Rat Dietary Needs (The Do's & Don'ts of Food)

Rat Dietary Needs

        A proper diet is essential for your rat’s good health. Rats are omnivorous, which means they eat both plant and animal material. Please do not try to convert your rats into vegetarians. They need animal protein, and cannot live on plant protein alone. Rats love food in general and will eat almost anything you put in front of them, savouring every morsel. They seem to eat when bored, even when sick or just for something to do. Rats love junk food just like us. Try to keep their diet as healthy as possible. Stay away from sugar. There are many healthy treats that you can offer your rats. Eating the same thing every day can also become boring just as it does for people. Hopefully I can give you some ideas on how to add some variety in their diet, while keeping them healthy at the same time.
Most commercial rat foods are unhealthy and should not be fed to rats. Most contain harmful additives, waste foods and chemical preservatives. Some contain (whole kernels of)* corn that could even contain fungus and mold, tiny seeds and also alfalfa pellets which are hard for rats to digest and they usually don’t care for it any way. Some rabbits have been known to develop a condition called “Sludge” if fed too much alfalfa.

           Rats should be fed a good “lab-block” not dog or cat food. Lab-blocks are a complete nutritional diet that meets the nutritional requirements of rats. Assorted vegetables and fruit should be provided at a minimum 3 times a week. Lab-blocs are hard food made especially for rats. You can usually find them in most pet stores or feed stores. Lab-blocks, such as Harlan Teklad, Hagen Nutri-blocks, Oxbow or Mazuri, should be the main staple of your rat’s diet. They also keep their teeth from becoming overgrown.
Now you must try to keep protein levels within healthy limits. Protein range should be around 16 to 18 percent. Pregnant or nursing females as well as babies up to 13 weeks old can be fed a higher protein ratio. If rats are fed too much protein this can lead to protein scabs as well as excess orange looking grease on the skin of males.

       If you notice that your male has too much grease, and it’s taking away from his natural beauty, you need to cut down on the level of protein in the diet. Try adding more grains and pasta to his diet and bathing them in Palmolive or Sunlight antibacterial dish detergent and it will also help cut this grease.

 

Approved Rat Foods

Grains:

dry vegetable pasta twists (beet, spinach, tomato, carrot and squash)
3/4 green split peas mixed with 1/4 yellow split peas
 large natural oats
 “Cheerios”, “Rice Krispies” and Corn Bran cereals
 pumpkin seeds – raw, unsalted
 dried cranberries or dried blueberries

Fresh FRUITS may include but are not limited to:

strawberries

grapes (seedless)
bananas
pears
apples
oranges (only for does, which helps protect against cancer, NOT FOR MALE RATS)
watermelon
cantaloupe
kiwi fruit
papaya
raisins
avocado
tomatoes
nectarines
peaches
plums
honeydew melon
mango
blueberries
Please make sure to remove the pits from any fruit. Do not feed the skin on avocados.

Fresh VEGETABLES include but are not limited to:

squash
mustard greens
collard greens
romaine lettuce
spinach
cucumber
alfalfa sprouts
zucchini
pumpkin
asparagus
broccoli
cauliflower
brussels sprouts
carrots
celery
fennel
Sweet potato, yams (cooked. DO NOT feed raw!)

and sometimes cooked corn on the cob

Too much fruit or roughage can lead to diarrhea. Some vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower can cause gas so feed in moderation.
 

What NOT To Feed Your Rat(s)

·        Too much cheese            (use a tiny bit as a treat)
·        Too much peanut butter   

 (can cause a rat to choke and they cannot vomit. They lack the necessary muscles that would allow them to do so.)
·        dried corn     (can cause liver cancer)
·        Iceberg lettuce      (full of water and has no nutritional value)
·        Orange juice or orange peel,    (this causes cancer in male rats, although it protects against mammary tumors in does.)
·        Blue cheese dressing   (toxic!)
·        licorice
·        rhubarb
·        red cabbage    (causes gas)
·        artichokes    (causes gas)
·        raw banana, potato skins, green or starchy potatoes   (not ripe all the way)
·        poppy seeds can cause neurological damage and sometimes death
·        “junk foods”    (chips, fast food products, beware of buffet foods with preservatives in them)
·        Excessive candy and/or chocolate. 

