Rats can be all raw and vegan

[chilove]

Hi there,

I didn't want this to get buried in the rattie discussion thread because I think it's important so I started a new thread.

Rats can be vegan and raw! When I did the research it seemed to me that rat's nutritional requirements were pretty similiar to human's, so I went ahead and fed my ratties that I adopted fruits and veggies and some nuts and seeds and they are super healthy and active and happy and have been for over two years now.

I do feed mostly organic because of rat's predisposition towards cancer. I don't eat mostly organic even because I can't afford to--but I think that rats are much susceptible to cancer than we are and they eat so little that it doesn't cost much.

I mostly feed my ratties melons, mangoes, bananas, dates, avocados, some tender greens, broccoli, tomatos, carrots, brussel sprouts, and pumpkin seeds, walnuts, and pine nuts.

They do get a variety of other fruits and veggies depending on what I'm eating but the above are their favorites. Mangoes and avocados are their absolute favorites and I have to agree with them!

I notice that when I give them too much fat they start to loose some hair and it grows right back as soon I cut back. I did read that they do better on low fat diets.

Blessings!

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Rayne]

Hey fellow rat lover, I am starting a new pair of rats and devoting them to raw for the first time, so knowing what you feed your rats and how they are faring is really helpful =)

[Eva]

One of my college roommates had some pet rats, and they were funny, smart little boogers! I took a real liking to them. I'm picturing them now eating avocado (never saw them do that, but this makes me picture it). Pretty funny.

Why not organic? They weigh what? 5 ounces? LOL!

[Rayne]

Lol! I have a big pic from my calander of a rat eating avocado staring at me!

[RawKnitster]

Our family adopted a pet rat about 6 months ago. Once I started giving her fresh food she quit eating the pet store rat food.

Rats must have different tastes, just like people. Our rat won't touch mango. Avocado and banana get eaten immediately! We give her a bit of fruit as a treat in the afternnoon. I read that to much fruit upsets their stomachs. Her favorite nuts are macadamia and cashew. She gets an assortment of veges every night, but it always includes kale. She loves corn on the cob. It's so cute to see her dragging the corn back to her cage. She is very fussy about where the fresh food get stored, so we put it outside her cage and let her stash it herself.

I have not given her pine nuts. I assumed because rats are not supposed to have bedding made with pine, that pine nuts would not be good for them...?

Since our rat doesn't have a companion, she has to have lots of attention. At least 15 minutes each evening out of the cage, "playing" with my daughter. She gets plenty of attention from me, too. I've knit and felted her 2 sleeves, where she spends most of her time. She was adopted against my better judgement, but that little rat has gotten to me. We just love her.

[Emma-Liza]

RK, I had no idea you had a rat! How kewl! What is her name?

[RawKnitster]

Emma-Liza, Her name is Kitty Kat. My husband calls it Ricky Rat. We think it's a female, but really don't know.

We adopted it when my husband's brother got hit riding his Harley. First I said don't bring that thing in my house, but we had no choice. Three days later I was out buying it a better cage and toys. BIL spent two months in the hospital. By then we were so attached, he let us keep it. Funny, that's how we got our dog, too.

[Rayne]

15 minutes a day is not enough for a lone rat though, you need at least two hours D8
And um, if you ratty was male...you would have noticed! =D
You could just adopt another female since rats are veerry social and they normally get ill more often and die sooner, and as I always say, if you get one, you might as well get two!
Rats are normally accepting of new cage mates, especially females, but it doesn't hurt to be a little cautious, the rewards are worth it =)
Eva: Hey, my rats weighed about two pounds!

[RawKnitster]

Rayne, thanks for the information. I'm still learning.

[Rayne]

No problem, I'm so glad you didn't take it the wrong way, but I'm the local rat expert you know ^3^
And we're all still learning~

[Eva]

Eva: Hey, my rats weighed about two pounds!

Too many avocados, eh?

Haha, just kidding. Sorry if I offended you or your rats. ;)

[forseti1980]

Anyone that has rats as pets should buy Debbie's Rat Health Care Booklet.

http://ratfanclub.org/books.html

It has not only saved me a ridiculous amount of money on vets bills, but it also has saved their lives.:)

Read this booklet, and you will know more than 9 out of 10 vets probably. It has been invaluable.

Good day

[goobygirl]

There's also a green powder that's organic and vegan that's recommended for rats, but I can't remember the name now (it also has digestive enzymes and probiotics I think). I used them for the dogs and they had a berry smell to them, I think.

[goobygirl]

It's called Green Mush.

http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/green-mush-companion-animal-nutritional-support-formula.htm

[JennaBoBenna]

Does anyone know if rats can eat cacao butter(or shea butter)? My poor little Weetzie Rat had a huge breakout of lumpy-dry-peely skin! She looks like a mangy little sewer rat! I've been putting olive oil on her to help moisturize and she is also getting antibiotics from the doctor. The doctor didn't know what caused her skin to breakout like this :rolleyes: We think it might've been from my guinea pig peeing on her :confused: anyway, i wanted to rub some cacao butter or even shea butter onto her skin but I'm worried she will get sick from licking it off. Would olive oil be enough to help her skin heal? Normally I have coconut oil, but I just ran out and can't buy any more right now(or spend any more money on this rat!) any help is appreciated :)

[MelissaO]

My parents used organic shea butter for their english bull dog in the winter on her knees and elbows to relieve dryness. They use to wash her with some kind of oatmeal stuff to soothe her irrated skin. She was kind of fat though and could not really reach most spots to lick off any of the shea butter :)

[JennaBoBenna]

My parents used organic shea butter for their english bull dog in the winter on her knees and elbows to relieve dryness. They use to wash her with some kind of oatmeal stuff to soothe her irrated skin. She was kind of fat though and could not really reach most spots to lick off any of the shea butter :)

how cute! thanks for the info!

