Reptile & Amphibian Forums

is there any brand of dog or cat food i can feed to my mice, and more importantly to my rats, thats complete nutrition? or at least pretty close to complete nutition, maybe suppliment it with some vegies or whatever.... right now theyre getting fed "hampster food" thats a mix of sunflower seeds, corn, etc, a lot of seeds. thats it..... im paying 70 cents per pound... maybe theres dog or cat food i can get cheaper? anyone do this? thanks... dave

ps... i read on rodent pro's site that hey dont feed dog food and 'especially no dog with with red dye'.. whats the red dye about? just curious... dave
-----
"i have a mortal wound!"
"where? where does it hurt?"
"oh, pretty much around the big bloody spot"
"come inside. ill get the neosporin. da na na na na - NEO! ba na na na na na na - SPORIN! blee nee nee......."

I've tried everything for my dogs and Nutro is definately the best. It has complete nutrition and has no red stuff. I've been feeding it to my breeder mice and hamsters, with veggies and grains, and they are in perfect health. They've produced in above average numbers and the offspring are always born healthy and grow fast.

At the moment, I'm using a rolled feed (mixed flaked grains) in conjunction with a small amount of cat food for added protein. I wouldn't feed only dog or cat food, because rats and mice are omnivores, and those diets are designed for carnivores.
The feed is cheap, it's about 7 bucks for a 50 pound bag, which contains oats, barley, and corn.
I'll also give them some dandelion greens or other veggies occasionally for treats and to round out their diet with fresh food.

I use dog food all the time.. i think it works quite well....

I've fed rodent chow or dog food. They both have worked fine for me. The cheaper dog foods are mostly grains anyway. The problem about red dye is that it builds up in the internal organs of rodents. The repiles that eat the feeders cannot digest this chemical properly and it harms their internal organs. This is third hand info, I have never seen a biopsy that shows this. It is totally avoidable though, so why risk it.

DeMak