If you keep coming back for the percentages: 50% base mix (10mg of copper or more), 5-10% protein (I’ve made also good experience with adding dried mealworms, dried gammarus, and dried sweet water shrimp), 25% processed grains with lees then 5g of sugar/100g (good if high in copper!), 10% fruit&veg&herbs (mostly veg&herbs!), 5% seeds (my rats LOVE hemp seeds and flax seeds) You’re welcome :)

@bellanovia1648

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

@Elissa_Reads13

2 жыл бұрын

I still don’t understand the measurements 😀 how much of each do I put in?

@jamiedelgado1484

Жыл бұрын

@@Elissa_Reads13 choose a scoop and each scoop full is 5%

Is anyone else here because of emiology

@opossumthatliveinthestairc1776

4 жыл бұрын

Lol I am

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It is a great channel

@dropthedagger

4 жыл бұрын

meeee

@J9sperPlayz

4 жыл бұрын

Ev Beavers me!

@Anne-bl5ib

4 жыл бұрын

Yupppppp

Sat here with a pen and pad, writing pretty much everything you are saying. So easy to follow xx

So I made a mix using this recipe tonight and my rats love it. Have not seen them this excited for months! And it's not like they were on nuggets before or something, the mix they were on was good, but I guess they prefer the homemade one. Thank you for sharing this and other information with your viewers, I have learned most of what I know about rats from your webpage and your channel.

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I'm really glad they liked it so much and I hope you enjoyed mixing it too. I know I get a lot of satisfaction out of it

Thank you so much for all your help. My girls and new rescue boys are thriving on my homemade mix. Their coats are gleaming and the difference in their body is amazing.

I’m getting my rats in around a month and have been looking for a good rat mix for a while now! This is so useful and I will definitely be using this recipe for my boys 💜🐀

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Brilliant news. I really hope you enjoy your new rats. They are such special pets

@kevinandtaushajohnson6932

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare HI ! I was wondering if you could look over a diet that I THINK might be good for my 6 month old boys, i live in the US ... BASE-- Reggie Rat, Oxbow Adult, Whole Barley Seeds, Rice, Fresh Corn & Peas (given in playtime) Processed Foods-- (varieties of) Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Bran Flakes, Egg Noodles, Tri Color Pasta, Wholegrain Rice & Maybe Barley Pearl's. Protein-- Dried Insects Like.. Mealworms, Crickets, Shrimp, Lentils Herbs & Veg-- Herb Plus, Dried Vegetables Seeds-- Whole Hemp, Linseed (Flax), Pumpkin & Fennel Seeds. And Maybe Watermelon & Cantolope Seeds that I'll dry out. PLEASE PLEASE let me know how Close or Far Off I am, and if you could Please give me examples. Thank You So Very Much for your time & help!! (New Rat Mom 🐀🐀)

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

This looks good assuming your following the standard percentages

@kevinandtaushajohnson6932

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Yes, I will be following the percentages on your page. I'm just trying to make a decent Base because we can't get Banana Brunch over here. AND to give them a variety of foods. (I don't like eating the same thing everyday either, lol🙂) Thank You for your help! I Love your videos, they are so very very helpful!!❤️

I have recently made my very first mix after watching this video. My rats absolutely love it and it’s nice to know that they are getting everything they need nutrient wise. I love watching your videos! 😃

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Really glad they are enjoying it

Thank you very much, my future rats will eat like royalty

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I've not got a clue how to add subtitles lol. I'm a bit of a KZread novice. If you wanted to put the work in and let me know how to do it I'm game for a try though

@kristianspot2683

4 жыл бұрын

Happy cycle day. ;)

Who else is here from Emiology?

@theonewithallthepets8503

3 жыл бұрын

Me

@lillyoconnor798

3 жыл бұрын

Me

@maryoleary5044

2 жыл бұрын

me

@punkynicoplays4080

2 жыл бұрын

🙋‍♀️

@GthicratLastusednameCuterat

2 жыл бұрын

@@lillyoconnor798 I think we have the same pfp, lol.

My rescue ratties are thriving on the mix I made thanx to you. Fish4 dogs kibbles 3 types, banana brunch ( I remove any big banana bits) Pumpkin seeds, a small amount of parakeet mix, loads of linseeds.

i need everything simplified please because i have a very short attention span and have problems with focusing :/

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I’ve stuck up a simple info graphic on the channel community page if that’s any help

I know this may seem like a challenge, but for those of us who live in the US, can you help us make a good mix? using items that only found in the US? or online stores from the UK that ship to the US?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

The challenge I have with this is finding foods that are available in the us. My search engine does not cooperate well. I could do one looking at how to make an entirely strait grain based mix, maybe with some oxbow added to the base which should be acheiveable in most places though if that helps. It does mean doing some work looking for things like whole barley etc.

@daikondam9293

5 жыл бұрын

Rat Rations does actually ship to the US, but you'd want to order in bulk because the shipping cost is pretty high. I'm in the US and order most of my mix's ingredients from the online shops like Country Life Natural Food. They have a wide selection of grains in flaked or whole forms, dried peas, nuts, buckwheat, fruits, soy, seeds, lentils, beans (mung/adzuki) at pretty much the most affordable prices I've been able to find, especially if you're willing to order in bulk. There are also some other ingredients I order in other places, but I manage to find just about everything I need on various sites. Amazon, Vitacost (primarily Bob's Red MIll brand stuff), and online brewing shops (for barley and some other flaked grains in bulk) are other good options but you may not be able to find everything you need in one place. I particularly like the $25lb bag of "Hagen Pigeon and Dove Staple Vme Seed" off amazon as it's mostly millet and milo and is fortified, and would be great for filling out most of the base portion especially combined with some rice and barley or something. I recommend looking on ebay to see if you can get a cheap copy of The Scuttling Gourmet, I got mine on there for $15, but I think it's actually available on their website now to ship to the US. It's invaluable information and very helpful for putting together a mix with the ingredients you have available to you regardless of where you live. I might also be able to offer some US based advice on where to find certain ingredients.

