Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, months ago I started breeding my own rats. I had read that the red dyes found in some dog foods will eventually kill the snakes. So I went on a search reading countless numbers of tables on bags of dog food and finally found this. I am not feeding the rats strictly this as I am also supplementing everything from sun flower seeds, multigrain breads, and some rat pellet. Dog food is deffinately the foundation. I had read here on this forum of specific brands of dog foods that are being used and when I came across them in the stores, I saw red 40 on the bag. Is this not red dye?
Anyhow, I have posted the lable below of the food that I have chosen. Can someone please look it over to see if this is safe to use?
Thank you for your time to read this!
Severa

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1.3 leopards( 1 tremper albino,1 high yellow,1 blizzard, 1 tang)
1.0 African fattail
1.1 r. ciliatus (Harlequin flames)
0.0.1 r. auriculatus
1.0 Beardie (50% German Giant x Cawley Red X Hypo Red/Flaming Tiger)
1.0 mexican red knee tarantula
1.0 albino sonoran gopher
1.0 eastern painted turtle
0.1 sun conure
3.3 Ball pythons (1 pastel,2 het for albino, two normal, one granite)
0.2 chihuahuas
1.0 Weeny dog
0.1 spouse

Seems fine to me. Though for mine I tend to look for higher %
Also, I know a couple of brands that used to be popular foods for rats changed their recipes and added dyes. Ol Roy was one if I recall. I know my local sort just changed packaging and I checked and sure as snot they changed and added it too. So now I am searching for a new one.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

Thanks for the reply. Ol' Roy was one that had been mentioned before that I saw red 40 in. The lable I took this off of came from k-marts brand dog food for senior dogs. I am still in search of other brands. Will respond when I find it.
Thanks again for the reply,
Severa
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1.3 leopards( 1 tremper albino,1 high yellow,1 blizzard, 1 tang)
1.0 African fattail
1.1 r. ciliatus (Harlequin flames)
0.0.1 r. auriculatus
1.0 Beardie (50% German Giant x Cawley Red X Hypo Red/Flaming Tiger)
1.0 mexican red knee tarantula
1.0 albino sonoran gopher
1.0 eastern painted turtle
0.1 sun conure
3.3 Ball pythons (1 pastel,2 het for albino, two normal, one granite)
0.2 chihuahuas
1.0 Weeny dog
0.1 spouse

All of those chain stores have dog food made for them. The formulation can change at any time. Maybe we need to check it every time.... I hadn't thought about that.

DeMak

Yes I agree we should check every time and maybe post here if we find out one of our favs has changed.
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5.9.0 ball python
2.1.0 columbian boa
1.0.0 rat snake (alabastered)
1.1.1 corn snake
0.1.0 Chuckwalla (Jamie)
1.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.1 crested gecko
1.0.0 leopord gecko
4.0.0 Quaker parrot
1.0.0 Landseer Newfoundland (Mac)
Brian n Chrissy

"snakes are kind of like potato chips, you cant have just one"

i have a long time mixture i use, Ol roy dog food in the yellow bag, special kitty dry cat food mixed all in horse feed of oats, barely,grains etc, i also add human food through the week too, i buy canned veges, make ricem, pasta etc and mix it all in like a salad in itself and serve that as an alternative. One rat just popped 14 babies, i've had up to 20 using this method, so i must be doing something right.
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1.4 various boas(Flicka,Felony,Nova,Alias,Abby)
0.1 BRB Abalone; ABBI
1.0 Rott X (OSO)
2.0 cats (Simba, Morris)
fish & feeders

In case I haven't posted this tidbit in the last 12 minutes or so...

After wasting a lot of time in the pursuit of the perfect (and cheap) dog food for my mouse colonies, I finally got around to asking the local feed store if they carried rodent food. Sure enough, they carry one of the best brands...$18 for 50 POUNDS! That's cheaper than the cheapest generic dog food around here.

Duh!
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Good find. That's what I've been telling people all along =)

I use Tasty Nuggets dog food from Safeway, it has 21% protein and no red dyes. For a fifty pound bag it is 11.99 and it has large enough pieces that only a few fall through half inch mesh. My moms have had about 12-14 babies each so far.
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Courtney

Ball Pythons (Fluffy, Butter, Romeo, Juliet)
Red Tail Boas (Fred, Shakespeare)

I used to use the Safeway dog food for my mice. The trouble was that a fifty pound bag would go rancid before I could use it up, then my mice would NOT eat it any more.

I don't have mice any more. Now I am trying rats. I am still trying to find good food for them.

Snakey Lakey