(i hope to get lots of answers and information, im expecting rat babies soon and need to prepare for them)

Recently learning about the goods of feeding rats, lab blocks, im interested in getting some Harlen Teklad! but i notice they have number on them.
example: Harlan Teklad 8604, Harlan Teklad 2018 so on...

i cant find a decent site that explains the difference of them, so as always i come to you all.

1. what Harlan Teklad blocks should i get?
i have 2 adult males, and currently a young pregnant rat, im planning on keeping 6 babies, so i need the blocks good for feeding young rats, as well as adults.

2. where can i order/in store buy them at? i would prefer buying from someone who has anything to do with rats, business, rescue, etc. i would love to support them!

thank you. :confused:

From what I know the numbers have to do with what nutritional value they have, I think the higher numbers have more protein/fat for younger rats. though I'm not a hundred percent which way it goes. I'm not sure which one is best and I'm not sure where you can get them. you can probably order them from their website.

The # is how much protein it has.
2018 has 18% protein and is best for pregnant/nursing rats and young babies.
2016 has 16% protein is for younger rats
2014 has 14% protein and is for adults.

You can buy the 18% variety labeled as native earth on pet food sites or amazon but it only comes in 40lb bags. You can get the other types and smaller sizes online from shops like http://www.thecraftyrat.com/ or http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?page_id=13

Thank you! do you think the 18% is ok for feeding, both adults rats, pregnant rat, and babies?
meaning would the 18% be ok to feed to them there entire life?

18% would be too high, adults need 12 to 24% protien. You could get the 14 percent stuff and feed mum and babies extra with high protien wet food like egg, chicken, puppy food etc. Or you could mix the lab blocks with some higher protien dog kibble for mum and babies and leave it out for the adults.

18% is a little bit high. rats need around 14% to 16% protein, the lower for the males and higher for the females. Personally I would just supplement pregnant rats and babies with stuff like boiled eggs, and even meal worms and crickets, or cooked fish.

As to the babies, the cheapest and best option is the mazuri all purpose rat food that wasn't recalled. It promotes remarkable growth and high energy without any obesity in baby to young rats despite what the label reads in terms of protein. I suspect this product was formulated for rat farms. On a rat farm all of the rats should be pregnant, nursing or growing as rapidly as possible to maximize profits. I also assume that it's optimized for price point as cheaper food means higher profits for breeders. The fact that purina/mazuri produces animal food in huge volume likely affords them discounts from their vendors smaller manufacturers don't get to assist in meeting price point. As for mature non-pregnant non-lactating rats the mazuri might be less than optimal as I doubt this was a priority when they formulated it.