Question about rodent block.

[sadiesmom]

I still have yet to decide on a specific Harland-Teklad formula for Sadie. Temporarily she's eating some of the KayTee foods for rodents, but I would really like her off of that soon. When I owned rats and was a part of an online community for them, I read all the time about how KayTee had possible cancer-causing chemicals in them and about how poor its quality is. Maybe I'm just being biased because I never bought the stuff for my rat boys to begin with (and after reading about it, I'm glad I didn't), but I tend to avoid products with loads of horrible testimonies against them.

Anyway, I want to order the Harland-Teklad as soon as possible, but I'm not sure which formula is better for her. Formula 8640 or formula 2014? Should I just get the variety pack from Crafty Rat?

[4skwerlz]

Below are some thoughts on rodent block.

Recently, there was a big hoo-ha over ethoxyquin, a preservative used in many pet foods. It appeared that dogs might be sensitive to it. There were a few dog owners/breeders claiming it made their animals sick, but this was never proven in any studies or research. In fact, the Rat and Mouse Club of America website has stopped recommending against feeding foods with ethoxyquin. Of more real concern are blocks that contain animal fats preserved with BHA, and the nitrates they contain. This is why Mazuri and Zupreem are no longer at the top of the recommended list, especially for pets kept long-term. For squirrels to be released, it likely doesn't matter very much which blocks you feed. Although no one likes preservatives, and I avoid them myself, be aware that in any food stored for a long time the fats will go rancid, and rancid fats are known to be carcinogenic; so in that case, some preservatives might be the lesser of two evils. Ethoxyquin appears much safer than BHA, as best we can tell.

Harlan Teklad is the "cadillac" of commercial rodent blocks. However, all commercial rodent blocks, even Teklad, have problems.

1. They are grain-based, with high glycemic loads; plus, grains are not a large part of their wild diet. Grains are also very high in phytoestrogens, which are believed to cause tumors in rodents. Most also contain some kind of sugars. Most dog and cat foods are the same. It is more than possible that these high-glycemic-load ingredients are a factor in the very high rates of diabetes in our dogs and cats.

2. Many contain animal fats, such as pork fat. Although squirrels are omnivorous, they would certainly not eat pigs and cows in the wild, so again, not part of their natural diet.

3. Commercial animal foods are made from "feed grade" ingredients; not "food grade." These ingredients would not be permitted to be used in human foods because the standards of quality, storage and handling, consistency, and the presence of contaminants, are much much lower in these ingredients. In fact, there are few quality standards for pet foods; although some companies do submit to standards created by various organizations, or like Purina, they create their own quality standards.

Here's a chart I made up that compares several brands of rodent block.

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Below are the ingredients of the various types of rodent block.

2014 Teklad Global 14% Protein Rodent Maintenance Diet

Ingredients: Wheat middlings, ground wheat, ground corn, corn gluten meal, calcium carbonate, soybean oil, dicalcium phosphate, iodized salt, L-lysine, DL-methionine, choline chloride, niacin, vitamin A acetate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, calcium pantothenate, ferrous sulfate, magnesium oxide, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, chromium potassium sulfate.

2018 Teklad Global 18% Protein Rodent Diet

Ingredients: Ground wheat, ground corn, wheat middlings, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, soybean oil, calcium carbonate, dried brewers yeast, dicalcium phosphate, iodized salt, L-lysine, DL-methionine, choline chloride, niacin, vitamin A acetate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride,thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, calcium pantothenate, ferrous sulfate, magnesium oxide, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, chromium potassium sulfate.

Kaytee Forti-Diet for Rats and Mice

Ingredients: Ground Yellow Corn, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Ground Oats, Ground Peanuts, sun-cured Alfalfa Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Cane Molasses, Lignin Sulfonate, Corn Sugar, Calcium Sulfate, Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Vegetable Oil, Brewers Dried Yeast, Dried Beet Pulp, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Ferrous Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Ethoxyquin (a preservative), L-Lysine, Zinc Oxide, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Calcium Iodate, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Natural Flavoring.

Mazuri Rodent Block

Ingredients: Dehulled soybean meal, ground corn, ground wheat, wheat middlings, animal fat preserved with BHA, cane molasses, fish meal, ground oats, porcine meat meal, dehydrated alfalfa meal, dried beet pulp, wheat germ, brewers dried yeast, calcium carbonate, dried whey, salt, calcium propionate (a preservative), dicalcium phosphate, ground soybean hulls, menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite (source of vitamin K), choline chloride, dried yucca shidigera extract, corn gluten meal, DL-methionine, cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3 ), vitamin A acetate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate (source of natural vitamin E), soybean oil, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, nicotinic acid, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, cyanocobalamin (source of vitamin B12 ), manganous oxide, zinc oxide, ferrous carbonate, copper sulfate, zinc sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate.

Zupreem Primate Diet

Ingredients: Ground corn, Soybean meal, Cracked wheat, Sucrose,Wheat germ meal,Animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate and citric acid), Dried whole egg, Dicalcium phosphate, Calcium carbonate, Iodized salt,Vegetable oil, Choline chloride, Stabilized ascorbic acid (source of Vitamin C), Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Ferrous sulfate, Zinc oxide, Copper chloride, Manganous oxide, Cobalt carbonate, Calcium iodate, Sodium selenite,Vitamin A supplement,Vitamin D supplement,Vitamin E supplement, Thiamine (Vitamin B1), Niacin, Calcium pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2, Folic acid, Biotin,Vitamin B12 supplement.


If you decide to go with Teklad, the 2018 is for growing animals (<1 year old) and the 2014 is for adult animals. The numbers refer to the percentage of protein, and it's very important to get that right. Too much protein has been associated with various diseases and shortened lifespans in many studies. Too little and the animal can't grow and develop properly.

Hope this helps.

[sadiesmom]

Thanks a ton. Your post told me what I needed to know, so I'll be ordering 2014. This is why I love TSB. :D

:thankyou