Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well.. it works... and works well so far. Going on 3 months now.. production hasn't dropped... 40 pups in less than a week from my new breeders I just raised up... I bought the Vintage Gold variety and mix it with cheap dog food as a basic diet. I'd add extras as treats.. a handful of sunflower seeds.. puffed rice/wheat/bran cereals and fresh greens/fruits sometimes as well as chicken/beef/pork bones. It doesn't look like the pellets like a rabbit pellet but more like a nugget of dog food...Its also rice bran based instead of Corn based like alot of feeds I see... #50 will run about $12 around here... may be more or less in other places... Here's the stats for it for protein and fat and fiber content....I'm still working with it but I'm gonna say it'll probably turn out as a good type of feed if mixed with dog food as well.

Vintage Gold is a high protein, high fat extruded nugget designed to meet the nutritional requirements of performance, condition and growth. Features stabilized rice bran. Contains exclusively plant-based fat sources. This feed also features added lysine to aid in performance, growth and lactation.
Crude Protein - 16.0
Crude Fat - 7.5
Crude Fiber - 7.0
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
3.5.3 Leopard geckos (2.0 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 0.1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short), 1.0 Rainwater Albino (Mycah), 0.4 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, Rain and Aris) and 2.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas, and Mystic))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
3 cats (Ashe, Sahara and Hercules)
6 Fish (4 Red Danios, 1 Cardinal Fish, and 1 Tiger Barb)
8 Ramshorn snails
"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!"

Good to hear from you. I'm glad its working out but isn't it just as expensive as dog chow?

DeMak

Well, for me, when ya think about it.. I run a colony of 1.12 (A little over recommendation but it works for me) And I spend about $24 every 3 or 4 months on #50 lbs of the horse feed and #50 lbs of dog food for my rat colony so it really works out to less than $2 a month. I don't like when they're on just the dog food... their coats are oily and they seem to be missing something. Haven't had that problem with this mix yet... I looked for Lab Chow at first but out here for any kind of Lab diet its over $30 for #25 which isn't cost efficient at all. So, since then I've been working my way through different feeds...Cow, pig and horse mostly to mix with the dog food... this seems to have done it... For others it might not work... for me it does.. but I'm putting it out there because I know alot of people are looking for alternatives and ideas.
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
3.5.3 Leopard geckos (2.0 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 0.1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short), 1.0 Rainwater Albino (Mycah), 0.4 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, Rain and Aris) and 2.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas, and Mystic))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
3 cats (Ashe, Sahara and Hercules)
6 Fish (4 Red Danios, 1 Cardinal Fish, and 1 Tiger Barb)
8 Ramshorn snails
"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!"

Sorry... my math skills shot out the door somewhere.. under $6-$8 a month and less than $.50 a day.
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
3.5.3 Leopard geckos (2.0 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 0.1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short), 1.0 Rainwater Albino (Mycah), 0.4 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, Rain and Aris) and 2.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas, and Mystic))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
3 cats (Ashe, Sahara and Hercules)
6 Fish (4 Red Danios, 1 Cardinal Fish, and 1 Tiger Barb)
8 Ramshorn snails
"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!"

Thanx for your imput. I'm lucky enough to live near a breeder that lets me buy their mix at a reasonable price. My son,who lives out in the country, does not. When I went to the feed store to buy bulk, they pointed me to the rat poison. So we each have to find what works for us. Shipping on feed is usually out of the question because of the expense. As much as I enjoy raising rats, I'm not going to do it if it is more expensive...

DeMak

I agree it does work for me as well. I run a cow feed and cheap dog food for both mice and rats and seems to work very well. Rat production is really high.

Just curious as to how big the pellets of the horse feed are? I currently use Mazuri lab blocks and ole roy dog food together. Just wondering if I could use the Blue Seal on top of the 1/2" wire mesh in my rat racks? Thanks, and glad to hear it's working well for you!

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MichaelRehker
"Which of us has not been stunned by the beauty of an animal's skin or its flexibility in motion?"
--Marianne Moore

Vintage Gold by blue seal is exactly what I've been using for my feeder/breeder mice. I noticed that mice & horses require the same fat & protein levels, so, by stealing a little food from my horse (Vintage gold is from $9-11 a 50 pound bag), I save a lot of money not buying $7.99 kaytee or whatever 2 pound bag of mouse food. I also may supplement them with a little mouse food as well as fresh fruits & veggies, nuts, or whatever is lying around!

My litters are usually from 7-9 pinkies! so much that we have to be careful or the mom gets too stressed & kills a few!
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Melissa and Corny