"Healthy" Feeder Food - Recipe!

Okay, I've never been an advocate of "lab blocks"...yes, I know, some science student who did his thesis on the dietary requirements of lab rodents probably made a fortune selling his ideal "formula" to the companies that produce the stuff, and yes, it probably covers all the bases as far as the nutritional health of the intended prey items. But...how BORING must it be (and I daresay, not very healthy at all) to consume nothing but a "ration" block all the time? Rodents need a variety of healthy foods! Even (or more appropriately "especially") if they are intended to be food for OTHER animals.

So, in doing my OWN research into the subject of rodent diet, I came up with a "recipe" that I have been using with great success for my feeder/breeders for quite some time now. In the interest of community, I present it here to you, because, as I noted another user quoting in another thread, "healthy feeders = healthy snakes" ...that has been my motto since I started the whole "feeder breeding" operation!

The recipe is:
4 parts (Iams) puppy food
3 parts "songbird" wild bird food
1 part chicken scratch
1/2 part puffed rice, cracker crumbs, dog biscuits, etc.

Now a bit more on the parts:
Iams Puppy Food: I use Iams puppy food because I found that it has the best ingredients & protein ratio (I raise a lot of hairless rats & they need more protein to keep their body temp up). This part is the main bulk of the food, so you want it to be the best. Iams puppy food also contains NO RED DYE! It is VERY important that if you're varying the brands or types of foods you use to *never* use anything containing red dye in it (some parrot foods have little "kibble" pieces that are suspect). It will not harm the rodents you feed it to, but it will build up in the reptiles' kidneys/liver and produce a toxic effect eventually, which could be their demise. Since I feed mostly rats/hairless rats, I use 4 parts of this ingredient, but if you're feeding mice or ASFs, they prefer more grain, so, they will do better with only 3 parts of this (that's good, because it's not cheap!) ;^)
"Songbird" Wild Bird Food: I found this at "Buy Me Crap"-Mart. It has just the right proportion of black sunflower seeds, peanuts, cracked corn, millet, sorghum & dried fruits. I haven't found any other like it, so I just continue to use this. I might post a pic of it later, for ease of locating, but I'll have to buy more first!
Chicken Scratch: We also have chickens, so, I use some of their food to "round out" the rats' food with more grains (wheat, millet, more corn, etc) I suppose if chicken scratch wasn't available, you could either leave this part out, or substitute a more "seedy" bird food for it (plenty of millet, sorghum, cracked corn, wheat, etc)
Puffed Rice: Again, from "Buy Me Crap"-mart. This is really just for a "treat"...the rodents really like it, but sometimes I will also use cracker crumbs, crumbled stale bread or tortilla chips, old granola from a "health" kick...anything that's not overly processed or containing red dye (old cereal is good, so long as it's not anything like Froot Loops!) The point of this part is to just give them a "treat"...so, if you don't have anything to make up this part, it's fine to just skip it.
Mix this all up & feed one Tbsp per animal/day for rats, 1/2 Tbsp (or less!) per animal/day for mice, & 1/2 Tbsp (or less!) for ASFs. Don't overfeed! I realize that most people use racks with a "bin" for lab blocks...even when I FINALLY have racks, I'm still going to feed my mix in bowls. That's how much better I think it is! :^P
As far as cost...this mix costs me about $30 a month (or less) to feed 50+ rats. I'm sure you can probably feed them cheaper on lab blocks...I don't know...but, I like this mix...I know what's in it...and my rats love it too!
Oh, and another note: I also give my rats puppy biscuits every few days or so, to help with the need to gnaw...but they don't really *need" that...it's just something extra I do for them.

Good Luck! Never give up...Never surrender!

Okay, after speaking with a friend in the business the other day, he says he's taken my recipe and omitted the dog food part & substitutes horse feed instead, which makes it a lot cheaper. (He says it contains the right amount of protein, etc.) I have thought about using horse feed myself, but I have no idea what the differences are in the stuff...I know there are different kinds of horse feed. When I asked him, he couldn't give me a name, per se, but said that the blocks (in the horse feed) do not fall in thru the 1/2" grate of the breeder racks (the seed does, but that's fine).
He also mentioned that he's started using compressed pine pellets for the bedding, because you don't have to use as much, they expand when they get wet & soak up urine really well (thereby cutting down the ammonia smell). He uses it in all of his racks, but puts a bit of shavings in with the mommas that are pregnant/nursing so that they have soft stuff for the babies. (I believe he says that he puts it into the back 1/4-1/3 of the rack tub for the mommas.)
Anywho, just thought I would mention that to anyone that is interested!

