The ROUS Rat Mix Recipe
By popular demand, here is the recipe for the mix I feed my rats. I use human quality food from the bulk bins or health food section of our grocery store. We visit Fred Meyer for our mix components and have also started ordering some in bulk through our rat club. It's a nutritionally balanced mix that provides good variety and palatability and is low in refined sugar or preservatives and additives.
Oatmeal Flakes
(extra-thick cut if I can get it)
Rye Flakes
Barley Flakes
Triticale Flakes (a hybrid wheat)
Unsalted Sunflower Seeds in Shell
Cheerios
Puffed Rice
Vegetable Pasta Spirals
Soy Nuts (mine like the spicy flavored ones)
Nutro Lite Dog Food (Lab blocks are a good substitute)
Dried Veggies (Just Veggies Mix is a good brand)
I also give them unsalted roasted peanuts in shell as treats as well as raw and cooked fresh vegetables and often some of whatever I'm having to eat. I try to limit their sugar intake though I do give them fresh fruit treats which they adore. Beware of raspberries - they are perfectly good for them, but my guys do tend to smear the berry juice around and nearly give me a heart attack when I walk in and see what looks like carnage all over the cage.
I don't claim to be a rat nutrition expert, but my rats seem to be quite healthy as a general rule, none appear to have digestive isues and few are overweight. This mix is very similar to the feed used by many of the breeders and fanciers that I enjoy working with and is much like the well known "Suebee Mix."