@mooseandfredvr6928

3 жыл бұрын

As my base rabbit mix I usually go with the Russell’s rabbit mix tiny farm something or other I think it’s one of the first ones when you search rabbit ni non amazon

@OffWithTheGrid

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare a straight grained mix with some oxbow would be great if you have a chance. I have a local grain store that I already get bulk for my chickens and it would be great to get my rats eating more than treats and oxbow

I want to make my own seed mix. I know hemp, linseed and pumpkin seeds are good to use. What others should I consider adding, thanks.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Those area my main ones, I also like pine nuts in there shells and fennel too. Recently I've started to add chopped Brazil's too as a good source of selenium

@msrubberduck33

4 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare thank you. So just using those seeds would be a suitable amount of seeds for them. Are there any seeds that would help with the condition of their coats?

Thanks for this, it makes it look much more achievable!

Really liked this video, do you plan on doing a video around soft food/soakable foods for old/poorly rats?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I'm actually planning one on feeding older/infirm rats soon as it's one close to my heart

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I've done this one for you now. Hopefully it helps

I want to make my rats a homemade mix but I live in the USA and I don’t have access to any of the recommended base mixes I’m seeing everywhere.

Brilliant video, wanting a rat and doing lots of looking up.

Thank you very much! Me and my father are getting rats and we are trying to give them the best life possible!

Great video, I will be updating my mix! Thank you :)

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I hope it goes down well. What do you feed at the moment?

This video is very helpful. In both the U.S. and Canada (where I'm from), it's typical to just feed rats a pelleted diet, like Oxbow. While I think Oxbow's ingredients are fairly good, better than many others, I'm not sure I like the idea of a diet with no variety at all. So making a mix like yours is very appealing. My main question is what sort of substitute for Harrison's Banana Brunch there is in North America, if anyone has any ideas. I've looked around but it's pretty difficult finding something that is comparable. A lot of museli for small animals that I've found seems to have a lot of wheat and corn as well as alfalfa and other grasses. If anyone has any suggestions at all, that would be great!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I have struggled to find something with low wheat over there but short term you could use a mix of oxbow adult and Reggie rat as a base or better still why not try a straights based mix as that is doable in all countries usually. I talk a bit about that in my complex mix video. From memory I think one lady on my Instagram account had found a nice sounding horse conditioning mix. A bit of corn/maizeis ok but it needs to be micronised/cooked flakes rather than whole or kibbled corn as that doesn't have the mould problems the us have with whole corn (which we don't have in the UK interestingly)

@v.4549

5 жыл бұрын

​@@IsamuRatCare I just wanted to say, though it's delayed, thanks so much for your response. I think for now I may try mixing Oxbow with Reggie Rat until I find a better alternative or I do some more research about making my own straights based mix, as I know it would require extra supplementation as well. But it does sound like it would be the most ideal thing. I really wish we could get something like Harrison's Banana Brunch here! If there's one thing North America loves, it's corn and wheat in every kind of pet food imaginable, unfortunately... I actually wondered if you could elaborate just a little on the seed part of the mix. I haven't been able to find a good seed mix, but pumpkin seeds and flax seeds (we don't call them linseeds here) are readily available and pretty affordable. I am going to be getting some whole hemp seeds from a local pet store (whole hemp is quite hard to find, and hemp hearts are very expensive) and probably mix in some fennel as well because that's also easy to find. My question is, what other types of seeds do you like to see in a seed mix? I was thinking of mixing this mixture of pumpkin seed, flaxseed, hempseed and fennel seed with some amount of budgie seed or wild bird seed with a low sunflower content. Most of these seed mixes mostly contain millet. For example, a common and simple budgie seed's ingredients are: white millet, canary grass seed, oat groats, and red millet. Wild bird seed might contain these ingredients, plus nyjer seed and usually sunflower seeds. Is a millet-based budgie seed mix like this okay to mix with pumpkin, flax, and hemp, or is it better not to add it at all? And should they be mixed fairly equally (say, 20% hemp, 20% flax, 20% pumpkin, 20% fennel, and 20% budgie seed) or is there some kind of ratio one should use? Sorry for having so many questions! You're such a great resource for rat care information.

@stellabelikiewicz1523

4 жыл бұрын

Isn’t she incredible at providing great information! I’m US based, so will face the same food-sourcing battle when I get my rats, but it’s so great to have such a thorough primer on what to shoot for!