Hey man Thanks for the great read. I have been thinking about breeding my own feeders for a bit but my wife is only starting to warm up to the idea. "She thinks they are so cute and if we raise them she may not be able to let me feed them to the snakes lol". I will definitely book mark this thread and check back to it if I ever do start my own feeder colony. "Probably when my snakes get bigger; more of them are around and the price for feeders get steep." I am also glad to see a fellow Okee around on the site. I have a lot of friends in Claremore and visit there frequently. Welcome to the site!

Green Oasis Reptiles said:

I noted another user quoting in another thread, "healthy feeders = healthy snakes"

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Guilty as charged!

Thank you very much for posting this. I don't raise my own feeders right now, but would like to in the future. Sounds like you've put a lot of time and money into perfecting this diet, and we greatly appreciate the info!

Kathy

Thanks for the info. My friend that also breeds hairless rats said not to use anything with dried corn. I have parrots also, so I give mine some of their seed and pick out the corn, but if you haven't had problems with it, then I will give it a try. LIke the mix.

Well, actually, my mix contains very little corn (honestly, the rats don't eat it very much anyway).
I try to pay attention to what the rats are eating most and adjust the diet accordingly, which is why I know that they LOVE the sunflower seeds! Usually, they pick out either sunflower seeds or puppy food first & everything else they pick at later.
I just got some more ingrediets, so I think I will take a few pics & post later, so you guys can SEE what it should look like.
But for now...I need to feed the human children!

Take care!

Arpolis said:

Hey man Thanks for the great read. I have been thinking about breeding my own feeders for a bit but my wife is only starting to warm up to the idea. "She thinks they are so cute and if we raise them she may not be able to let me feed them to the snakes lol". I will definitely book mark this thread and check back to it if I ever do start my own feeder colony. "Probably when my snakes get bigger; more of them are around and the price for feeders get steep." I am also glad to see a fellow Okee around on the site. I have a lot of friends in Claremore and visit there frequently. Welcome to the site!

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Cool! Sometimes I've wondered if hubby and I are the only Okies that "dig" snakes around here!
Yeah, it's kinda' hard sometimes to feed those cute little furries to the snakes, but...that IS the whole idea, so...just gotta' deal with it sometimes! I feel better about feeding off mice, but that's because I don't LIKE mice! ;^) (Hence why we don't breed mice anymore.)
You just have to learn to separate your "feeder" rats from your "pet" rats in your mind. It's perfectly fine to keep some as pets (my two daughters have some for pets as well as one I keep), but you don't want to go around adopting them all!

Been a LONG time since I've been on here! TOO LONG! But I am back with a vengeance. I have stopped using this mix...not because it was bad, per se, but because I noticed that my breeders were almost TOO fat. Almost. That, and it was a bit annoying to have to mix up the mix, get seeds & stuff EVERYWHERE while the toddler was pestering me to let her "help" (hence the seeds everywhere!)
I have been using THIS stuff for awhile now, and while it costs about 50% more, it seems to do just fine for them...I occasionally still mix it with dog food, and I really want to try a mix of the blocks, seed, dog food & horse feed (once I find the right type), but I am going to have to wait until I have some more "business" for that! Right now, it's just easier to use the blocks. Poor ratties!

Now a bit more on the parts:
Iams Puppy Food: I use Iams puppy food because I found that it has the best ingredients & protein ratio (I raise a lot of hairless rats & they need more protein to keep their body temp up). This part is the main bulk of the food, so you want it to be the best. Iams puppy food also contains NO RED DYE! It is VERY important that if you're varying the brands or types of foods you use to *never* use anything containing red dye in it (some parrot foods have little "kibble" pieces that are suspect). It will not harm the rodents you feed it to, but it will build up in the reptiles' kidneys/liver and produce a toxic effect eventually, which could be their demise. Since I feed mostly rats/hairless rats, I use 4 parts of this ingredient, but if you're feeding mice or ASFs, they prefer more grain, so, they will do better with only 3 parts of this (that's good, because it's not cheap!) ;^)

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Red dye causes cancer, nuff said. Iams does have a lot of crap in it (not just to dogs), as it's a Walmart brand. Last I checked, it had dyes and such. Might have been purina though.
But again, I would say, even for a hairless rat, it would have way too much protein and fat for rats, similar to cat food, to be the main staple.

