food factory, whether that be rodents for the snakes or cows for me. There is simply a level of participation that I won't accept. I felt the same way when I raised dairy goats. I could not bring myself to kill such an intelligent animal for food, but had no problem with others who had the stomach for it doing so.

It isn't a question of morality, but of squeamishness. I spent much of my childhood living on farms and ranches, and I am quite capable of killing and butchering rabbits, chickens, pigs, even cows. There are some animals that strike a chord with me, that I react to on a subconscious level and treat differently.
Click to expand...
I can understand that and I see where you're coming from. I do not enjoy having to kill the rats myself, but it's a necessary fact for me. When I set up the CO2 system it was as much for my benefit as for the rats. It makes a distasteful job far easier to tolerate.
 
i raise rats and mice on COB, with or without molasses. Mixed with dog and cat food and then human left overs, ok ok real human leftovers, but scrap food, rice, fruits/veges etc works well for me. I eliminate moms who can't produce enough milk and their young are thin and fragile and eyes opening, i hand raise all the ones i want to keep for feeders, this way there is no aggressive anywhere and it makes for better handeling and looking at litters etc. I vacuum seal my FT and date them. I add powered suppliments to the water, vitamins and antibiotics which have kept the sniffles away. I have a set routine and it works for me.
 
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