@kevinandtaushajohnson6932

2 жыл бұрын

@@v.4549 I'm from the US also & I was wondering if you have found a Good Base for your rats food? I'm still having trouble with the Base. AND how did you end up mixing your seeds? Thank you 😊

@v.4549

2 жыл бұрын

​@@kevinandtaushajohnson6932 Hi there! Unfortunately, I really didn't find a perfect base to use. I think with what's available in the US/Canada, you have to either make your own base and do a lot of research to make sure you do it properly, or make some compromises. For me, the Reggie Rat food was part of my base, despite being high in wheat. Because of this, I didn't add any wheat-based cereals to the food, which I hoped would at least prevent the wheat content from being even higher (many people use shredded wheat or similar cereals in their mixes, and I didn't, for example; just rice, oat, and corn-based cereals). A large part of my base was just Oxbow adult rat pellets. It's considered a good food, so I felt like that was a decent choice. I would also sometimes mix in other rat foods with the Reggie Rat that I thought were decent, including Puur rat food, which isn't ideal on its own but at least provides some more variety. As for seeds, I took a wild bird seed with few sunflower seeds and a decent variety, and mixed it with pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds. Probably one part hemp seeds, one part pumpkin seeds, one part flax seeds, and half a part wild bird seed, as I prioritized the other seeds. I hope that at least helps a little bit! We really lack for good small animal products and foods in the US and Canada in general and it's a bit of a struggle. In the long-term I would probably do what Isamu Rats said above and do a straights based mix but I was always worried about making sure my rats got all the vitamins and other nutrients they needed, and it can be hard to find single grains and other ingredients on their own for me as well. I also actually don't have rats at the moment, as I lost my remaining old girls pretty much within a few weeks earlier this year, and I am taking a bit of a break. Good luck and I hope you find a good solution for you and your rats.

Fantastic video - so great to see you sharing your knowledge on KZread Land!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I'm up for suggestions for future topics too

@Ratcrafts

5 жыл бұрын

Isamu RatCare what about discussions about digging, wheels, foraging, chewing, nesting and other rat behaviour as their own video to make them easier to find? How to handle rats, how to give medication, etc

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

That's a good idea. Shorter videos too so not as painful to watch

@Ratcrafts

5 жыл бұрын

Isamu RatCare haha they aren’t painful to watch! I was more thinking that they would be easier to search for and find :) Like keeping this video as it is then doing another where you discuss “let’s talk more about reducing the risk of mammary tumours” and your repeat the diet tips

Does anyone know a good brand for conditional cubes i dont know much about them and can't seem to find anything

@ghostfrench1921

2 жыл бұрын

And if you dont know of any just any way to add copper to their diet would be great!

thank u for pointing out how the rabbit food is not good for rabbits and why! most people would assume good for rats = good for rabbits vise versa especially if it says rabbit food. as an owner of 3 rabbits and i am fostering a rat, i appreciate that

Hi there! I was wondering what are the symptoms of copper deficiency in rats? Google doesn't say much. Also do you know why copper deficiency is more common in black and gray rats as you mentioned? I'm a new rat owner and mine happen to be a black and a gray lol

@smackers102

Жыл бұрын

I notice rusting in my black rats coats if they aren't getting enough copper. I'm not sure if other people have the same experience or not.

Hi there! I recently switched to a new mix - as a new rat owner I'm trying to figure out the best diet (without becoming too obsessive about things!) The place I buy the mix from makes there own and lists the following ingredients (however, they don't mention percentages - which worries me). I'd appreciate any thoughts on this: "This balanced mix is formulated to the needs of rats, and consists of only natural ingredients; grains, seeds, dried herbs, vegetables, fruits and flowers and dried insects and fish. A mix full of grains, flour and oilseeds, dried herbs, flower petals, dried fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and insects and fish to stimulate natural eating (and nibbling) behavior. Whoopie's Rat food consists of: oat flakes, puffed wheat, barley flakes, spelled flakes, puffed rice, puffed corn, pieces of millet spray, red dari, buckwheat, peeled oats, carrot slices, pea flakes, beetroot flakes, broken banana slices, coconut flakes, apple slices, pumpkin seed, peanut sunflower seeds, safflower, linseed, hemp seed, milk thistle seed, marigold, rose petals, sliced narrow plantain, echinacea leaves, green oats, silkworms, large fish and mealworms. If you want to increase the protein percentage, you can add 50 grams of Animal Mix to every kilo of Rodent Supplies Whoopie Rat Food to increase the protein percentage to 14.93%. It is also possible to add 50 grams of dried fish large to every kilo of Rodent Supplies Whoopie Rat Food to increase the protein percentage to 15.38%."

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

I would probably ask them for a full Nutrition breakdown (particularly vitamins and minerals) or ask them what they have formulated there mix from. It could be good but if it’s out of balance it could also be quite bad

@SebastianTemlett

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Thanks! I asked them and they broke it down as follows: Flour seeds and grains 54.5%, (like oat flakes) Oilseeds 4%, Vegetables and fruits 20%, Kernels and nuts 9.5%, Herbs and flowers 7.5% and insects and fish 4.5%.

Me scribbling notes down to give my rats the best diet everrrr!

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

If it saves you time there’s generally most of this info on my website in the feeding section

What would the barley be in the mix? I have lots of whole barley but am not sure what percentage it fall under and how much to give

Thank you for your video iv learnt a lot can't wait to show my husband x

I've been here before emiology but I follow both for such a long time

I am so excited about making my own mix for my new babies. 😁

amazingly helpful video. thank you!

Does anyone have experience with the Real Nature rat mix from Fressnapf? Its found in the country that I live in and I find it hard to get access to the mixis mentioned in the Video. Do I need to alter this mix, and if I do, how should I go about it?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Can you post the ingredients and nutrition and I can take a look for you

Would Wilko's own or pets at home rat muesli be an ok base mix? It looks similar to the stuff you're using and it's easy to access

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't use pets at home rat muesli as it's protien is from the same source as the nuggets which I distrust. There's no info on the ingredients and nutritional value of wilkos food online so I can't check it. If you have it and post it I'll let you know I know a few folk who use there budgie conditioning mix as a seed mix to add to the rats good. Check out your local range too. Henry bells green pea is pretty good. Mr Johnson's special is good, the supreme one is ok. There's also Allen and Paige green pea, great and small rabbit food with peas, and various horse and goat mixes that are ok to use. In theory you could use something like Reggie rat too though it's heavily wheat based so I'd prefer to mix with something that isn't

Id like to use the same dog kibble fish4dogs but is this good? Arent the protein way to high? Crude protein 26%, fat content 12%, crude ash 7.5%, crude fiber 2.5%, omega 3 fats 1%.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

That’s fine as part of a balanced mix, I wouldn’t go higher

I have two 2yr old bucks, two 1yr old bucks, and will be getting four 7month old bucks. I know for older bucks the protein should be dropped but since my troop consists of multiple age groups what would you recommend I do for a good mix? I’m US based and they’re currently on oxbow adult and they get veggies/fruits 3x a week. I’d really like to give them more enrichment with a mix though. I put dried crickets and mealworms in their dig boxes occasionally as well.

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I'd aim for a mix that is generally around the lower end of protien and low wheat and then see how they do. The 7 month old bucks may need topping up from time to time with extra protien as they'll still be having growth spurts. You could use oxbow and some grains as the base of your mix. I'd normally combine with Reggie but that it pretty high wheat. It is lower protien though so may not be too bad an option. Then you should be able to source the rest of similar ingredients for my simple mix with a bit of looking around

@gabriellerenee3243

5 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care I’ll definitely look into those options! Thank you!

I have four young rats, two of them are almost 4 months old and the others are somewhere around 2 months. I've heard that 4-6 months old is is around the time we should put them on an adult diet (which is when I plan to begin my mix making adventure). How do I make sure the younger ones are getting the protein they need while also making sure the older ones aren't getting too much? Also, how much should I give the rats a day?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I would typically recommend feeding everyone an adult diet but take the babies out to give them a higher protein top up once or twice a week. You can use things like scrambled egg, cooked chicken on the bone, tinned fish, decent quality cat/dog good and so on

Hi, I know that this video is fairly old but I was wondering if barley rings could be added to increase copper levels as I heard that is good.

Hi there, I am trying to replicate a similar mix following your guidelines. I've watched this video a couple of times and read through the nutrition bit of your website and I'm slightly confused. You're saying that the rat mix/diet needs to be 12-14% protein (which mixes like Harringtons banana brunch are), but then you're adding additional protein on top of the 14% that is already in the mix... Why? if they already have the required amount of protein in the mix then why do you add more? Are they meant to have more than 14% overall? Please let me know, thanks.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

So whilst the Harrison's is about right protien wise the other half of the mix contains lower protien, so this pulls down the total protien, so you add kibble which is higher protien to balance it out a bit. The links your adding is around 20-25% so higher than rats need, but you only add a small amount which tops up the low protien elements to give you something roughly right.

How would you adapt this diet for mice? I’ve seen some info online about it but just can’t get my head around percentages

I don’t know if this goes for places outside the USA but Pawtree dog food as far as I know is a good option for protein- decent quality and tiny pieces- also able to buy it in bulk.

Are some pellets alright? I'm finding it hard to find a base mix in Australia similar to banana brunch with no pellets

can you feed micronised linseed? i have a huge bag that i use for my horses, thank you!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

You can add some yes, it’s high in fat so you don’t want to add a lot but it can go in the seed section of a mix

Best channel on youtube! :P

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you. That means a lot. It's still a bit of an experiment at the moment

@lagerthal6344

5 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare please keep the experiment running as first of all your voice calms me down a lot and second of all you are so knowledgeable about rats and for me who processes information by what I see a video talking about a mix is much better than just reading loads of varying percentages and not knowing why they vary :). And similarly with talking about symptoms of disease and health checking, it's easier to understand and see what I'm looking for. On that note, would the proportions you used be suitable for a 15month old rat living with two 3 month old buddies?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I'm glad it's working for you. Will definitely keep going as long as I have subjects I can think of to post

@annemacleod4227

4 жыл бұрын

I totally agree. I learn so much from this channel. There are few that really are truly knowledgeable about rats. Most just tell you about the basics. But this channel really goes into what rats truly need. Foodwise and socially. I'm a total addict!! Please keep on making videos. You're a one off!!! :)

I am going to get rats and they are going to be young, I am aware that younger rats require a higher protein diet until they are about 6 months old (I've heard). I am wondering if I should add any extra ingredients to this mix to tend to their needs until they are adults?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I actually did a video on this topic that may be useful. It's not as simple as "feed extra protien up to X months" as rats do vary a lot on there needs. But this looks at some of the ways to judge it and what kind of things to feed. Feeding kittens: from homing on kzread.info/dash/bejne/dIh-vMqEkrOpm5s.html

Hi. I don't understand percentage. I'm sorry. But csn you please explain in metric cups. We measure this way. Thank you.

I know this is old video, but still hoping someone can advise me: what to do if rats pick out only certain things from the mixture and leave others? By not eating all the 'parts' of the mixture equally they are obviously not going to get the benefits intended. Should I leave the uneaten parts, and give no new/fresh food so that they will eventually eat all of it? Thank you for your time and assistance.

I'm planning on making science selective a part of my mix, would i then use that for protein or the base? I'm very knew to nutrition. I still don't have rats I've been researching about them for almost 2 years now but I just recently found out that feeding only lab blocks isn't the best so I'm researching nutrition. English also isn't my first language so sorry for any mistakes!

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

It can either be part of the base (I would only do a smallish amount of it though) or you can mix say 10% of that in with the complete mix at the end as it’s neutral so won’t throw things out of balance

Where do you buy your cereals as i am unable to find cornflakes, shreddies and rice crspies under 5% sugar per 100g? 😊

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Get as close as you can. The value ranges are often lower sugar than the better known brands.