"Songbird" Wild Bird Food: I found this at "Buy Me Crap"-Mart. It has just the right proportion of black sunflower seeds, peanuts, cracked corn, millet, sorghum & dried fruits. I haven't found any other like it, so I just continue to use this. I might post a pic of it later, for ease of locating, but I'll have to buy more first!

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Post a pic. I can't find anything like this. I know that the seeds and peanuts would offer a lot of fat, but I think the other things would even it out. No problem here except that I want it!

Chicken Scratch: We also have chickens, so, I use some of their food to "round out" the rats' food with more grains (wheat, millet, more corn, etc) I suppose if chicken scratch wasn't available, you could either leave this part out, or substitute a more "seedy" bird food for it (plenty of millet, sorghum, cracked corn, wheat, etc)

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Isn't this like a sand? And you wouldn't substitute it for fatty bird seeds.

Puffed Rice: Again, from "Buy Me Crap"-mart. This is really just for a "treat"...the rodents really like it, but sometimes I will also use cracker crumbs, crumbled stale bread or tortilla chips, old granola from a "health" kick...anything that's not overly processed or containing red dye (old cereal is good, so long as it's not anything like Froot Loops!) The point of this part is to just give them a "treat"...so, if you don't have anything to make up this part, it's fine to just skip it.

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Treats? My treats are table scraps/doggy bags from restaurants, and the occasional bite of whatever I'm eating.

Mix this all up & feed one Tbsp per animal/day for rats, 1/2 Tbsp (or less!) per animal/day for mice, & 1/2 Tbsp (or less!) for ASFs. Don't overfeed! I realize that most people use racks with a "bin" for lab blocks...even when I FINALLY have racks, I'm still going to feed my mix in bowls. That's how much better I think it is! :^P

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The bin is called a hopper. And I don't even use a bowl; it gets kicked out. I put timothy hay down, then the food. The rats, especially the weaners that still have their eyes closed, chew on it.
And someone on BP.net figured that rats need about 5 grams of food everyday for every 100 grams of weight. I don't really know, so I just put down a bunch of food every day or so, and I know if they need more based on how much I gave by eye-balling it, and by the way they act if I bring a smelly food into my room.
Rodents do not naturally over eat, so if it's all balanced, you will have no problems.

As far as cost...this mix costs me about $30 a month (or less) to feed 50+ rats. I'm sure you can probably feed them cheaper on lab blocks...I don't know...but, I like this mix...I know what's in it...and my rats love it too!
Oh, and another note: I also give my rats puppy biscuits every few days or so, to help with the need to gnaw...but they don't really *need" that...it's just something extra I do for them.

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I don't have 50 rats, but I'd say you're doing pretty bad on the cheap part of breeding. If I was spending 30 bucks a month on anything less than 100 breeders, I'd just BUY frozen rats.



I dunno, I wouldn't do this, but if you have breeders that are doing very well, more power to you.


Btw, I don't feed a lab block...

Green Oasis Reptiles said:

Okay, after speaking with a friend in the business the other day, he says he's taken my recipe and omitted the dog food part & substitutes horse feed instead, which makes it a lot cheaper. (He says it contains the right amount of protein, etc.) I have thought about using horse feed myself, but I have no idea what the differences are in the stuff...I know there are different kinds of horse feed. When I asked him, he couldn't give me a name, per se, but said that the blocks (in the horse feed) do not fall in thru the 1/2" grate of the breeder racks (the seed does, but that's fine).
He also mentioned that he's started using compressed pine pellets for the bedding, because you don't have to use as much, they expand when they get wet & soak up urine really well (thereby cutting down the ammonia smell). He uses it in all of his racks, but puts a bit of shavings in with the mommas that are pregnant/nursing so that they have soft stuff for the babies. (I believe he says that he puts it into the back 1/4-1/3 of the rack tub for the mommas.)
Anywho, just thought I would mention that to anyone that is interested!

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Horses are herbivores and a prey animal in the wild, so horse food is all plant material (...or should be). I should try that.

