socRATties

 

Below I have listed the mix I feed my rats, as well as links to various other sites that have diets. This is to give you a basic idea of what should and shouldn't be going into your rats mouths! Please note that while I do list the following links, it does not mean that I do, or don't support their diets. Personally I prefer mine, but you need to find what works for your rats.

 

http://www.dapper.com.au/articles.htm#diet

http://www.rattyrascals.co.za/generalcare.html#food

http://www.ratanooga.co.za/food.asp

 

Further down you will find a list of Good Foods, Forbidden Foods and Foods to be Cautious of.

ALWAYS bear in mind that whatever you feeding your rats shouldn't have more then 18% Protein MAX in. Remember that if they are picking out all the 18% bits of the food i.e leaving everything but the pellets say, they are taking in more then 18%, so you HAVE to ensure they are eating everything in the bowl.

Rats should NOT be drinking our tap water. My 6 go through a 5L bottle of purified water per month and a half, at a cost of around R15.

The socRATties diet

This can be a bit of a costly outlay initially and makes a fair quantity of mix, but store in an air tight container and it will last for ages. Mine lasts me around two months for 5 rats.

 Please also bear in mind that this isn't the perfect diet, but what I find works the best with my rats

Heartfields Fruity Museli                          (Checkers or Pick n Pay etc) Anything low fat, low salt, low sugar will be good.

1 box Wholewheat Pasta                        (Checkers or Pick n Pay etc)

Rat Krispy or Rat Nature                          (from FB Vetenary Clinic,Muizenberg)

Rat Delight                                             (+- R20 @ Pet stores)

Prestige Frutties (berry kind)                   (from FBVC in Muizenberg)

Prestige Herbies                                     ( from FBVC in Muizenberg)

450g Wheetbix                                       (Checkers or Pick n Pay etc) This provides roughage. Dont buy cheeper brands as they disintergrate

 

Optional

1 X Bag of the Natures Source Mixed Berry muesli

Treats:

I find that rats enjoy yogurt covered raisens as treats, candied sunflower seeds, cranberries, etc.

Remember tho: EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!

 

Daily Fare:

Every first day my rats get a very runny mix of gluten free baby rice cereal or wholewheat pronutro, half a teaspoon of honey (antioxidant) mixed with 100ml of bottled/purified water and a tiny dash of milk or 5ml of yoghurt mixed in, 1 teaspoon of brewers yeast to approx 100ml of this mix. To vary the taste, i sometimes add half a teaspoon of peanut butter (the low oil, no salt one) or a teaspoon of non citrius baby food.

Every 2^nd evening my rats get a mix of veg, starch and whatever protein we are having with the portions being 3:2:1 of the items. Every morning they get a piece of fruit. Apple, banana, pear etc. Don’t give too much or you will have runny tummys to deal with!

Remember to always remove the core of the fruit.

Re the above 2 mixes, i always microwave the food a little bit to ensure its warm and yummy!

Every evening my rats get a serving of raw broccoli (buy the frozen one, its more nutritious) as it helps against tumors and a type of fruit i.e apple (no core), peach (cut away from the seed) etc. With frozen veg, just drop it in hot water for a second to remove the cold.

I have found giving rats food at night results in less wastage as they are up and about whereas during the day they sleep more and eat less meaning I need to throw a lot away.

Foods List (with thanks to Nicola Krawczyk and http://health.ratzrus.co.uk/care/food.htm )

Always becareful of sticky or tacky (i.e mashed potato) foods that may cause choking. Try to mix them with water or milk to make them more runny.
* Wash thoroughly first

Regular Foods

Alternative Health Foods (Quite Regular Foods)

Limited

Foods To Give With GREAT Caution

Coffee (known for causing cancerous tumours)

Fizzy Drinks

No Go Foods - Dangerous Foods

 

 

Principle Ingredients

 

Ingredient	Function	Source	Amounts	Deficiency Signs
Carbohydrates (starches and sugars)	Provide energy for daily activity, growth and reproduction.	Grains, vegetables, seeds and nuts.	Approx. 75% of the diet, more in growing, pregnant and nursing rats.	Lack of activity, dull, un-playful, weight loss or growth/ reproduction failure; severe starvation and/or death.
Proteins (amino acids)	Build body tissues (muscles, bones, nerves, hormones and blood, etc).  Excess converted to energy.	Meat, grains, seeds and nuts.	Minimum 7% in adults. Pregnant and growing rats need 15-20%.WARNING - excess protein is said to perhaps promote tumour growth.	Weight/hair loss, fractures, infections, porphyrin staining, growth and/or reproduction failure.
Fats (fatty acids)	Build body tissues and hormones.  Excess is used for energy or converted to fat stores.	Meat, nuts and seeds.  Body can produce some on its own.	Very little.	Poor coat, scaly skin, failure to grow and/or reproduce.  Unlikely to occur.

 

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Principle Vitamins

Vitamin Name	Function	Deficiency Signs	Important In Diet?
A	Needed for healthy skin, eyes, growth and reproduction.	Scaly skin, blindness, failure to grow and/or reproduce, infections.	Yes
B1 (thiamine)	Energy production from carbohydrates and protein.	Deterioration of brain, nerves, heart and muscle tissue, appetite loss, poor growth, weight loss.	Yes
B2 (Riboflavin)	Growth and energy.	Unhealthy skin on face and legs, failure to grow and/or reproduce.	Yes
B6	Growth and energy.	Failure to grow and/or reproduce, poor skin and coat.	Yes
B12	Necessary for growth and healthy blood.	Failure to grow, weakness, low fertility, even death.	Yes, but deficiencies are pretty rare.
C	Helps make cell walls, etc	Wounds won't heal, failure to grow, bleeding.	No, as rats make their own.
D	Needed for healthy bones in adults and growing young rats.	Failure to grow, abnormal joints, soft bones, stiffness.	Yes
E	Needed to repair damaged cells and tissue and for growth.	Failure to grow and/or reproduce, abnormal bone, muscle and heart tissue.	Yes
K	Blood clotting.	Bleeding doesn't stop even in minor wounds.	Maybe - as it lives in the intestines, rats get this from eating their own faeces, which they do regularly.
Niacin	Growth and energy.	Poor coat and skin, weight loss, porphyrin staining.	Yes
Folic Acid	Growth and healthy blood.	Poor growth, infections.	No - as it lives in the intestines, rats get this from eating their own faeces, which they do regularly.
Pantothenic Acid	Growth and energy.	Rough coat, flaky skin, graying of hair, failure to grow and/or reproduce.	Yes
Choline	Works with Folic Acid and Vitamin B12.	Liver and kidney damage.	Yes
Biotin	Needed for healthy skin and hair and reproduction.	Hair loss, scaly skin.	No - as it lives in the intestines, rats get this from eating their own faeces, which they do regularly.