What is the veg bagged mix you showed. I tried to see what it was but I couldn’t tell.

@IsamuRatCare

Жыл бұрын

Woodlands range herb plus most likely, it’s my fave

Hi! I'm in the US, and am currently feeding the Oxbow Adult Essentials diet. Only other brand sold in store around me is Kaytee, which doesn't use great ingredients and always has a high sugar content. Do you recommend using rabbit food vs rat food for the base mix, or have you stumbled across a brand in the US that is best for rats?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I do really struggle in the us as I haven’t found a decent rabbit food either, I think there may be a couple decent horse mixes but they are few and far between. An ok option would be to mix Reggie rat and oxbow as a base

i was wondering if i could use meal worms, egg etc instead of the kibble? or my dogs are on a raw meat diet and we use a mixer type biscuit, would this possibly be okay for the protein substitute, it says on the packaging that it is composed of cereals, meat and animal derivatives, oils and fats, minerals, derivatives of vegetable origin. if you do not think either of these would do then i will go for a kibble but i just wondered as i have these in my house anyway.

Honestly feel like I've failed up until now! Recently started using Ratrations but the expense is too much and I have a baby on the way! This video is so helpful I'm going to make my own mix in the upcoming week! What sort of nutritional content are we looking for in the base mix or do you have any other than Harrisons Banana Brunch you'd recommend? Thanks

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Are you on Facebook? If so join rat care U.K. as there’s a stickied post on food and in that there’s a link to a whole thread of base mixes. I’m currently using a mix of mr Johnson’s special rabbit and red mills. Henry bells no 5 green peas is good and you can get it from the range. Wilkos green pea is pretty good too

@Slendermoth

4 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare I've found the post!

With the pumpkin seeds can they have them straight out of a pumpkin or do they need cooking/drying?

Just done it and it smells and looks yammy, thank u for posting this , my rats love it

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I'm really glad, mine love them too

Hi, i was curious to where u would u suggest looking online for the harrinsons banana brinch iv been searching and im not sure wheres safe or good to order from. Many thx

What are conditioning cubes and can you recommend a good brand? This is awesome thank you!!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

They are sold for horses. As are an alternatives barley rings. However both are sold in massive sacks which are tricky without a lot of rats. www.ratrations.co.uk sell them in smaller amounts andd I'll be honest that's where I get them from. To be fair if you use a higher copper based like Mr Johnson's special rabbit you don't need the conditioning cubes

@HI-bw2gt

4 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care is you do use the special rabbit food would you have to change/add anything in the recipe (or take anything out of the rabbit food)

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Mr Johnson’s special is fine as it is, you don’t need lots of extra copper, it is still fairly low in fat (most rabbit food is) but that should be covered in the recipe

@ZV29ew

3 жыл бұрын

This would be in place of Naturals Herb Plus (step 4), correct?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

What would be sorry? The mr Johnson’s? That’s instead of Harrison’s banana brunch

Is harringtons dog kibble ok to use as a protein source

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Yep from memory it's an ok brand

I’m from Australia and I’m wanting to make my own mix but I’m struggling to find a suitable base. If anyone has any suggestions they would be much appreciated.

Hi, i have baby rats coming today 8/10 weeks old. How do i make their mix suitable? Do i just add extra protein for the next 4 weeks? Thanks.

Can a very good quality cat biscuit such as Purina gastrointestinal be used as part of the mix instead of dog kibble?

Would you say the Little One Rat is a good base mix? I've looked in every shop and asked if they could order it, but I can't find anything like Harrisons Banana Brunch or Mr. Johnson's rabbit supreme or anything else. Do you recommend another brand, or will the Little One work? I've checked the ingredients and it seems fine, but I just wanted to ask a professional/more experienced rat owner... Thank you so much!

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

It’s not bad as shop bought foods go and would be fine as a base for a mix

At what age would you recommend switching from 10% protein to 5% protein in the mix?

Hey there I can't seem to find smaller bags of conditioning cubes, what brand/type would you recommend?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I tend to get them from rat rations as they split them into smaller amounts. I don’t know anyone else that does them in small amounts. However depending on your base mix you may not need them, they are useful when you have a low copper base mix

So I'm from Malaysia and the only choice for rat food here is Mazuri, and I just heard the protein content is too high at 23%. Not sure if I can dilute it out with some other ingredients or just toss it completely.Choices for rabbit or guinea pig mixes are pretty limited too, I've been searching for awhile now and the ones that I found that were somewhat acceptable: Versele Laga crispy muesli (guinea pig) COMPOSITION derivatives of vegetable origin, cereals, vegetables, minerals, seeds, vegetable protein extracts (has colours added) ANALYTICAL CONSTITUENTS : protein 14.5%, fat content 2.5%, crude fibre 14%, crude ash 7%, calcium 1.0%, phosphorus 0.55%, 10 mg copper Tiny Friends Farm Russel Rabbit Extruded wheat, flaked peas, flaked maize, Timothy hay, alfalfa meal, whole oats, flaked wheat, soya bean hulls, wheat feed, soya oil, extruded locust beans (has colour added) Analysis: Crude Protein 14.0%, Crude fibre 12.0%, Crude Oils and Fats 4.0%, Crude Ash 5.0%, Calcium 0.6%, Phosphorus 0.4% , 7.5mg copper Tiny Friends Farm Gerty Guinea Pig Extruded wheat, flaked peas, flaked maize, alfalfa meal, soya bean meal, flaked wheat, whole oats, soya bean hulls, extruded maize, soya oil, wheat feed, extruded locust beans Protein 16.0%, Crude fibre 8.0%, Fat content 4.0%, Inorganic matter 5.0%, Calcium 0.6%, Phosphorus 0.5%, Copper 7.5mg Also Puur for guinea pigs: Derivatives of vegetable origin (4% timothy hay), vegetables (9.5% peas, 2% dill, 2% beetroot), grains, fruits (2% papaya), oils and fats, minerals Analysis: Crude protein 13,3 %,Crude fat 2 %, Crude fibre 17,4 %, Crude ash 5,6 %, Calcium ,55 g/kg, Phosphorus ,35 g/kg, Sodium ,03 g/kg, 7mg copper Would any of these work? There's also Vitakraft and Vadigran but their ingredients list is kind of vague (they would just say something like wheat or cereal) and sometimes I can't even find the analytical constituents listed.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

