Rat diet

Question
Hi, I have a question for you about my rat's diet. I have two rats, Phineas and Ferb. I am not sure how old they are because I adopted them at our local animal society. But, I suspect they are still pretty young. When I adopted them, in their cage that they came with they were eating cat food. At home, I had another rat, Perry, who was eating cat food as well.
   I learned later on that cat food was only good for nursing mothers or younger rats. I tried switching their food a couple of times but two of my rats, Ferb and Perry, wouldn't eat. I quickly switched back to the cat food because Perry was around two, she had already lost some weight and didn't need to lose anymore. Well, yesterday I woke up and Perry had passed away. Even though, I doubt Perry's diet was what made her pass, I thought now would be a good time to switch their food. Phineas has recently lost fur on her neck and around her eyes, and Ferb has lost a little patch on her neck.
   I wanted to ask, is there a food you recommend? Also, what should I do if they continue not to eat it? And should the fur grow back on it's own if they begin to eat rat food? I just removed all of the cat food and put all rat food, I am feeding them some type of Kaytee food--I think it might be Forti-Diet. They also get Forti-Diet and Fiesta treats from Kaytee. Thank you so much for your time!

Answer
Well, what I use is actually a soy free diet which helps to reduce the risks of cancer AND help them to live a longer life. It also helps to keep them healthier, which means less vet trips.

Here is the recipe that I use, but please keep in mind that I buy 22.5 lb bulk bags as I have over 100 rats in my care. So, if you use smaller bags, then you will need to adjust the recipe accordingly.

1 -22.5 lbs bag of Brown's Tropical Carnival for rats and mice.
1 - large box of Multigrain Cheerios
1 - large box of Total Wholegrain flakes
4 cups of rolled oats
1 cup ground flax seed (this also helps to reduce risks of cancer and increase the immune system#
6 cups of soy free granola cereal
2-4 boxes of other soy free cereal #I vary this to give them a varied diet)

You can also just feed the Brown's by itself, to get them used to it while you are gathering the other ingredients. The diet listed above is THE healthiest that I could make. I also supplement with fresh veggies like thawed frozen peas and broccoli and corn on the cob as well.


Tami
Social Rats Adoption and Rescue - Chicago, IL