Feeding your rat a well-balanced diet is key to keeping him or her healthy for years to come! It is important to feed them a diet with the proper amount of protein and not too much "junk food" such as seeds and corn. Most pet store mixes are not sufficiently nutritious to support your rat! They really are more like "junk food" diets. It would be like us eating McDonalds every day! Nice every once in a while maybe, but not every day. Here are some recommended foods:
Mazuri Rat and Mouse Diet
The most decent store brand is Mazuri. It is an all lab block formula. It is pretty decent nutrition if you don't have access to the better stuff. There are no "junk food" parts to this food, just lab block. "
A highly nutritious and complete diet that is designed for all life stages of pet rats and mice -- no need to supplement with vitamins or minerals."
Guaranteed analysis: crude protein (min.) 23%, crude fat (min.) 6.5%, crude fiber (max.) 4%
$6.99 for a 2lb bag ($3.50/lb)
Oxbow Regal Rat
This food is a lot better than Mazuri. It's better balanced nutrition and better quality. This food is not usually available in pet stores but can be ordered online from sites like Dr Forsters & Smith. "
Special blend of natural, nutritious ingredients meets 100% of your adult rat's nutritional needs without unnecessary fillers, artificial colors, or artificial flavors."
Guaranteed analysis: crude protein (min.) 14%, crude fat (min.) 4%, crude fiber (max.) 7.5%
$7.99 for a 3lb bag ($2.67/lb)
Harlan Teklad (aka Native Earth)
This is by far one of the best foods, nutritionally, that you can feed your rat. It is formulated for lab rats so it has to meet 100% of their nutritional needs, without anything extra that might jeopardize their health. This food is not available in stores, as far as I am aware. I order mine through
Mainely Rat Rescue.
It is a fixed formula, nutritionally balanced, diet containing a minimum of 16% protein and 3.5% fat which supports growth and maintenance. It does not contain alfalfa or soybean meal, thus minimizing the occurrence of natural phytoestrogens. They carry several varities such as a formula for pregnant and nursing rats and their babies (8604), growing young rats <6 months old (2018), adult maintenance >6 months old (2016), and overweight rats (2014).
Guaranteed analysis 8604: crude protein (min.) 24.5%, crude fat (min.) 4.4%, crude fiber (max.) 3.7%
Guaranteed analysis 2018: crude protein (min.) 18.8%, crude fat (min.) 6.0%, crude fiber (max.) 3.8%
Guaranteed analysis 2016: crude protein (min.) 16.7%, crude fat (min.) 4.2%, crude fiber (max.) 3.9%
Guaranteed analysis 2014: crude protein (min.) 14.5%, crude fat (min.) 4.0%, crude fiber (max.) 4.5%
$1/lb, minimum of 5lbs, plus shipping (~$2/lb)
