Rat Snacks 'N Stuff

Thank you for your interest in and purchase of the Rat Snacks 'N Stuff organic dry mixes! It is my absolute pleasure to offer a diet plan for rats that is all-natural, but I also en oy the opportunity to pro!ide a nutrionally-balanced supplement program for the rat o"ners that do feed blocks as a staple diet for their rats# $ith block diets, you may find yourself offering more or less of my dry mix than you "ould if you "ere follo"ing the specific diet plan that I ha!e formulated# That is ust fine! %ou may use the information that I am gi!ing you to best suit your rats# No dry foods, "ithout synthetic nutrients &lab blocks, for example', can offer ())* complete nutrition# +ortunately, it is not difficult or expensi!e to offer your rats the ,second half, of the diet as fresh foods# I am pro!iding you "ith full instructions on ho" to do so, but you are free to contact me "hene!er you'd like to ask any -uestions that you may ha!e# . trip to your local grocery store is in order to prepare the Rat Salad recipe from the Rat Snacks 'N Stuff "ebsite# /ost grocery stores "ill ha!e e!erything you need, but there is the rare case that you may ha!e to !isit a second store to pick up an ingredient that may not be carried in some stores# .s many of these ingredients as you'd like can come from the fro0en section of your grocery store or the fresh produce section# I also encourage !isiting farmer's markets for the best prices on fresh, seasonal produce# The choice is yours! I find the fro0en section of the grocery to be most con!enient for items that I need that are not in season, but I shop at farmer's markets as often as possible# %ou may e!en buy fresh and free0e the items yourself for ultimate freshness and -uality#

Freezer section

- /ixed !egetables# Purchase one bag of the "traditional" mix that most often consists of carrots, peas, green beans, and sometimes corn. Purchase another bag of a "California" mix that includes broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. - 1roccoli florets# - 1russels sprouts# (Brussels sprouts from the freezer section are pre-cooked and safe to offer our rats. !f ou purchase our Brussels sprouts fresh, steam them before feeding to our rats or placing in the freezer." - 1erries# Bu one bag of frozen blueberries and another bag of either mixed berries or blackberries. #ptional2 Sometimes you "ill find other !eggie mixes in the free0er section that contain a !ariety of !egetables# These are al"ays nice to include!

Fresh produce
- 3arsley# #ne "bunch" is fine# - Spinach# ! prefer bab spinach. $hate%er bunch&bag&container size ou can find is fine. - 4ale# #ne bunched&bagged&otherwise contained portion is fine. 'emember2 .nything listed in the free0er section can be bought fresh and fro0en yourself for con!enience#

Dry or canned
- 5arban0o beans and6or red kidney beans# !f purchased dr , these must be cooked before ser%ing. Canned beans ha%e alread been cooked and simpl need rinsing.

Meat/Proteins
- 7ggs# (ound in the refrigerated section. )cramble fresh as needed or scramble in bulk and freeze for future use. - 8ysters# (ound fresh at man stores in the seafood section. !f needed, the can be found canned close to where tuna is sold. (reeze indi%iduall and store for use. #ptional* )ardines and&or li%er.

How to serve fresh foods

There are a fe" "ays of ser!ing the fresh portion of your rat's diet# Some take a bit more time and effort than others, but some are ultimate dish-and-go con!enient! +irst, if any ingredients are larger than a pa" or t"o, you "ill "ant to chop them into smaller pieces# The most con!enient "ay of feeding is to mix e!erything &except for the proteins' together as per the Rat Salad recipe on the Rat Snacks 'N Stuff "ebsite# This can be done in one bag or se!eral smaller bags# If done in se!eral smaller bags, you can e!en keep one bag in the fridge to eliminate tha"ing time# 1e sure to not make the fridge bag any larger than a fe" days' "orth of food for your rats so that it doesn't spoil# If you are mixing e!erything into bags and tossing the !egetables, berries, and greens together, you "ill be doing so in thirds# 8ne third of the mix "ill be !egetables, one third "ill be berries, and one third "ill be greens# /ix "ell# It is not imperati!e that e!ery dish gets e!ery ingredient e!ery time, but it should be as e!enly distributed as possible# %ou may also choose to mix all of the !egetables in one bag, berries in another, and greens in yet another# $hen it is time to dish, you "ould choose one portion from each bag to feed# To tha", place the food in a bo"l of cool "ater for a fe" minutes to take the chill off# Tha" ho"e!er thoroughly you'd like, depending on the preference of your rats# T"o to three times per "eek, make your Rat Salad ser!ing si0es a bit smaller so that you can add one portion of protein# +or older rats, especially males, protein does not need to be offered often throughout the "eek# %ou may e!en choose to only offer protein once per "eek for elderly rats# +or younger rats, three times per "eek is best, but cut back to t"ice per "eek "hen they reach adulthood# 4eep in mind that age, gender, and indi!iduality "ill all take part in ho" often you "ill offer protein# 9o not ser!e more protein than "ill be eaten "ithin an hour or so to pre!ent spoilage# 3roteins should be alternated to pre!ent boredom and to balance nutrients# To start, protein ser!ing si0es "ill be about the si0e of each rat's head# Some rats "ill eat more, some "ill eat less# 8bser!e them to determine if you should offer more or less and ad ust accordingly# Rat Salad ser!ings should start small to allo" the bo"els to ad ust to the larger portions of fresh !egetables# Slo"ly increase the ser!ing si0e o!er a fe" "eeks to as much as the rats "ill consume "ithin a fe" hours# Some rats "ill eat more, some "ill eat less# 8bser!e them to determine if you should offer more or less and ad ust accordingly# 8ffer Rat Salad at least once a day, but t"ice is e!en better if you are offering smaller portions and are around at ser!ing time# Ser!ing time "ill depend on your con!enience and your rats' preferred eating periods# How to serve dry mix

+or ser!ing the dry food mix, start "ith t"o tablespoons per rat daily# If any lefto!er food is being stored or hoarded in the cage at the end of the day, offer less next time# &If rats begin putting on excess "eight o!er time, offer less dry mix and more fresh food#' . :-; hour ,lean period, during acti!e hours is highly recommended and greatly benefits the rat metabolism# This means ad usting portions so that the dry mix has been completely consumed before the rats' most acti!e period of the day &usually early e!ening'# . fe" hours after the dry mix is gone, Rat Salad is ser!ed to break the fast# 8bser!e the rats "hile they eat# If one rat appears to be dominating the dish and taking all of the ,yummier, bits before the others can snatch some, you may "ish to pick those out after placing each day's ser!ing in your dish and offer the bits to each rat separately# .nother method is to offer different bo"ls in different rats' fa!orite areas of the cage so that they ha!e first access to their fa!orite ingredients as "ell# Settling "ill occur during shipping and storage, so you should mix the food gently before ser!ing to ensure that the ingredients are distributed "ell enough# It is not essential that each ser!ing and each rat gets e!ery ingredient e!ery day, but e!ery rat should be getting their fair share of the ingredients each "eek#