If you can get those try Reggie rat as a base, possibly mixed with a bit of science selective, or pure rat food isn’t bad too.

@yin41

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare there is no reggie rat or science selective for rats here, only one available locally is mazuri and another lab rat block with equally high protein content. Basically nothing that people recommend for rats, Science Selective, Harrisons, Supafrutti etc. Rats are usually just feeders here, very rare as pets. I tried looking, no website will ship here. Should I just continue feeding them mazuri then?

Love this,could you advise what the copper conditioning cubes are? Where would we get them? I’m definitely going to make my own food going forward.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I get them from rat rations as they sell them in small amounts. You can get massive bags of them but that would take a long time for all but big groups to get through

I was wondering if there is a substatute to kibble or a decent kibble that I can use that is available in the US?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard good things about solid gold holistic, but I don’t know how widely available that is. If you have any possible kibble’s I’m happy to review though. What to look for is; Protein around 18-25% Ingredients list actual named meats eg salmon meat, chicken meat etc. Not animal and meat derivatives or vague stuff like poultry meal. The same goes for fat, identifies sources like linseed or salmon oil is better than poultry fat Natural brands tend to be better at the above Look for decent high copper (20mg/kg or over) Fish based is useful as it’s less farmed than most meats though some rat’s don’t like it If you link to what you find I’m happy to let you know which look suitable

Hi, My rats love oats, but noticed not mentioned here. Are oats good for them. Thanks

what are the conditioning cubes called exactly you put in this mix and who are they by

Thank you for this wonderful video! I live in Japan and unfortunately, fortified foods (such as cereals) aren't really a thing here. There are a few but they're generally loaded with sugar and I think it's mainly only calcium that's added. Sadly, this includes things such as rice and the like (our rice does not have extra vitamins added to it). What can I add instead to ensure my rats get what they need? (We don't have any good bases like the banana brunch either..). I really would love to get rats but as they are usually only used as reptile feed here, finding food for them is near impossible (they are typically fed hamster food). Burgess is the only food I can find and only one store imports it! I wouldn't mind using it but I'd like to know that I can still feed my rats if the store decides to stop stocking it for some reason. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to make sure they have everything they need nutritionally!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Do you have any good supplements for calcium, vitamin d and copper? The first two are the most important as you can cover copper with occasional fresh foods like liver and feeding dark green veg regularly

@miki_mochi

4 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare There are vitamins for calcium and Vitamin D intended for rabbits and small animals but not copper that I can find. Would sesame seeds added to the food mix be a decent way to make sure they get copper?

What is the shop name you can get the Harrison’s banana brunch because I can’t find it unless it’s a lot of money on Amazon ?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Purely pets is normally the cheapest in the uk, especially if you get a couple bags for postage breaks

I’ve got a 1 year old dumbo who sneezes and rubs his nose, been to the vets several times and now it’s been diagnosed as a allergy to some thing, no treatments were give, fudge is still sneezing not all the time, when a sleep there no sneezing but when awake he sneezes several times and you can see him rubbing his nose, can you get any allergy medication to give to him.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

You can give anti hayfever type medication however I find that this kind of thing is more likley to be caused by something stuck up the nose. What substrate do you use

i tried to find the herb plus mixture you were using, but noticed the ingredients were high in wheat and had alfalfa in it. It seemed to be the same as the one you mentioned in the video... was wondering if that was the one you used or if I hadn't looked hard enough? Really helpful and clear video btw!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

The one I use does have oat flakes, wheat flakes and pea flashes high up on the ingredients list. With using it though it forms a fairly small part of your mix so I don’t worry about that. The added herbs and such it adds are worth it

This was very helpful!! thank you so much!! ^-^

I already have an older rat (his brother died recently) and am getting two babies soon. Should I make two mixes with different levels of protein?

OMG i am so glad I have found you and this mix! I am a brand new rat mum and have been struggling to figure out food for my 2 boys. So my question, do you feed them just this mix once a day or can I also give them fresh fruit and veg? Thank you so much!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I give veg and occasional fruit around twice a week. That seems to work well for my rats.

@Bonniegleelover

5 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare ok thank you for replying so quick, you have been a massive help!

@Bonniegleelover

5 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare ok so I have sorted it out and am going to start this new diet? How do i change my boys from what I know now was a crappy diet into this good one?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

You can move rats straight away. There digestive system is set up for change with them being scavengers in the wild

Is the corn in the herb plus okay for rats? I have heard people say that dried corn isn't good for them

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, the corn thing is often misunderstood. So animal grade whole corn on the us is often dried very slowly and not fully, this allows mould spores to build up which can cause issues. However corn that is cooked (eg micronised, flaked or puffed corn) is fine as is human grade. Outside the US even whole corn is safe because it’s dried in a different way. The stuff in herb plus is actually partially popped too so heated

Hi there, I'm just wondering if there are any tweaks/adjustments you would make to this diet regarding bucks? As I am looking into making this diet for my 4 aging boys they are 15 month old rescues. I've also looked into your oldies supplement diet which I wanna try too. I really like your videos btw and any advice given would be greatly appreciated! I think as rat owners and any pet owner for that matter, we should constantly want to improve our knowledge and understanding of our animals to ultimately improve there lives and I think informative videos like yours help people do this so thankyou to you and you lovely rattos!! 🐀🐀🐀❤️

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Ok so for bucks of that age it's important to be aware of the kidney impact (if you've not already got some I'd recommend getting some urine dipsticks to check for protien). So you want to reduce the protien amount a little and watch the grains your using, maximise the kidney friendly grains of rice and barley, minimise wheat and rye. If you start seeing protien in there urine then reduce the protien to about half what I do in the mix and increase the amount of white grains your using and the total processed grains in your mix. For younger adult bucks they should be fine on the mix I do. Though I've found with bucks you do need to put more effort into tweaking things to keep there condition optimal. I do need to do videos on the various elements of condition though

@laurah570

5 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the advice, I was going to lower protein value for my boys anyways due to their ages. 😊 I already have some urine dip sticks they have been so useful over the years particularly with my rescues! Thanks again 😋

Hello! First of all, thank you for this video. I recently rescued some rats and i hate the pellets they sell for them. However, im having issues finding a mix thats proper for the first 50-60% of this mix. What could i use to make this myself? Harrisons banana brunch is not available in my country and nothing similar is either

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

What country are you based in

I’m planning on making this mix for a pair of rats I’m gonna get soon, trying to prepare the best I can. How much of this mix should I feed 2 rats?

I just made my rats their own food mix. Over the months I had been adding things with the pellets I had. I didnt want to make a food mix as I was worried I wouldn't be able to do it right. But with the months of research I did find the confidence.. I did however mix in their pellets as well, because I still have quite a lot left. Is that okay to do? I use science select pellets, rat and mouse food. Although it hasn't been the bulk of their diet for some time. I used the Harrisons banana brunch as my base. But I'm wondering if I should add more of the other ingredients, if I add more of the pellets. As it would technically be a base mix ? In any sense, I'm sure theyll prefer their new mix 😊

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah you’re fine too add a small amount of science selective to the mix to use up, I’d keep it to let’s say 5% of the mix as part of the base mix so there’s not loads in there but you use it up. I do actually add SS to my mix regularly in small amounts as they do like it

I’ve placed an order with ratrations for ingredients and also ordered yellow biscuit. I’ve no clue how to add this in or even if I should. Don’t know why I ordered it 🤷‍♀️. Can it be added to a particular section, ie protein or base (and what percentage). Also, I have a bag of science selective and would like to add it to my mix but again, I’m not sure what section it would go in or percentage, or should I just add in a handful to every section as part of that individual percentage? Thanks so much for all your fantastic help and advice.

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

It fits in the protein section. I would add say 10% science selective after you’ve finished the mix, it’s effectively neutral so won’t change the balance but they do like it

@elizabeththomson99

4 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care thanks so much. I’m going to have fun tomorrow when it all arrives 😀

How do you work out the percentage of a scoop?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

The easiest way is to estimate how many scoops will fill the container you want to store the rat food in (less a little space for stirring) then divide 100 by that number and it will give you the percent per scoop. However it's a lot easier with a multiple of 5. I often start with say 20 scoops (which means each scoop is 5%) and see how much that fills. Then increase if needed. Depends a lot on the size of your scoop Vs the container. You can always bag up spare stuff though

Hey, what type of tub/bucket did you use to scoop your food out? Looking to do a mix for my rats but I know a shop near me has almost the same bucket, just wanted to make sure it's the right size

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

The size of the scoop doesn't matter as long as you've got consistency. So you use 1 scoop for the same percentage every time. Doesn't matter of that's a cup or a jug or a bucket. Three size will just vary the total amount made not the ratios

@treshydbhweirdo1054

4 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Ahh, okay, thank you!

is that naturals herbs plus mix really safe as ive looked at it in shops and thought "oh no"

I will definitely be following this when I get my rats in May. How long will this mix last per month for 3 - 4 rats?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

It depends on how much you mix up. Because it’s done by volume the size of the scoop affects things a lot.

Can you elaborate on copper intake involving black and grey rats please? I have black, blue, and martens and would love to learn as much as I can!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Basically it’s one of the causes of rusting, but there are many other causes too. This may be worth a watch kzread.info/dash/bejne/gpurltKuYLPghZc.html

Love the aspect ratio

For mr jonsons (base mix) what could you do as its high in wheat?

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

Which mr Johnson’s? I use mr Johnson’s special rabbit which is one of the best in my opinion. If your using one of the others then why not mix it with a low wheat base to balance out.

@luikero445

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare interesting.. So i can use Mr Johnsons special rabbit food as a base mix? How does it compare to the banana brunch?

I generally feed my rats the oxbow adult rat food. Is it better to feed them rabbit food as their base instead of Oxbow?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I personally prefer a good rabbit/horse/goat food based mix however use a poor one and the oxbow is better. Typically the best rabbit mixes for rats are actually the quest for rabbits. You want to get mixes low in grasses and alfalfa, high in barley or peas, relatively low in wheat and around 5% fat and 12-14% protein. It can take a fair bit of effort to find a good one. I’ve struggled in the US though there’s some ok rat mixes and horse mixes that are decent options

I'm wondering if there's a vegetarian protein I could use instead of fish or meat based dogfood. I saw Emiology put red lentils in which I use as a source of protein as well (I'm a vegetarian). Or could I supplement their food with hardboiled egg from time to time?

