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Rat Nutrition Project

3K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  sorraia 
#1 ·
A few of you may already know, most of you may not. I've started a research project into rat nutrition. I've noticed over the years there isn't a lot of valuable information about the nutritional needs of rats available to the pet community. It is out there in scientific journals and lab settings, but that information is either simply not available or not very easily to understand for your average pet owner. It seems one of the biggest debates in the pet rat community is "what makes a proper diet?" with opinions about as plentiful as eyeballs. So I have decided to take it upon myself to start a research project. To date I have collected over 60 journal articles on various aspects of rat nutrition, ranging from general nutritional needs and requirements to nutrition as it relates to health (such as the areas of immune response, tumor development and growth, and stroke). Through this research, I hope to be able to lay out the information in an easy to understand format, as well as develop a formula to help the average pet owner develop a diet appropriate for their pet rat. I have created a blog where I will outline and summarize my research for all who are interested in keeping tabs on it. Once my research has been concluded I will probably lay it out on a website in an easy to read manner. Although I have over 60 articles already, I am continuing to collect more. So if anyone has any articles they'd like to share, please let me know! The more information the better. I don't want websites so much as real scientific articles that give me the experimental procedure, results, and subsequent discussion of those results, along with any additional background information that is relevant, and citations for sources used to gather information. Anyone can make a website, but it typically takes a bit more work to develop and conduct an experiment and then get it published. Wink

So without further adieu... the link to my blog is
http://nom-ology.blogspot.com/
 
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#5 ·
I will be following your blog, I am very interested to see the results and see where I can improve on my own rats diet. I know what you mean about most of the good information being printed very technically, I have been researching nutrition to try improve my homemade grain mix and I only understood about 60% of some of the articles and I found a lot of contradicting information.

Good luck with your project :)
 
#7 ·
I haven't finished reading this in it's entirity but it is a very good resource for those of us in the UK. Things may differ between the UK and US/CAN but I would imagine dietary principals would remain the same

http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/scuttling.shtml

ETA: You don't have to buy the book - I got a PDF version from her at less than quarter of the price by emailing her and asking for it :)
 
#8 ·
Ration1802 said:
I haven't finished reading this in it's entirity but it is a very good resource for those of us in the UK. Things may differ between the UK and US/CAN but I would imagine dietary principals would remain the same

http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/scuttling.shtml

ETA: You don't have to buy the book - I got a PDF version from her at less than quarter of the price by emailing her and asking for it :)
Someone else mentioned that book on a different forum. There is unfortunately not a lot of information listed for it, so I am reluctant to use it as a source. I want to concentrate on scientific journals which describe the procedure for the experiment and how the data was analyzed in addition to giving the results and discussion of those results. I want to avoid using second-hand research in my project, but instead go straight to the source.
 
#9 ·
Sorraia have you came across anything that would suggest soy was bad for rats? I always thought it was good for them, then someone mention (on ratshack I think) that they fed strictly no soy diets... so I looked into it and there was a lot of information to back up some of what they were saying.
 
#10 ·
ema-leigh said:
Sorraia have you came across anything that would suggest soy was bad for rats? I always thought it was good for them, then someone mention (on ratshack I think) that they fed strictly no soy diets... so I looked into it and there was a lot of information to back up some of what they were saying.
Haven't looked yet, but plan to. In the past I have read studies that go both ways. Some studies say soy is bad, others say it is good. I have an idea its probably like so many other things out there... eggs are good and bad, red meat is good and bad, red wine is good and bad, coffee is good and bad. If what I have read in the past is still current (i.e. no new studies proving undeniably otherwise), then it is probably neither good nor bad just depends on other factors and in what amount it is fed.

One thing I HAVE read in my current article however...
Soy contains a chemical call "phytate". Phytates are known to affect the absorption of certain minerals. This does not necessarily mean soy is bad, it just means that when feeding it you have to be aware of what amount you are feeding and how it affects the absorption of those minerals. It might mean you need to supplement for those minerals (and thus supplement for other minerals as well to keep a proper balance) when maybe you would not have otherwise had to. I will be able to explain more when I get some more reading done.
 
#11 ·
This actually came up in recent discussion at the rat meetup, and with my veterinarian.


The use of soy is controversial, because event the soy industry says themselves that soy has no PROVEN benefits to people or animals in the ways people suggest.
Health issues have cropped up in vegans, and it is thought it may have something to do with high soy consumption. But is is not clear.

Is has been said that is has cancer fighting agents......It has also been said that is has cancer CAUSING agents.

It is very un- clear the exact benefits, but all I know is until I know for sure the affects, I am not feeding high soy diet.

I stick to safe proteins, some amount of soy, and whatever is in harlan teklad haha.
 
#12 ·
I think your idea to do this nutrition project is great.
I myself am going to be going to college to be a Veterinarian, but first a Vet technician.
I plan on specializing in the Nutrition of companion animals.
And of course this information is vital.
 
#13 ·
Sorraia said:
ema-leigh said:
Sorraia have you came across anything that would suggest soy was bad for rats? I always thought it was good for them, then someone mention (on ratshack I think) that they fed strictly no soy diets... so I looked into it and there was a lot of information to back up some of what they were saying.
Haven't looked yet, but plan to. In the past I have read studies that go both ways. Some studies say soy is bad, others say it is good. I have an idea its probably like so many other things out there... eggs are good and bad, red meat is good and bad, red wine is good and bad, coffee is good and bad. If what I have read in the past is still current (i.e. no new studies proving undeniably otherwise), then it is probably neither good nor bad just depends on other factors and in what amount it is fed.

One thing I HAVE read in my current article however...
Soy contains a chemical call "phytate". Phytates are known to affect the absorption of certain minerals. This does not necessarily mean soy is bad, it just means that when feeding it you have to be aware of what amount you are feeding and how it affects the absorption of those minerals. It might mean you need to supplement for those minerals (and thus supplement for other minerals as well to keep a proper balance) when maybe you would not have otherwise had to. I will be able to explain more when I get some more reading done.
Thank you for the reply. I too am looking forward to reading your findings! It will benefit a lot of rats lives thats for sure!
 
#14 ·
Found several articles about soy in the rat diet now. Based on reading the abstracts, it appears as I thought. It depends on how much, what form, other nutrients, etc that are given. I did not see any concrete information that soy is actual harmful, but again that's just based on the abstracts. I will have more information when I read the full articles.
 
#17 ·
I have finally been able to sit down and work out a number of calculations on several popular diets for pet rats. These calculations have adjusted the different energy levels of different foods, and how much food a rat would require to meet its caloric requirements. The adjusted nutritional content of that consumed food compared to the requirements are shown in the following charts.

http://www.blackwolfrattery.com/rat_nutritional_requirements.pdf
 
#18 ·
Just thought I would bump this. There are now 7 articles summarized. I have an 8th article read, and am letting it "digest" before posting the summary. Currently reading my 9th article. Only 81 more to go! (That is until I find more articles to add to the stack...)
 
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