I don't use pine PERIOD. I also don't use pellets because it seems they're not best for rats from what I've read, but no pine. Ever. I've got rats that were on soft wood before that have RIs still, and that was 3 months ago.

Green Oasis Reptiles said:

Been a LONG time since I've been on here! TOO LONG! But I am back with a vengeance. I have stopped using this mix...not because it was bad, per se, but because I noticed that my breeders were almost TOO fat. Almost. That, and it was a bit annoying to have to mix up the mix, get seeds & stuff EVERYWHERE while the toddler was pestering me to let her "help" (hence the seeds everywhere!)
I have been using THIS stuff for awhile now, and while it costs about 50% more, it seems to do just fine for them...I occasionally still mix it with dog food, and I really want to try a mix of the blocks, seed, dog food & horse feed (once I find the right type), but I am going to have to wait until I have some more "business" for that! Right now, it's just easier to use the blocks. Poor ratties!

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I KNEW IT. :laugh01:


If you want to know what I use for my rats, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Such negativity so close to Christmas...I guess you're not a fan.

By my research & survey of other "feeder breeders", $30 is a good cost for 50 breeder rats. These guys save me a good $100+ a month for frozen feeders, so spending $30-45 on their food is nothing comparatively speaking. I probably COULD feed them cheaper...but their food would then not be as healthy.
Yes, I realize that Iams has a lot of fat...especially on the puppy food end. When I noticed my rats seemed overly fat, I switched to Iams "weight control" which still has a good amount of protein, but a lot less fat...this seems to be a better use of the dog food portion of the mix. Sorry I didn't post that at the time that I did it. Iams does not have red dye...I've checked...and Walmart is not the only place that sells Iams, so it is not a "Walmart-exclusive brand".
Chicken scratch is grains...you're thinking of "grit" which is...well, gritty (ground oyster shell). Chicken scratch is mostly millet, sorghum, wheat berries, cracked corn...you know, grain!
As mentioned before, hairless rats need more protein because they must expend more energy to maintain the correct body temperature, since they have no fur for insulation. Higher fat content will not necessarily harm them either, but I don't like having little butterballs waddling around. It's not good for the breeding females. (Although, incidentally, I have not had any problems with my hairless girls failing to lactate.)
Another part of the reason I use the Native Earth blocks is because I did more research into lab blocks (because I was thinking of supplementing MY mix with them), and while most lab blocks aren't the healthiest, Native Earth has the best ratio of all the different ingredients, no corn, AND contains no copper (which is also harmful to them, the reptiles and anything else you might feed it to when it builds up in the system)...copper is used as a preservative and is even found in the Iams (which is why I was trying to get away from it in the first place). I had noticed I was having severe eye problems with my ASFs which I think was related to the copper content of the dog food. I give the ASFs ONLY blocks now, and they have had much less eye problems.
There are certain animal feeds that do not contain copper, but I am still researching them for use in the rat mixes. Until I have the money to experiment more, I will have to "settle" for the Native Earth blocks, though.
Breeding animals should be a constant learning experience, and in my 17 years of breeding rats, I am still constantly learning & changing the way I do things for the benefit of the animals.
I, for one, have not had problems with respiratory infections with my rats from using pine shavings. Ever. That is not to say that I haven't had rats with RIs. In fact, my bottle-fed boy died of one a few months ago, but this was entirely due to having him in a too-cold room (power went out for a few days in early spring) for too long, and he was already weak from having been a "survivor". He lived a good year or so, but, being bottle-fed and not receiving immunities from his momma cost him his health and he was always on the scrawny side. He was also a hairless, named "Rocky"...because of being a little fighter. (I was bottle-feeding 5 babies of the same litter...every two hours, only he survived.) Aside from this guy, there has been maybe one other rat with an RI in all of my years of breeding them, and aside from one or two months of using alternative beddings (yes, I went on "kicks" of using something else because I heard pine was bad), they have all been on pine...all the time...for generations.
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the attempt, and I'm definitely not trying to be a Know-it-all...but I like the way I have things set up now, so I will probably just stick with it for awhile. As I said, though, I am constantly researching & learning, so...it may very well be that I come back in another month or two and have a different stance on some things.

Green Oasis Reptiles said:

Such negativity so close to Christmas...I guess you're not a fan.

