The Natural Rat Diet

[candice]

The Natural Rat Diet

A combination of the Shunamite diet for rats and a only from nature sourced ingredient diet I have carefully formulated specifically for rats.

ALL ORGANIC INGREDIENTS

3 Cups Thick Rolled Oats

3 Cups Rolled Barley

1 Cup Wheat Kernels (Red or whatever is available)

1/2 Cup Brown/Wild Rice

1/2 Cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/2 Cup Millet

1/2 Cup Golden Flax Seeds (Golden is more nutritious.)

1/4 Cup Amaranth*

1/4 Cup Buckwheat*

1/4 Cup Quinoa*

1/4 Cup Raw Cashews or other inexpensive chopped nut, EXCLUDING peanuts as peanuts are a legume, not a nut, and not safe to feed when raw.

* Please note that those grains marked with an asterisk sign are old-world grains and gluten-free. They are great to feed, but if you can not find all of them it is okay to leave them out. They are for variety. Amaranth is the most expendable and can be spicy; Buckwheat and Quinoa are particularly good to feed of these.

Most of these ingredients can easily be purchased from bulk bins at natural food stores such as Whole Foods Market, or other local stores. Whenever possible obtain organic ingredients.
It is imperative that rats receive about 1/2 cup or so per rat of fresh fruits and/or vegetables per day. Do not feed spinach or lettuce. Fresh food should not be allowed to go bad in the cage (common sense, of course).

Vegetables: Broccoli, kale, cauliflower, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and the like are wonderful. Carrots should only be fed as a VERY rare treat as they are extremely high in sugar. Raw potato is okay but all skin should be completely removed (peeled) and all eyes as it is highly poisonous. Beans and any other legume (lentils, peas, peanuts) should NEVER be fed as they are poisonous unless cooked. Dandelion greens (if not treated with pesticides) are a rat favorite.

Fruits: Bananas should be fed just as rarely as carrots due to the same sugar factor. Organic strawberries are best because of high amounts of pesticides in non-organic strawberries. Green peppers are a favorite of my rats, as is So Delicious Coconut Dairy-Free and Soy-Free Strawberry Banana yogurt for a treat!
Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc. should NOT be fed.

Protein: Pregnant and lactating females require more protein, as do young rats. For adult rats a treat of 2-4 live crickets per mouse each week is a wonderful supplement and they may enjoy hunting them. Mealworms are not as nutritious and very fattening, but are a good treat if fed exceedingly rarely.

Hard and soft-boiled organic egg also make a wonderful source of protein and a great treat for our rattie friends. The occasional tidbit of organic raw chicken and chicken bone or beef they will truly enjoy. Rats are opportunistic eaters and love meat, but organic is important because commercially raised animals receive exorbitant amounts of hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides, which WILL directly affect the rat if fed, most probably in the form of growths. Dried bread (free of spices and preferably free of soy) and shredded wheat cereal are great fun and low-fat treats for overweight rats. Seeds and nuts can be fattening so you may want to limit these if the rat is overweight.
The key with any diet is that a mix is for picking at and isn't nutritionally complete without fresh foods on the side.

I choose to feed a from-nature diet because every single "complete" lab block out there contains soy (which has been shown to cause tumors in rats and mice), and all store-bought lab blocks (instead of special order) contain alfalfa meal, something our rodents receive no nutrition from whatsoever. Not to mention the grainery floor sweepings, hulls, shells, and corn.

Any questions? Please send me a PM!

- Candice

[allenya]

I am curious how long a batch like this might last few two male rats. The only store in town I could get these things from is across town and I only get to that area about once a month.

I am taking in a set of albino twins. They are larger boys, not fat though. They don't really eat a lot now. I am working fresh veggies and some fruit into there diet and they are really enjoying that.

The food they were being fed by the previous owner is a mix from WalMart. It's not the worst I have see, there are no pellets, but it isn't great.

The love unsalted in shell roasted peanuts.

I have made a few treat 'bombs' using toilet paper rolls stuffed with peanuts, a few pieces of cat food and veggies. They have loved these and make one bomb last two to three days.

[candice]

Hi allenya.

For my two big boys they love their mix; I recently modified the recipe for them and removed the rice and amaranth, as they did not need quite so much grain anymore. For them now one recipe (I double it) lasts me two months or a little over (I freeze the other bag). I cannot say exactly how much your ratties will eat, but that is how much mine do (eating is a favorite hobby for them ;D ). They get lots of organic fresh fruit and veg as well - be aware of pesticides and GMOs in foods if you are not already. They increase the incidence of tumors in rats - there is a french study you can look up on google of rats fed GMO corn and the results were just horrible. Anyway, ratties love organic kale, cilantro, parsley, berries etc. - mix it up!

The Walmart mix may look ok at first but if it is stuffed full artificial colors, corn (note the recipe above does not have any) and alfalfa (maybe even soy - bad for tumor risk!) that is filler junk that will do them no good. When you make your own you can pay attention to yours rats' needs and modify accordingly which is pretty great!

Good luck - stock up on ingredients/make a double batch and freeze the other bag if you can.

[allenya]

Ya that is one big thing about the WalMart food that bothers me. I spent several hours when I got my boys sorting out the bag of food they came with to get all of the corn out. I never feed corn at all.

I have since gone to the store and bought all of the supplies to make my own mixed food. They do seem to be enjoying it. I have the receipt at home but I think I willed a 10 gal bucket for just around $20. Now I didn't buy all the things in your recipe because they didn't carry some of the items. I replaced those with items from other recipes so they still had a selection in the food.

[Katt]

I do that with my mouse and hamster food. Sometimes not all ingredients are available. By rotating through when they are they still get the variety though.

[allenya]

Ok, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong nutritionally.

[gg]

Carrots are fine to feed frequently. They don't have that much sugar, and are a good source of moisture boost for warmer months. Mine get them daily and certainly no fat rats here.

[Katt]

Carrot is a great fresh veggie treat for your rodents. It is good to rotate through a variety of fruits and veggies too. They love "new" (brand new or haven't had in a while new) foods.