[goobygirl]

I would add some good probiotics to the diet to counteract the antibiotics and also rub on some aloe from real aloe plant. I don't think the aloe would hurt, but you might want to google it first.

Of course adding the green mush would address a lot of those issues in and of itself, has probiotics and food enzymes plus healthy whole food ingredients.

[WendyLouWho]

Can you fellow rat lovers help me out? How much food do you feed your rats? How many times a day? Do you pick the food up or leave it all day?

My son has two lovely male rats, roughly 1+ years old. One has developed a tumor :( He's doing fine, still active and sweet, but looks like a hunchback now. I've decided to take over the care of the rats and switch them to all raw but I feel sort of lost on amounts, etc. When we fed them bagged food, we just made sure to keep the bowl full each day.

So far, they love fruit...we've tried apples, bananas, pears. The bananas they nibble on excitedly for a bit and then leave it. I pull it out because otherwise it gets nasty. My son argues for me to leave it as they might come back to it.

I tried some nori, but sadly, no takers yet. I'm going to keep introducing it here and there. And of course, veggies are good with them. None that they haven't liked yet...carrots, greens, avos, radish, cabbage, kale, etc.

Any advice would be welcome.

[JennaBoBenna]

and also rub on some aloe from real aloe plant.

Can aloe be bought at a nursery? I totally forgot all about aloe! I also have some liquid vitamin E that might help too...


Can you fellow rat lovers help me out? How much food do you feed your rats? How many times a day? Do you pick the food up or leave it all day?


I feed my rat as much as she'll eat. it takes a while to get the rhythm down, but you'll get the hang of it. if they leave it in the cage and dont touch it for a day then take it out. some rats will leave food but come back for it later.

[goobygirl]

I've seen aloe even in the grocery store, as well as nurseries. Might be nice if you can go on craigslist or ask friends if they have extra. Aloe can be divided up I believe. I would be cautious with the Vit E only because I would wonder if they licked it all off it if would be toxic. Don't know the answer myself.

[jesirose]

If you can't tell if the rat is a boy or a girl... it's a girl :)

They should be kept in pairs at least! I had 7 rats at one point, they were my sweet little babies! I fed them fresh fruits and veggies every day, and also insects they loved them.

[Raene]

If you can't tell if the rat is a boy or a girl... it's a girl :)

They should be kept in pairs at least! I had 7 rats at one point, they were my sweet little babies! I fed them fresh fruits and veggies every day, and also insects they loved them.

The exception to the rule is if you adopt one that's always been alone. We did and thought "Hey, she needs some friends" and she's very angry with us for putting 2 younger ones in her cage. We're now trying to adopt the sisters out and give our 8 month old rat some peace.

[Soka]

Can you feed mice a raw diet? I was told to find new homes for my rats and mice if I choose to feed them a raw diet. Apparently I am slowly killing them by doing this. While I don't believe in feeding dogs or cats a raw vegan diet, rats should be ok. It seems their nutrient needs are pretty similar to our own. Does anyone know where I can get a list of the nutrients they need and how much of it (kind of like they have for people.)?

We might be adopting a male rat or two from a friend today (he's moving and can't take his rats.). So that will boost our numbers from two to four. That means going out and getting a new cage and all. Food costs will go up, so if we could figure out how to feed raw, they could just eat bits of what we are eating and food costs will almost be none existant.

[Rayne]

You can feed mice a raw diet, that's what they eat in the wild isn't it?
The SAD (Standard American Diet) rat community is nasty as can be about rat diet. They are incredibly
misinformed and believe rats can only survive on lab blocks.
Even when the most beloved lab blocks (Harlan aka tekland, aka native earth) specifically does not have any animal
products in them, and states this is to prevent cancer, they insist rats must eat meat. There is just no reasoning.
Feeding them raw is no problem. Rats just need a little more protein and B12 then humans, (especially at a young age) and anyone who is into raw foodism knows infinitely more then the SAD rat community about diet anyway.

I am working on a book about it. A plant based diet, not a specifically raw one.

Ps. Did I really ever refer to myself as a "rat expert"? Ignore that bout of stupidity. There's too much to learn to ever become an "expert".


How about a yahoo group to learn and get support from each other? There is already a vegan rat group, but it doesn't seem very active.
Would it be overly controlling of me to make a new one?
I'll do it anyway.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/PlantStrong/?yguid=524299702

[Student]

Awesome, rats eating as healthy as us, or healthier :)

[makovach]

My rats eat a raw vegan diet, they LOVE it and look better than any other rats I've ever had. One was pregnant when I rescued her and her babies were way more healthy and lively acting at just one week old that I have ever experienced with any other rat litters.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Interesting.