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I'm a little mad at the world right now. Random teen angst thrown in with a little autoimmune issues. :crazy02:

Yes, I realize that Iams has a lot of fat...especially on the puppy food end. When I noticed my rats seemed overly fat, I switched to Iams "weight control" which still has a good amount of protein, but a lot less fat...this seems to be a better use of the dog food portion of the mix. Sorry I didn't post that at the time that I did it. Iams does not have red dye...I've checked...and Walmart is not the only place that sells Iams, so it is not a "Walmart-exclusive brand".

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I can never find weight control dog food unless I go an get a brand that's 13-18 dollars for 5 pounds.
Oh, I know Walmart doesn't have any EXCLUSIVE brands, but all but maybe 10% of what they carry is absolute crap.

Chicken scratch is grains...you're thinking of "grit" which is...well, gritty (ground oyster shell). Chicken scratch is mostly millet, sorghum, wheat berries, cracked corn...you know, grain!

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Maybe I'll pick some up then. My rats get a lot of meat products, and at 11 bucks for 40 pounds of scratch, it can't hurt.

As mentioned before, hairless rats need more protein because they must expend more energy to maintain the correct body temperature, since they have no fur for insulation. Higher fat content will not necessarily harm them either, but I don't like having little butterballs waddling around. It's not good for the breeding females. (Although, incidentally, I have not had any problems with my hairless girls failing to lactate.)

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Butterballs.. *wonders if that's why Thanksgiving Day's turkey was so horrible*
I'll note that fat content thing about hairless females for future breeding when I pick a buck up at some point. That's really interesting.

Another part of the reason I use the Native Earth blocks is because I did more research into lab blocks (because I was thinking of supplementing MY mix with them), and while most lab blocks aren't the healthiest, Native Earth has the best ratio of all the different ingredients, no corn, AND contains no copper (which is also harmful to them, the reptiles and anything else you might feed it to when it builds up in the system)...copper is used as a preservative and is even found in the Iams (which is why I was trying to get away from it in the first place). I had noticed I was having severe eye problems with my ASFs which I think was related to the copper content of the dog food. I give the ASFs ONLY blocks now, and they have had much less eye problems.

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12 bucks for 42 pounds is damn good. Now... tell me how the shipping is.
I'll look around and see if a store here can get those in. I've needed lab blocks for a month but won't pay 5 bucks for a 2.5lb bag. D:

There are certain animal feeds that do not contain copper, but I am still researching them for use in the rat mixes. Until I have the money to experiment more, I will have to "settle" for the Native Earth blocks, though.
Breeding animals should be a constant learning experience, and in my 17 years of breeding rats, I am still constantly learning & changing the way I do things for the benefit of the animals.

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Amen to that! More breeders like you and me who bother to discuss IN DEPTH what we do is a must, too. Some breeders that have bred for 20 years I talked with before breeding were LESS than useful.

I, for one, have not had problems with respiratory infections with my rats from using pine shavings. Ever. That is not to say that I haven't had rats with RIs. In fact, my bottle-fed boy died of one a few months ago, but this was entirely due to having him in a too-cold room (power went out for a few days in early spring) for too long, and he was already weak from having been a "survivor". He lived a good year or so, but, being bottle-fed and not receiving immunities from his momma cost him his health and he was always on the scrawny side. He was also a hairless, named "Rocky"...because of being a little fighter. (I was bottle-feeding 5 babies of the same litter...every two hours, only he survived.) Aside from this guy, there has been maybe one other rat with an RI in all of my years of breeding them, and aside from one or two months of using alternative beddings (yes, I went on "kicks" of using something else because I heard pine was bad), they have all been on pine...all the time...for generations.

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... interesting. I'll have to do an experiment and see what happens, but I swear I have some rats that have contagious RIs.

Kinda off topic, but don't they make rat sweaters? Or ferret ones? I swear I've seen some before...

Thank you for your response. I appreciate the attempt, and I'm definitely not trying to be a Know-it-all...but I like the way I have things set up now, so I will probably just stick with it for awhile. As I said, though, I am constantly researching & learning, so...it may very well be that I come back in another month or two and have a different stance on some things.

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Ohhh yeah. I tried feeding some grow outs lab blocks only, and I had half of them die (although, most of them were from a mother with HORRIBLE genetics, but still) about 2 weeks later, and they were drinking a LOT of water. Never again. Not to mention that the ones that survive had some stunted growth.

