Problem with mouse smell

[TandJ]

I can't afford Harlen.. I use Krause ( sp? ) Lab Blocks, about half the price..

As for ratios, I keep 1 male to 4 to 10 females.. Keeping adament about making sure the darn things are clean two to three times a week, depending on the weather.. Summer time, or heat conditions they are definantly stepped up in cleaning...

The main staple is lab block, backed up with raw sunflower seeds, occasional dried fruit, the birthed females occasionally get scrambled/omlet style eggs.. The rodents around here get the occasionaly steak bone to boot ( the ratties for sure love the bones, and helps keep their teeth in check ) about once a month..

Where do you live in Cali? If your close enough I might be able to buy the opccasional extras from you..

 

[RATTIE]

???? What don't you like about lab blocks? What have you found that is better?

On the rat forum I go on some have concerns about the nutrition in lab blocks so they use a senior dog food/Suebee's grain mix.

I don't like feeding my cats kibble because it doesn't seem very healthy either.

That is also why I question lab blocks. If you think about what they can get by with in dog and cat food uke01: what makes lab blocks any healthier.

Where do you live in Cali? If your close enough I might be able to buy the opccasional extras from you..

I'm in the Riverside area but I think I'll be moving to Texas before getting into this.

 

[wade]

On the rat forum I go on some have concerns about the nutrition in lab blocks so they use a senior dog food/Suebee's grain mix.

Well here's a thought. Harlan Laboratories is one of the worlds leading supplier of lab rats to labs all over the world. They have researched this 10 ways to Sunday. They have lab blocks formulated for nursing mothers and bachelors and every other thing you can think of.

But I am sure the rat lovers on your forum know more about nutrition than a bunch of old scientists.

 

[RATTIE]

Well I bet scientists have spent years studding dog and cat food too but there are no dry dog or cat foods that make up a complete and balanced diet with out having other things added to them. I prefer to make a home made mix based around a good store bought one so I don't have to worry about them getting good nutrition. I know lots of people that feed only Harlan along with the normal veggies and treats and it works for them. I think that every one is different in how they feed there feeders and that's fine but I PREFER to feed mine a dog food/grain mix which I would change the protein amounts for the mice but as long as they are getting a complete and balanced diet I don't see why that's a problem. I did not intend to offend any one and I'm sorry if I did.

 

[wade]

Well I bet scientists have spent years studding dog and cat food too but there are no dry dog or cat foods that make up a complete and balanced diet with out having other things added to them. I prefer to make a home made mix based around a good store bought one so I don't have to worry about them getting good nutrition. I know lots of people that feed only Harlan along with the normal veggies and treats and it works for them. I think that every one is different in how they feed there feeders and that's fine but I PREFER to feed mine a dog food/grain mix which I would change the protein amounts for the mice but as long as they are getting a complete and balanced diet I don't see why that's a problem. I did not intend to offend any one and I'm sorry if I did.

Yes scientists studied dog food for dogs, and cat food for cats. If you read the label carefully they don't say that they are for rats.

You say you want a good balanced diet by feeding them dog food and grain mix. What are you balancing? How much protein is the correct amount? If you give them wheat and corn how much fat are they getting? Do they need fat? What lab results are you basing your balanced diet on?

 

[ComoxCorn]

Well I bet scientists have spent years studding dog and cat food too but there are no dry dog or cat foods that make up a complete and balanced diet with out having other things added to them.

Sorry to disagree with you there. There are many quality dry feeds formulated for cats and dogs that comprise the balanced diet. Our cat eats only dry food and passes his annual check up with flying colours each year. We don't skimp on the quality of the food either. We pay $28.95 per 5 pound bag.
Same principles apply to rodents. Their total dietery needs are provided in quality lab blocks. But as I mentioned earlier, I do give my mice treats, but never on a daily basis, perhaps twice a week. Their main dietery source is from the formulation that goes into the feed. I feed my mice LabDiet 5012. I have a pretty healthy breeding colony of mice. I produce quality feeder mice for my snakes the I feel has a direct reflection on the health of my snakes.
Like Wade, I also question what lab results you base your diet on?

 

[ceduke]

When I was an active member of a rat forum, the concern with lab blocks was mainly that they are formulated for optimum growth, not optimum longevity, so in regards to PET rats, may not be the best choice. For rats in a feeder colony, it seems lab blocks would be ideal. My pet rats ate primarily table scraps.