One chocolate chip, for instance, is fine and often acts as a bronchio-dilator which helps rats with respiratory problems.
 

Occasional Treats:

·        rice cakes
·        cheese
·        baby food
·        mixed baby cereal
·        chicken bones
·        dog biscuits
·        soya milk
·        fish sticks
·        cooked rice and pasta
·        active yeast cultured yogurt contains good bacteria that aids digestion·        
·        cooked pasta and rice

Whole Protein Sources:

·        chicken
·        beef
·        tuna
·        salmon
·        oysters
·        shrimp
·        liver

♥ A Healthy Rat Is A Happy Rat ♥

 

Updated:   08.11.2016    Brit  Piluke    BritPiluke@hotmail.com

Full permissions granted to print and distribute this list as long as not altered unless speaking with myself first so I may confirm the benefits or concerns.

Transcription

 Hey everyone, not to much going on plus this is a semi old photo of myself and Barry. We've been doing okay. I met Barry's cousins this weekend and I like them both a lot. I hope to do a few shoots with them. We tried to go to some bird place in Orillia on the Wednesday but Sam wasn't feeling up to it due to some personal reasons. I hope she's alright.

Anyways I'm hoping to become a transcriber after meeting one of Barry's cousin who is looking into becoming one right now. I found a site that allows me to do it from home so i'm really excited I just have to pass an exam which i'll be studying for this week. I can make $25/hr. I hope I can pass, I have to have really good grammar which I haven't been in school for a long while now so i'm kind of nervous.

Not much more going on here except i'll be going to Shelburne tomorrow morning and doing a cookie decorating class in Toronto on Sunday with my awesome cousin Katherine. I'm really excited to be going there especially with Katherine. We're going to do a lot of baking together. I'm thinking about getting my friend to make a baking logo of myself and her together to surprise her. She makes wonderful water color cartoons I absolutely love. *I'll post a picture at the bottom of the page of the one she made for myself and Barry* Anyways I'm going to get to bed I have to be up for 9am to get ready for tomorrows adventures! Night all!

By: Sharodactyl 

Scam Alert!

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 "This supplement claims that it gives 100% maximum satisfaction to its users."  

 This was all a lie clearly as my father used this product every day as directed and no results showed, he didn't miss a day of taking it and handed me back the bottle empty with zero results. which I thought was quite disappointing considering all the success stories I saw for this product. This got me wondering where are all the unsuccessful people who have tried this product...? 

What Are The Supposed Benefits of Hair Vitality?

• - Assurance of stronger and beautiful looking hair.  [False]
• - It fights against external stress factors.  [False]
• - Nourishes your enhances your hair. [False]
• - It helps you to take back the lost confidence. [False]
• - It supports lustrous and healthy hair.  [False]
• - It speeds up in hair- growth. [Super False]
• - A quick solution to voluminous and thick hair. [False]

So honestly where is the helpfulness of this product? My fathers hair looks the exact same. As an added bonus I did go to beauty school and have inspected my fathers hair before and after with zero change. Onto another solution but buyers beware this product is a fraud! 

Learn more about this products bull here: http://www.crevalorsite.com/hair-vitality/

#ThisMightBeALot

So this might be a lot but I finally have time and the patients to write about everything that has been going on in mine and Barry's life for the past few months. So where do I start. I guess I'll go back to July 1st. I went begrudgingly to visit my grandmother Margaret June Laffin in the hospital as I had to drive my mother there to be by her side. I wont get into details as to why I say begrudgingly but lets just say we were two people who just could not live together no matter what. Anyways in the time I was there I had a moment alone with my grandmother and even though I didn't know what she said as she was so far gone my mom fully believes that she was apologizing to me for everything and I some how saw that over everything as well and accepted that answer.  

My aunt Pearl came on July 6th who is my grandmothers only sister, they stayed with her for a long visit and my mother convinced them to go get lunch. When they got back from lunch my mother was informed that June had finally passed away peacefully. My mother was devastated she had to call all her brothers (4) and let them know the news. I had to be a big help to my mom cause I knew if it was me and I lost her I would be a mess. I volunteered for everything my mom had to do, I made the memorial video for the funeral and believe me when I say I worked my ass off to make that video tell a beautiful story of her life. I volunteered to ready eulogies and poems that others brought and made my mom proud, not to mention most of my uncles as well. I was very happy with how things went.

