Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just wondering if there is anyone out there that breeds their own rats. if so, what do you feed them. i know lab blocks are what's recommended, but they are a little pricey. is there anything else that will work just as well? is there anything else that rats can feed on that won't affect ball pythons if they are fed those rats? horse, rabbit, or dog food ok?

any feedback would help. thanks

horse is eaten but not a total diet
rabbit won't even be eaten that much
pig chow...well..it's for pigs
cat chow for cats and dog chow for dogs....

so in this theory...rat chow is the best bang for the buck....

....my theory....it's boring living in a box with 15 other mice and all day all you do is look at a wire coated ceiling...

so I feed lab chow, dog food, corn ,whole oats, sunflower at times....*(and even soy beans ,peanuts, pig food, horse food, trout pellets, cat food and odds and ends have been used at times for treats)....

......IF you HAVE to......lab totally OR dog totally or half and half....

lab here runs 18 to 20$ a bag ----the cheapest dog food I can find runs 16.50 ...so it's not that much difference....

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........JY

Dog food will leave rats and mice with oily coats. I guess that is because dogfood kibble is quite greasy. In my rodent building rats and mice are fed Mazuri rodent 6F ($23.75 for 50 lb) and nothing else. Years ago I did make a mixture of Pig and Sow food, sunflower seeds and chicken scratch which worked well at the time but probably cost about the same as the Mazuri!

My local feed store carries a rodent lab block that is $13 for 50lbs.

If you contact your local feed store, someplace that supplies feed for cattle and the like, they can usually get the big bags of rodent block for cheap.

I include lower protein dog food in my food mix for Mice and ASFs. I don't have any problems with oily coats or hot spots because of the lower protein content. Basically the cheaper the dog food the lower the protein content, and the more they will like to eat it.

I also provide wheels for all of my colony tubs. I don't have problems with fighting, chewing, or food shredding. It helps keep them busy so they don't get bored and shred all of your paid for food.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly
2.1 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

wheels? good idea im going to provide them for my poor rats too.

>>My local feed store carries a rodent lab block that is $13 for 50lbs.

Interesting. What is the name of this rodent lab block?
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Best regards,
AlanColesReptiles

>>My local feed store carries a rodent lab block that is $13 for 50lbs.
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Best regards,
AlanColesReptiles

I bet it makes a big difference how close you are to the point of manufacture (and of course market fluctuation in grain and energy). As of last July I could get a 50lb bag of Mazuri 5M30 for $16.95 retail in Colorado (Brighton Feed & Saddlery).

the 2010 harvest came and I thought good...price drop a little...wrong....the corn prices went up and up and up again...BioFuel and people burning straight corn in the little hopper feeding heaters....price jumped...the farmer here at the one store said he could have made as much at the mill to sell it all to them and not even bother with retail...even after he raised his price.......

lab chow....was paying 18.35 or so...last week she charged me 19.99...I hope it was a mistake....

and I know a guy that uses skids a week......

.....and we still get the same price for mice as in 1990.....
..?..something's wrong around here.....and snake prices drop forteen times a year...???........
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........JY

i cant agree more, the price of the food i buy has jumped 3 dollars in the past 3-4 months, its outrageous. considering youre lucky to get a couple bucks for a rat thats 2-3 months old
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www.bamreptiles.webs.com
www.facebook.com/bamreptiles

A guy on this site who breeds many bp's told me about this stuff a month ago. The rats love it. I live in the S.F. bay area and it's less than $18 after tax for a 46lb. bag. I was paying $28 for a 50lb. bag of mazuri rodent breeder. Hopefully you have a Safeway in your neck of the woods. I had to go to one of the larger stores, as they don't always have it in the small ones.

Anthony-

That is dogfood, not a rodent block.