The
Shunamite Diet by Alison Campbell
Feeding
your rats
There are many successful ways of feeding
a rat, and all rats are individuals with specific needs depending on their genetic
background, age, sex, health, environment and activity levels. There is no “one-size-fits-all”
prescription for rat diet and all diets need to be adapted and modified to suit
the needs of the individual. What follows are general guidelines based on my own
experience and research.
Why not just feed a generic
rat food/pellet?
There are a number of generic rat mixes and pellets available
in the UK. However, these tend to suffer from one or more common problems which
mean that there are generally better ways to feed a rat. Unsuitable
ingredient - many of these mixes contain alfalfa and other hay or straw pellets,
which are indigestible to rats and almost always rejected. Other unsuitable ingredients
include sugar, very small whole grains (often refused), sunflower seeds (allergenic
to some rats) and nuts (high protein/fat and best kept as a treat). Poor
quality ingredients – a particular problem where low quality ‘meat’
is used such as chicken derivatives. Issues relate not only to the suitability
of the animal parts as a nutritional source, but also to the ethical considerations
for the welfare of the animals that provide the meat. Vegetable derivatives are
also sometimes used. These tend to be plant parts that are surplus to requirement
in other industries, and will vary within a particular feed according to what
is available. It is preferable to use a feed that lists specific vegetables. Inaccessible
vitamins and minerals – Vitamins A, C, D and E and copper are often supplemented
in generic mixes but in some cases are added to the pellet in the mix. If the
rat then rejects these, the supplements are wasted. Colourings
and flavourings - may be added to make the mix look (to humans) and taste
more palatable. Flavourings often add sugar to the mix, while many artificial
colorants are linked to behavioural changes and possible tumours. Nutritional
suitability – there are a few generic mixes that don’t even match
the basic requirements of a rat, being well above the recommended 4% fat and 12-14%
protein levels. Some are also high in fibre, often through including ingredients
that rats reject. Artificial preservatives
– these are common ingredients in any rodent nugget or mix containing animal
protein. Where manufacturers don’t add these to feeds themselves they do
not always appear on the list of ingredients, but may still be included as the
preservative for any ‘bought-in’ animal fat. Preservatives like Ethoxyquin,
BHA and BHT are known carcinogens (promote cancer). Boredom
- complete pellet diets are favoured by some, but these are a long way from the
rat's natural highly varied diet as an opportunitic omnivore. Rats derive a lot
of pleasure from food and a varied diet is interesting and can be used to help
stimulate foraging behaviours. It is also more likely that a highly varied diet
will provide better nutrition than a complete processed pellet. However,
some rat foods and also some rabbit foods make a suitable base for a mix to which
you can add other ingredients. The Shunamite diet
The
Shunamite diet is a living, evolving diet which works according to the following
principles: 1. Take a suitable base food.
2. Add
carefully chosen human cereal
3. Add seeds, vegetables and herbs for variation
and interest
4. Add a source of protein. Choosing
a base mix
All diets tend to have staple foods which form a regular and
substantial part of the whole. I call these base foods. Generally (for rats) base
foods should be grain based and include a good proportion of minimally processed
grains. My preferred choice of base food is a mixture of straight grains which
are purchased individually and then combined. I feel this gives maximum flexibility
for creating a mix that is ideally adapted to the needs of the rat, and also removes
the negative aspects of generic mixes. However, there are many other suitable
alternatives and I have included a list of some of these at the end of the article.
The base food would make up approximately 50-60% of your mix. Human
cereals
These are extremely useful for adding variety, reducing phosphate
levels, reducing anti-nutrients (these occur naturally in unprocessed grains and
prevent the nutrients from being fully utilised) and adding vitamins and minerals
(most human cereals are fortified). A list of human cereals along with their suitability
in terms of feeding rats can be found here. Human cereals
would make up approximately 20 - 25% of your mix. Seeds,
vegetables and herbs
These add interest, good oils, vitamins and minerals
to your mix. Hemp seeds are very popular but many other seeds can be used as well,
and some seeds have specific medicinal properties. Pumpkin seeds are preferable
to sunflower, which cause allergies and skin reactions in some rats. Dried carrots,
peppers, leeks and other vegetables are generally well received. Bunny herbs such
as dandelion, plantain, meadow mixes and herb mixes are excellent and I try to
put a reasonable volume of these into my mix. Kelp and garlic are also useful
additions with medicinal properties. Seeds, vegetables and herbs would make up
10-15% of your mix. Protein source
This
can be anything from soya flakes, chick peas, peas and other legumes, (preferably
soaked and roasted as these also contain anti-nutrients when raw, which make the
nutrients in them less available), to a quality dog kibble (like Burns) or freeze
dried fish and insects. The amount you need to add will depend on the amount of
protein in what you are offering. For instance you would need to add more in terms
of legumes or dog kibble to deliver the same amount of protein as dried river
shrimps. The protein would make up 5-10% of your mix. Treat
ingredients
Nuts, dried fruit and other treats can be added to a mix in
very small amounts. Some people prefer to hand feed these individually to rats. Sourcing
ingredients
Here are some useful websites for sourcing ingredients for
rat mixes. All are tried and trusted.
The
Rat Warehouse
Jungle Gold
Bunny
Bazaar
Haiths
Nature’s
Grub
Spiceworld (useful
for a variety of medicinal herbs and seeds)
Burns Straight
grains
These include barley flakes, rolled oats, oat groats, oats, paddy
rice, wild rice, brown rice, wheat, wheat groats, wheat flakes, rye flakes, whole
corn, corn grits, corn flakes, whole buckwheat, millet, sorghum (milo), quinoa,
spelt. Most of these are available from Jungle Gold (above) or a good health food
store. For larger quantities try Millbry
Hill Example of a base food made from straight
grains
3 cups micronized barley flakes
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup paddy
rice (in hull as sold for birds)
1 cup brown rice
1 cup wheat groats (groats
are grains without the inedible chaff/husk)
1 cup whole corn,
1 cup micronized
corn flakes
1 cup buckwheat (in hull as sold for birds)
2 cups mixed millet
NB Many other combinations are possible,
but the skew towards barley, rice and corn rather than wheat and rye in the mix
above is intentional and designed to promote long term kidney health. Buckwheat
is not wheat, or even a true grain; it is more akin to a fruit seed. Millet is
an excellent grain source and not high in fat as is often assumed. Other
base foods
Xtra Vital Super Supreme Rat Food
PAH Rat Muesli
Harrison’s
Banana Rabbit Brunch
Harrison's Meadow Munch
Mr Johnson’s Supreme Rabbit
Mix
Mr Johnson’s Supreme With Fruit Rabbit Mix
Supa Natural Deluxe
Rabbit Food
Supa Fruiti Rabit Food
Supa Deluxe Rabbit Food
Alpha Herbal
Deluxe NB Other generic mixes may be suitable. Inclusion
does not constitute a recommendation by the author. If using any generic mix as
a base food I would recommend mixing at least two together for greater variety.
I have not included Alpha Herbal Rabbit Food because recent changes may make it
less appropriate than many of the other foods listed. If
you are using a base food that contains animal protein, the separate protein addition
to the mix should be reduced accordingly, but because of the other ‘dilutions’
extra protein sources can still be added sparingly. Converting
percentages for your mix
The easiest way to do this is to use a cup or
a scoop to measure out the mix. Each cup/scoop would equal 10%, so if you want
25% you would add 2 and a half cups of that element of the mix. Precise measurements
are not important so long as plenty of variety is included, and once you become
familiar with rough proportions you may feel comfortable about just mixing by
eye.
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