So in this time there's more going on, a "friend" (lets say that cause I don't know what to call it anymore) anyways this "friend" went through what i'm calling the most one sided break up that was really justified. I watched this "friend" belittle this man on their birthday because they didn't get what they wanted or do what she wanted the exact way they wanted to do it. It was honestly really embarrassing for myself and Barry to watch and I found my self constantly apologizing for this "friend" treating him in such an immature manner. Anyways not the point. The point is he left that same night and a few days later I had "friend" show up on my doorstep at 3 am only a few days after my grandmother had passed away. 

* A little side note Barry and I live in my parent's basement apartment so my parents do live in the same house as us as they own the home which in all appropriate terms what they say goes and there are things that are just common sense no matter who you are or where you stay * 

Now onto the inconvenience that was 3 weeks of what Barry and I call hell on earth. So where to begin when there were so many lies told to me and hurtful things said about my family and my best friend. I guess I start at "friend" wasn't suppose to be at my house due to the event that happened with my grandmother of which "friend" was not respectful about it at all to my mother. "friend" did offer to help out around our house for staying with us of which when my mother asked excuses were made almost immediately for needing to have a smoke or smoke weed first but after doing so "friend" would still not do the task asked of them no matter how small it was, I ended up doing said task. [Strike 1] 

Next said "friend" is terrible at saving any money which also lead to the leaving of the now ex boyfriend, thought it would be a good idea to go around my neighborhood mooching smokes of which "friend" thought they made friends with one of my neighbors from doing so. My mother was contacted by a few of the neighbors complaining about this "friend" doing so. Needless to say my mother was supper embarrassed and had a calm chat with "friend" about this of which "friend" made into a fight because they always think they're being attacked but needless "friend" said they wouldn't do it anymore. Fast forward to the next morning "friend" has gone to neighbors and mooched smokes my mother looses her shit....rightfully so. [Strike 2] 

The next incident I wasn't aware of until my father confronted be about it and it goes with another part as well which blew my mind. So at my home we lock all our doors at 1 am or before depending on who goes to bed last or if it's been left until 1 am. "Friend" did not like this as they did not have a key to my house (nor would they ever get one) so that being said "friend" also did not have a working cellphone and wanted to just wander the streets late at night. My mother is not okay with this as we lock our doors and they can not call to tell us they're coming back in plus it would be rude to ring so late at night and wake the whole house. so "friend" got pissed of and claimed they were a prisoner in my house. The same night "friend" was asked not to go out after 1 am walking the streets "friend" thought it would be okay to wait until everyone fell asleep and leave at 4 am to walk the street and do what ever of which "friend" did not come back from where ever until the evening of that day. Needless to say my mother was pissed, but! that's not all, oh no there's more to this... "friend" had gotten so drunk/stoned (off what ever "friend" was using) that "friend" walked into my neighbors house two doors down instead of mine...My father got the phone call on how incoherent and embarrassing this was. [Strike 3 - 4] 

So the day comes...my grandmothers funeral is that morning and the night before instead of being well rested this "friend" decided to go out at 11 pm and see a friend who has just left their fiancee which to me already sounds like a bad idea. This friend my "friend" went to see was drinking and snorting cocaine and adderall.

*Adderall is a combination drug containing salts of the two enantiomers of amphetamine, a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the phenethylamine class.*

I was trying to finish the eulogy video for the funeral not expecting to have to pick up "friend" from this night out, "friend" knew I was doing this important task as well. Well "friend" did not have a good night because "friends" friend tried to put some rape type moves to put it lightly if that works. So I was nearly finished making the video and had to show it to my mother and her two cousins who had come from very far to be there and they were staying awake to watch it. "Friend" called over 10 times but did not indicate they were in trouble what so ever. After the viewing of the video I left to pick "friend" up and found "friend" standing in a plaza crying and mad at me even though nothing actually happened. But I'm the bad person because I had things to do that didn't involve putting "friend" first even though I told "friend" I wouldn't be able to come get "friend" as I was busy. 