@IsamuRatCare

2 жыл бұрын

Try yarrah dog kibble, though there’s actually quite a lot of decent vegan dog kibbles. I’m dubious about there use for dogs but for rats they are fine. Lentils are ok added as part of the protein element but I wouldn’t rely on them as they are not that high in protein, you want something to push it up a bit higher. Plus kibble adds a lot of vitamins and minerals

@jorinde85

2 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare thank you for that comprehensive answer!

@TechSupportDave

2 жыл бұрын

ideally you don't want your animals to be vegetarian just because you are. if it were a dog it would be animal abuse.

So I'm planning on using oxbow adult rat food because I've heard great things about it and their nutrition and ingredients look really good too. However, I want to add more to make their diet more exciting and well balanced. Today I bought some ancient grain pasta (mainly wheat, quinoa, amaranth, millet, sorghum, and teff. Also 2g of sugar/85g). I also got the low sugar cheerios cereal, which I see a lot of people use. Are these ok to mix in with the food? Also, I would like to add flax and other seeds. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Also, I'm struggling to figure out how much to mix in of each thing because I don't want to overdo the amount of fiber in their diet. Thanks to anyone who can help me out!

@IsamuRatCare

4 жыл бұрын

You could follow the simple mix proportions but use oxbow as a base. Though personally I’d prefer mixing it 50:50 with Reggie rat or another decent muesli as a base

Hi. Thanks for the great rattie channel. What should I be feeding my 3.5 year old with his fruit and veggies since brown rice and wheat and oats are a no no at his age?

does anyone know a good base to get for a reasonable price in canada? would reggie rat and versele-laga nature mixed be a good base?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Tell that should be a good option, you could throw a bit of science selective in too if you wanted

Can you used fish cat food for the dog kibble part?

For the base mix I cannot find anything suitable with low amounts of alfafal locally. If I were to make my own base mix, what would you recommend should consist of this base mix?

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Are you UK based?

@gwahbwahuwah1127

5 жыл бұрын

Isamu Rat Care Australia based

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

I'm afraid I'm going to struggle with that as I don't have knowledge of what brands are available over there. I will say you can normally make a good straights based mix anywhere in the world. I cover that in part of my complex mix video. The second half of the mix I make is straights based. You do have to suppliment more but it's usually achievable with a bit of hunting around for what grains you can get

@gwahbwahuwah1127

5 жыл бұрын

I don’t really need the brands, more of the actual ingredients required; but thank you! I will watch your second video. Thank you for the help :)

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

This may also help www.isamurats.co.uk/options-for-dry-mixes.html

Hi, so I'm running into a problem. . . I live in the United States and I'm having a time finding just a good base mix. Most of the ones I find that are decent I cannot get where I am. Even online they can't ship to me. Do you have any suggestions?? Or does anyone else have an idea of what can be used for the base when you're in the US?

@boundlessflute4713

3 жыл бұрын

Currently researching the same thing. Scroll down to Addison L's comment, useful info there.

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

Decent options in the us are say 2-3 of the following (for small groups) Reggie rat (little friends) Science selective or oxbow adult Pure rat mix Versa laga nature If you’ve got more than 10 rats there’s some good horse feeds out there too

What do I do if all of the dried veg packs I can find have dried onion in.

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

As long as it's not high on the list of ingredients it's fine. Rats have to eat a lot of onion to cause problems and small amounts can be beneficial. You can also dry your own though. There's a video on dehydrating in the feeding playlist which is a great way to use up veg too and avoid waste

@michellejuxon6918

5 жыл бұрын

Ok thx alot I will be sure to check that out later 😊

@michellejuxon6918

5 жыл бұрын

Also if I am not able to dehydrate my own veg would dehydrated veg (spinach, broccoli and Carrots)for birds be ok

How would you change this mix for older boys? Say using the special rabbit mix, and following the rest of your guide with 19.5% protein kibble. How would you adapt this for boys and their kidneys?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

I would drop the amount of the protein section down to 5% and increase the processed grains (making sure i avoided wheat and oats in that section) by that extra 5%

@uniquekillerz

3 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare I'll do that. Thanks very much.

What are the ingredients in the herb plus mix? And does anyone know a similar blend available in Canada?

@IsamuRatCare

3 жыл бұрын

This page has all the ingredients listed, ratrations.co.uk/herbs-plus---naturals-range however if you go for any decent rabbit herb mix (I think oxbow does a couple)

Hi! I used Fish4Dogs pet food as a protein source just like you did. Question of the day - is the smell of fish not overwhelming? I feel like by mixing this with other food I will make everything smell like fish :x

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

Mine doesn't seem to be, I've not noticed it smelling strongly fishy yet. Are you finding that it is?

@LadyParanoyka

5 жыл бұрын

@@IsamuRatCare Well it was overwhelming when I was mixing it, now when I open the container with it I can't really smell it and my boys are loving it so I think I panicked prematurely! This might be caused by the dog's food bag being open fairly close to my face too! I think fennel seeds and herbs are also making the mix smell much better so it's all good! Thank you for the answer and for the video, it was a great help!

@IsamuRatCare

5 жыл бұрын

No problem. I'm glad it's calmed down now too. Try adding dried mint to your mix too, I adore minty rat food