Also, where did you get the information that NO dry dog or cat food is complete and balanced?! Many of them are less than ideal, but nutritionally complete. Some are exceptional. All of my mammalian pets eat food from Natura, who makes excellent foods. (EVO, California Natural, Innova, Healthwise)

 

[Buzzard]

I use Mazuri lab blocks and have had no ill effect for using it. Infact I have healthy looking mice, rats and ASF's. I do however give mine table scraps and treats, just because I want to. I see it like Wade does, labs have done there homework. Just because someone wants to raise there rodent(s) on a different diet, doesnt make other diets wrong.

 

[El Jefe]

I feed my mice money....or so it seems.

Money in = good mice....and the smell is free.

 

[Buzzard]

I feed my mice money....or so it seems.

Money in = good mice....and the smell is free.

lmao.....plop plop ...fizz fizz.... oh what a smell it is.....

 

[Jadie.Glitch]

A lot of good points have been made here... and while I still desire to supplement my rats food with other things, I think I need to throw more lab blocks in as a staple. Once I get my rat rack built I'm going to probably utilize those a bit more.

I guess I'm just a little leery of animal foods that come in bags, because my parents always fed our dogs the cheapest food imaginable and they all died of huge goiters, cancer tumors, and cysts. The vet told us it was most likely the food we fed them. Granted they did live to be close to the end of their life-span, but the end for them was never pretty.. and I always wondered if they would have had more years in them past the average life-span if we had been feeding them holistically.

After reading what has been said I now understand that the lab blocks are a little different than the bargain dog food. The lab blocks were "designed" not "thrown together". That definitely makes a difference, I'm sure. So while I'd rather not chomp down a lab block myself, I can't deny the results, and I can't deny the fact that the rats love them.

So for me, my conclusion is: Lab Blocks=Good. Lab Blocks+A Variety of Added Goodies=Better, and is what I'll be sticking with .

 

[wade]

Be careful with the goodies, rats are just like people in that if given the choice they will eat candy all day and leave the good food on their plate.

 

[Jadie.Glitch]

Be careful with the goodies, rats are just like people in that if given the choice they will eat candy all day and leave the good food on their plate.

Well to me, goodies for my rats are: wild bird seed, cockatiel seed, cat food, fruity sun conure pellets, fruity parrot pellets, random things (generally speaking fruits and veggies here) from the fridge.

But you're probably on to something there... They do metabolize things differently than us so some of those things can probably be bad in large quantities, just like there are things that are bad for us in large quantities.

I've always thought it was odd that a horse could get morbidly obese on grass. JUST pasture grass. If I ate pasture grass all day I'd die of malnutrition (and boredom), lol.

Animals are definitely built differently than us, that's for sure.

 

[ceduke]

After reading what has been said I now understand that the lab blocks are a little different than the bargain dog food. The lab blocks were "designed" not "thrown together". That definitely makes a difference, I'm sure. So while I'd rather not chomp down a lab block myself, I can't deny the results, and I can't deny the fact that the rats love them.

So for me, my conclusion is: Lab Blocks=Good. Lab Blocks+A Variety of Added Goodies=Better, and is what I'll be sticking with .

There are good and bad brands of lab blocks too. The ones mentioned here are great. I stay clear of anything made by Kaytee because I feel strongly that they should stop using Ethoxyquin as a preservative until we know more about it. I don't want to feed my snakes rodents that have eaten a pesticide.

 

[Jadie.Glitch]

Hmm, I didn't even realize Kaytee made lab blocks. However I have heard some rumours about people not liking that brand in general so I try to stay away. When I was raising cockatiels back in highschool I did use their powdered hatchling mix though...

I use Mazuri ^_^. Do you know how hard it is to try to explain that brand to the feed supply stores in my area??? They ALL carry it but every time I call and say "Do you guys have any Mazuri lab blocks in stock right now?", they're like "Missouri? ... I've never heard of that brand." They ALWAYS think I'm saying the state and not the animal food brand. I have to spell it and then they're like "OH GEEZE, okay I know what you're talking about, haha" I sometimes wonder if I'm pronouncing it wrong, but I can't think of a better way that it could realistically be. MAH-zur-ee instead of Muh-ZUR-ee perhaps? dunno :shrugs: