The phrase "You Are What You Eat" is more true than many realize. This applies to our pets as well.

The following foods that I'm going to write about on this page are the foods that can trick you into thinking you're doing something good for your small furry friends, though they can actually be harmful.

BRAND NAME
SEED & NUGGET MIXES

When reading the labels on these mixes it all sounds great. Even when you compare them side by side with to a good quality lab block.

And what the heck, it's a lot cheaper so you've chosen that as your rats food.

The flaw with these mixes is that rats will pick and chose their favorite pieces. Most likely the rest will be left in their dish or scattered around their cage.

Why is this a problem?

In order to get all the nutrients listed on the label the rats have to eat every morsel. Which unfortunately is very unlikely.

So what does this mean: rats being fed the mixed foods as their primary diet may be lacking important nutrients.

But, these mixes can be used as occasional snacks.

Better yet, you can use the mixes from time to time in a foraging box which can be very entertaining for you and for your rats.

LESSER QUALITY LAB BLOCKS

Not all lab block food is good for your pets. I can't emphasize enough - read ingredient labels.

There are some rat food manufacturers that like to cut corners when it comes to good quality ingredients. By doing this they can offer their products to you at a lower cost. Which is more appealing to the buyer.

I've seen rat foods that are made to look like the better quality lab blocks, but when I read the ingredients listed there was very few natural foods and the rest of the list was all vitamin supplements.

This frustrates me to no end...

It's like feeding a child nothing but plain toast and a multi vitamin every day and expecting them to grow and thrive.

Bodies, even tiny rat bodies, can't thrive on poor quality food.

HOME MADE MIXES

First I would like to say that I mean no disrespect to those that have spent endless hours, days, weeks to research a perfectly balanced diet for their rats homemade food.