I order the Native Earth blocks from Amazon & get 40 lbs delivered to my door for $32 total (it was $30, but the shipping cost went up). Beats the heck out of driving 30 minutes to a pet store that MIGHT be able to get it in for me, then having to load & unload it myself! (Pity the poor UPS driver that has to walk it to my door, though!)
Next time I order, though, I think I will pay the $125 for 5 bags, as it makes it a LOT cheaper that way. (And I go through 40 lbs in about 3 weeks as it is!)

You do realize that rats can and do get colds, right? If it seems contagious, it probably is! That would have nothing to do with the shavings, though. Try keeping them in a warmer spot & if you can afford it, try giving them colloidal silver! With their much smaller size, they'd only need about 1/2 - 1 tsp each per day. (We sell it on the Mantis Pets site. And we use it ourselves to keep colds at bay!)

Like I said, there ARE bad lab blocks out there...give the Native Earth ones a try. I can't imagine what would cause so many of yours die & be stunted. What sort of bad genetics?? I guess it COULD'VE been the food, but...seems more like there may have been underlying problems. Rats are prone to things like tumors & cancer (which is why they use them for research), and like with dogs, there are "fatal" genes that could be passed on. You might think about adding new blood to your lines if you are having this happen a lot. (And try to get rats from different pet stores, as the ones you get from one pet store are almost always inbred.)

125lb would go bad for me, with how little food my rats eat. :laugh: I still need to call around something like a dozen stores and see if they have Mazuri.

I've never even heard of that. However, it's not ALL of them, just a few, which is stumping me. I'll probably try an anti-biotic for RIs first and see if that helps.

Well, the girl that had all that died had 2 still borns, 2 babies die the night after birth, and then had 5 die about 2 weeks later for no reason. Then all of her pups had the SAME symptoms-- seizures, weakness, lethargy, and stopped eating and drinking as soon as it started; I had her remaining pups (I think 5 or 7) die within 2 days of the same symptoms. All the others from the other litter and dad were fine. I killed the girl off who had them. I think something in the lab block may have caused it to happen (although it looks great to me), as well as slightly cooler temps (60's, but there were hides).
It stays at around 70-72F in this room during the day, but I am not sure how cool it gets on the floor at night. I'll put a spare snake pad under them tonight and see how they feel.

I got my boy from Petsmart, and I got both girls from Petco. I find it funny; one of the girls was a horrible mother and had crappy genes, yet the other girl is a WONDERFUL mother and has really good looking genes. Haha. I do need to get some bucks that aren't hooded rats, though. I'm tired of looking at black and white rats.


I think I still have one of the bodies of the pup's that died, so I'll thaw him out and see if I can feel any tumors. The girl that mothered them did have a personality change a few days before she went wild in the room, and when she hit the squirrel trap she just didn't look right on one side.

Siezures are usually a sign of a genetic defect...I don't know much about epilepsy, but I think it can be passed on to the offspring by just one parent. (Co-dominant.) You might want to look into that, since I don't know too much about it, but it sounds like those "fatal genes" you hear about in dogs...the ones that are born alive tend to have siezures before they finally die, too.

I don't think it would be a temp-related issue, but that could be affecting their susceptability to colds & RIs.

Colloidal silver is a controversial substance (search "argyria"), but it is completely safe and has been shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria, viruses & fungi. We've had it independently tested and it even prevented the growth of E. coli! We've used it on ourselves for some time now and in two years, no one (that uses it) in my immediate family has had a cold (or turned blue!)...occasionally, I will feel "under the weather" if I have not taken my daily dose in a few days & viruses have been going around, but I'm fine once I start taking it again.

Mazuri is one of the "not-so-good" brands. You might try asking your pet shop if they can get in "Native Earth"...just to see. Sometimes, they will order things by special request...especially if you offer to pre-pay for it!

