What do I need to make my own rat food?

I use what is called Suebee's mix. It has peanuts (unsalted and in the shells), pumpkin seeds (I give cooked, but you can give raw), raw sunflower seeds (unsalted), vegetable noodles, Cheerios (plain and honey), granola (I alternate what kind I give them each time I buy it to give some variety), and a trail mix stuff that has bits of papaya, pineapple, raisins, nuts, banana chips, etc. I get all of this stuff from the bulk section at our grocery store.

For the main staple of their diet you SHOULD use Harlan Teklad blocks. They will give your rats the best nutrition possible. You just make sure they have some of the blocks at all times and then feed the mix above once a day. Dog food is better than nothing, but HT is MUCH better for them. As for the brands of dog food, Solid Gold Holistique Blendz dog food is suppose to be the most nutritionally sound for rats.

Rats make excellent pets. I currently share a pretty good friendship with 6 lovely rats. They are super smart. Can learn most anything a dog can learn if trained. With cages the general rule is "the bigger the better". NEVER put them in a crittertrail or anything you think would be appropriate to house something like a hamster. I keep my 6 rats in a sugar glider cage. If you already have a tank type setting, get a tank topper. It should more than suit two rats needs. Rats are considered to be the nicest small pet. Rats love to sholder surf: just put a rat on your sholder most will stay all day. LOL. I have no problem holding any of my rats and I rescue rats from poor care situations all the time. I have reformed a few who started off nipping at me (keep in mind even nipping is rare for any rat to do. The rats I have were all neglected at one point.) All my rats even though they have a pretty big cage, if I come in the room they are all imediately rushing to the door of the cage cause they want out! So cute! Unlike hamsters they are typically not aggressive and WANT to be held. It is best to get your rat from a breeder, a shelter, or a pet shop that you know of with a good reputation. A good way to tell if a petshop is knowledgable about rats is if they 1. Seperate the genders. Female rats can get pregnant at just 5-6 weeks old. 2. They don't use pine, cedar, or another wood based shaving for thier rodents. These beddings have been proven to have adverse effects with resperaitory systems on rats, mice, and hamsters in particular. You don't want to be taking home a sick rat. Remember if a rat sneezes, it may be sick. this isn't always true- but it is best to avoid a rat that even sneezes once at the petstore. Tell the person at the counter and come back another time when the "hazzard" is clear.

Wow 23 rats my goodness how do you maintain them I have trouble with 2 or more...

Well rats love peanuts so use the cheap giant bag of circus peanuts, they love any nuts so cashews whatever, & sunflower seeds. You should just give em sunflower seeds and peanuts and snacks like fruit and veggies because even when u buy mixed food they just pick out their favorites and the rest goes to waste I don't know about the cat or dog food thing but here are some healthy foods for rats that can come out of your diet so you don't have to waste so much money--

* Apple

* Banana

* Berries

* Bok Choy

* Carrots

* Cooked Beans

* Cooked Corn

* Cooked Sweet Potato

* Dried Tomato

* Grapes

* Kale

* Liver

* Melon

* Oyster

* Parsley

* Peas

* Plums

* Prunes

* Raisins

* Sprouts

* Squash

Good for you! I wish the world had more rattie lovers like yourself (:

I make my own rattie food- and each batch costs roughly $30. I have 5 bucks - and the mix lasts them for about 3 months. Plus, its got almost everything they need in it (:

-Puffed wheat cerial (Malt-o-meal..quaker..kashi..I personally use the value brand))

-Dry rolled oats

-Puffed rice cerial ((Quaker))

-Total cerial ((people say this has 'too many' vitamins- but they don't realize that a rattie will only eat about 1-5 pieces daily (: Depending how squishy he is))

-Roasted, unsalted soy nuts

-Dried bannanas

-dried cranberries

-Tri-colored vegetable based elbow noodles

-Unsalted sunflower seeds

-Muesli

They eat everything in the bowl (: so theres no wasted food.

Good luck- and kudos to you!

RatATatter

<;"3)~~~

sunflower seeds and corn cernals ya know like ummmmm basicly stuff like that