What can you NOT feed rats

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im getting rats soon they will be on a diet of veggies and fruit and eventully a protein stock feed.
i know peanuts and avacardo are a no no. is there anything else i should avoid?
 
? ^ most fruits are good for them aren't they?... :|
 
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we breed rats and they cant be fed this:
citris fruit, tomato, raw potato, banana skins, pineapple, they can have avocado but not the skins, apple seed, onions,
 
my rat eats tomoatoes....i know they cant have anything dairy.
steve gets rice pasta fruits veges baby food ( she especially loves the berry mix ones) and like a grain mix thing that i mix up with a whole lot of smooshed fruit and make bar things out of. her fave fruits at the moment are bananas and green apples.
 
Dog food. It's high in salt the the colouring is toxic for snakes.
 
Just about all these things are fine for rats. The rat world is loaded with myths like peanuts carrying deadly diseases and onions causing brain combustion, but these and most of the others listed are fine.

I personally basically stick to the lab cubes, but my pet rats (yeah, I know, lame :p ) have eaten all the 'deadly' feeds like dairy, apple seeds, corn, avocado, citrus, peanuts, raw beans and heaps of other 'deadlies' and it doesn't hurt them. Maybe if you fed them nothing but avocado skin or mandarin rind for a week you'd have problems, but you'd probably need mental problems to do that in the first place which would be a larger concern than any problems your rats were having.

I remember hearing lots of stories a few years ago about dog feed having stuff in it which was fine for rats but toxic to snakes. I don't know if there's any truth to it, I've never used dog feed for rats, but plenty of other rat breeders use it, some of them exclusively. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that's another snakey urban myth as well.

Vegetables and fruits aren't especially 'bad' for rats, but they're not a great diet for them, or natually a large part of a rat's diet. They won't hurt as part of a diet, but they're not going to give your rats their ideal nutrition. A lot of people think 'fresh is best', which is sort of true, but better use a processed for of the right diet than a fresh form of a less appropriate one.

Just go for lab cubes. It's the cheapest (other than crappy dog feed or pony pellets), easiest and nutritionally best option.
 
Dog food. It's high in salt the the colouring is toxic for snakes.

Just about every rodent breeder I know add dog/cat kibble to their mixes.
I do it as well and recommended it to anyone who wants to breed rodents
 
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Just about all these things are fine for rats. The rat world is loaded with myths like peanuts carrying deadly diseases and onions causing brain combustion, but these and most of the others listed are fine.

I personally basically stick to the lab cubes, but my pet rats (yeah, I know, lame :p ) have eaten all the 'deadly' feeds like dairy, apple seeds, corn, avocado, citrus, peanuts, raw beans and heaps of other 'deadlies' and it doesn't hurt them. Maybe if you fed them nothing but avocado skin or mandarin rind for a week you'd have problems, but you'd probably need mental problems to do that in the first place which would be a larger concern than any problems your rats were having.

I remember hearing lots of stories a few years ago about dog feed having stuff in it which was fine for rats but toxic to snakes. I don't know if there's any truth to it, I've never used dog feed for rats, but plenty of other rat breeders use it, some of them exclusively. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that's another snakey urban myth as well.

Vegetables and fruits aren't especially 'bad' for rats, but they're not a great diet for them, or natually a large part of a rat's diet. They won't hurt as part of a diet, but they're not going to give your rats their ideal nutrition. A lot of people think 'fresh is best', which is sort of true, but better use a processed for of the right diet than a fresh form of a less appropriate one.

Just go for lab cubes. It's the cheapest (other than crappy dog feed or pony pellets), easiest and nutritionally best option.

what lab cubes do you use and where do you buy them. i know muzuri is the best but its too expensive for my liking.
 
what lab cubes do you use and where do you buy them. i know muzuri is the best but its too expensive for my liking.

I personally use Cummins Mill brand cubes. I've bought my last few lots in Kinglake, I doubt it would be convenient for you, and they don't keep it in stock (I get it ordered in by the tonne). You can buy it from lots of stock feed supply places.
 
LOL at all the things people think they can't feed their rats. I have feed my rats all of those things. They especially love citrus fruits and yoghurt drops as a treat!

As Sdaji said - the key is moderation. Rat are scavengers and omnivores. They can eat anything that we can and more.
Lab blocks are the way to go as a staple and then any of your food scraps and any food you would feed yourself will be good for enrichment.
 
Lol one of my rats fav treats is bread and milk - about the only thing my guys don't get is onion or avocado, only because i rarely have them in the house anyway!
 
If you can eat it rats can eat it, but they dont necessarily need it. Millions of rats are kept in scientific establishments throughout the world which, by definition, understand nutrition. They chose to use prepared rat food rather than the inconsitency of a varied diet. Like kids rats dont always eat only what is good for them, so if you provide a balanced diet any risks are reduced.
Another popular myth os the high cost of rat food. Food costs cents per rat produced. If cost is a consideration then there are a lot better ways to produce cheaper rats than lowering food costs. Generally increasing production per females will have far greater effect on costs per animal produced.
 
thanks for your help guys. i got the rest of my stuff needed for the rats today.
just need to look for someone who is selling them can anyone point me in the right direction. i would love to get them today or tomorrow.
 
most pet shops have rats? dunno if you need a special type to breed but we got our pet rats from one of the local big petshops. most of them should sell them. cept i no the petbarn stores dont
 
LMAO read the peanut bit!!! PPPFFFTTTTT tell that to the bagillion rodents here in the Kingaroy area!!! They didn't get that memo!

I mix my own food, small parrot seed, equestrian mix and premium dog food like Eukanuba or Iams. I feed rat and mouse pellets, rodent treats, seed treats, fruits and veg but I have found their personal favourite...... try the Wiggles breakfast cereal, the O's. THEY FIGHT OVER IT!!! very very low in sugar too. for all those pet rats out there, you can thank me later ;)
 
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