Here is the mix my feeders get:

cleaned oats
black oil sunflower seeds
alfalfa hay cubes (yes they actually eat it and they shred it for nests-great for trimming teeth)
whole grain cheerios
sweet feed (when I have it)
wheat chex
lab block (when I have it)
high quality cat or dog food samples (when I have them)
chicken baby food once a week
bits of chicken usually boiled
apple chunks
celery dices
dry barley baby cereal
flax seed
bulgar wheat
romain leaf (small bit no more than 2 times a month)
tuna water (once a week)

There is other stuff but I have not really kept track all that much. I stay away from most stuff i can get at walmart for them except the baby foods as they are the same no matter the store. Never feed a cat or dog food that has ANY color to it, should be boring and brown. If it has a strong odor there is something added to make it addicting to the pet intended and that is usually not a good thing. When I can get it I give them some ferret food samples too. I also like to give them home made bread bits, and millet.

Got hit with a bad gas bill and had to take some cat food from a friend of mine to feed my feeders and man, I won't feed that crud anymore, I have had no litters for almost 2 months. Got back to my food again and 3 of my females are preggers, yeah!

So... I have had pet rats for a while and have been feeding them mostly the Kaytee lab block and various other treats to supplement their diets (i.e. milk bones, dried chicken treats, oatmeal, pretzels {scraped of salt and in small amounts}, veggies, bird seed treats, alfalfa cubes/pellets, etc.) I scrutinize what I feed my dogs and horses and rabbits, but never thought to check labels for my rats. Sure enough, first ingredient on those darn lab blocks... corn. No wonder they get so chubby if I overfeed them in the least! Now I am starting to breed them for my dear snake so I guess we will be searching for a new feed for them...
Thanks for the thread!

Isn't corn good/okay for herbivores/omnivores and bad for carnivores? :/

Corn can be fine in moderation, it is just very fattening and lacks nutrients. I even watch how much I give to my poultry... it is in their pellet feed, but not the main ingredient, and then they get snacks of cracked corn (moreso in winter because it is energy they can use to stay warm). Since I do use them for meat as well, I want a healthy well balanced diet and not a fatty animal.
My horses, very easy keepers that don't excersize regularly, I don't want to give them much corn in thier diet because it will just end up being energy they wont use and will turn to fat.
For a long time I fed my dogs a food high in corn. I never had any issues with it other than overweight dogs, ended up ruining my female's hips and she had to be put down at 8 because she couldn't walk anymore.
Rats, I imagine the same way. Okay in moderation but as no. 1 ingredient it is just adding a lot of energy that they won't burn and will turn to fat. A fat rat is probably not a good breeder...

When I first started this thread, I was under the impression that ALL lab blocks were made of "cheap" ingredients (basically fillers), but the 18% Native Earth (formerly known as Harlan) lab blocks are specially formulated for breeding rats and use high-quality ingredients.

Here is what the description at Amazon reads: "Native Earth 18% Protein Rodent Diet is a natural-ingredient pelleted diet specifically formulated to provide the proper balance of all known nutrients considered essential for the growth, maintenance, and reproduction of rats, mice, gerbils and hamsters. 4018 is a fixed formula diet containing 18% protein and 5% fat. Promotes gestation, lactation, and consistent growth of rodents. Absence of animal protein and fish meal eliminates the presence of nitrosamines. Does not contain alfalfa, thus lowering the occurrence of natural phytoestrogens."

" Ingredients
Ground wheat, ground corn, wheat middlings, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, soybean oil, calcium carbonate, dried brewers yeast, dicalcium phosphate, iodized salt, L-lysine, DL-methionine, choline chloride, niacin, vitamin A acetate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride,thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, calcium pantothenate, ferrous sulfate, magnesium ox"

Notice that it also does not contain Copper or Copper Sulfate? (Used as mold inhibitors/preservatives.)

So, if you wish to continue mixing your own stuff. By all means, do so! A varied diet is essential. But, I would tend to think that using the lab blocks as a "base" for the mix is probably better all-around than using dog food. Even "brown" dog food often contains food coloring...you really have to look at the label! Most puppy foods don't have the high amounts of food coloring, but they are very fatty.

Alfalfa is not good for rats. I tried giving it to my rats, but most of them wouldn't touch it after the initial nibbles, and then I found out that it causes scours (diarrhea) in them, which can be fatal.

That is apparently the feed that is reccomended by the RMCA. I'll have to order a bag and try it out. And I did not know that about the alfalfa... have to stop giving that to the ratties. I have only given them a flake off a cube or a couple pellets when feeding the house rabbits. Never seen any diarrhea or anything from it, but I'd rather not chance it. When I was looking into the Harlan blocks I read that rats can't digest the alfalfa. Thanks for the info!