[Strike 5]

The sad part is this isn't all. "friend" wanted to break my mothers rules once more to leave at 1 am and walk the street. "friend" had the most disgusting inappropriate and immature tantrums I have ever seen. "friend" spoke very ignorantly to not only me but both my parents and Barry. [Strike 6]

We're going to skip forward. My parent's have left to go to Nova Scotia to help my aunt Lil move into a new home. My parent's exclaimed that "friend" was to be gone by August 1st. "Friend" claimed that they had a place to go for the 6th so I spoke to my mother and she said it would be alright. Well my Anniversary with Barry is the 1st of August and it was absolutely wonderful with only one hick up.

First the "friend" part. So this "friend" was told that Barry and I would be out until 1 am at least and they have to go do something (we didn't trust "friend" in our house alone). I'm going to shorten this "friend" part by just saying "friend" was told that the place for the 6th wasn't going to happen on the 28th of July and hadn't been looking for a new place since just laying in bed watching netflix and going out to smoke dope. We kicked her out on the 3rd of August when we found out from the guy "friend" was suppose to be moving out with ran into me at the shoppers drug mart parking lot and told me. Not pleased neither was Barry,

Now onto my wonderful day with my BurrBear. We started the day waking up and going right to a car wash. I know that sounds weird but the car was dirty and we love being in the car wash haha the soap they use is so colorful and fun to look at so we took selfies together. After we headed straight to Orillia's water front and we started playing Pokemon Go. Funny enough there was a fair going on at the water front too. I took tons of photo's of beautiful flowers and the views and of course Barry and I which I'll include some in this blog. Anyways we went to the fair where Barry won me a giant Giraffe it's so cute. He played a basket ball game and won!  

We walked around and watched the boats and played more Pokemon Go and it was really fun then we went to lunch at this pasta place that Barry has been talking about for a long time. It was so nice cause we went and made our own pasta and took it to this beautiful little water front secluded area with a blanket like a picnic it was so beautiful. We laid on the blanket and watched the water in the sun. It was so beautiful. 

We decided after we would go to Kempenfest because it was getting darker out and we knew they were having a fair as well. I contacted some friends that I knew were there earlier. It didn't even matter that everyone left because of the rain. Barry played a dart game and won me a cute little purple giraffe. We went around a played a lot of their games my favorite the shooting one because I did really well at it. We also went on the ferris wheel which I thought I would be fine on but it went really fast but Barry got a huge kick out of laughing at me freaking out haha. * At this point I got a text from "friend" asking if we were in the area could they hitch a ride* like we told you we would be out until at least 1 am.  We ended up not wanting to stay out so we drove home and took a bunch of blankets and pillows out to our backyard and we made a fire to exchange our gifts. Barry put on music and we had snacks and drinks it was so romantic. Barry opened up my gift to him first. I got him a black metal bracelet that I had engraved with our names and a personal quote on the inside. He's worn it every day since. My gift however made my cry before I even saw it. Barry said the most sweetest things I have ever heard from anyone, I love him so much. So he bought me the prettiest little 14K white gold ring that sparkles so beautifully. It's not an engagement ring it's just an anniversary gift which still means so much to me. It was a perfect night.

*until "friend" walked into the backyard before 1 am, walked into the house and grabbed the bong and came back out to smoke... never been so lost for words at how ignorant someone can be during someones anniversary.*  

♥ Our lives are now back to normal, and everything has been really fun and great ♥

♥ Happy 3 Year Anniversary BurrBear ♥

Weird thoughts

Do you ever just realize that you don't get along as well with your own mother
as much as your partner does, it's like he can talk to her and I cant.
I feel like every time I do talk to her or try to she just assumes i'm irrational
and says something that just pisses me off cause she didn't listen to a word I said.
How are you suppose to talk to someone when they don't give you the chance.
But she wants to be close with me. Makes no sense. I mean I guess it doesn't matter
but it's just one of those pet peeves or something. 

High Low

Do you ever just go to bed really happy 

but wake up just wishing you didn't?

I wish I knew how I can go from one extreme to another.

Maybe it's just that my birthday's coming up

really soon like the 29th soon and I hate my birthday.

Possibly because I never feel happy or that I 

deserve to have a good day.

Nor does my birthday ever go to plan, 

It's like something always goes wrong.

well either way... forget it.