Question about Timothy Hay and Alfalfa

[Blueyed_Dreamer]

I've heard that Alfalfa is bad for rats becuase they can't digest it properly, but I know of several rat owners who give their rats Timothy Hay. I always figured the two were very similar. They look the same to me at a glance, I've never really examined them. Is Timothy Hay actually ok for rats? Is it something I might want to invest in for my girls?

Also, I was given these small animal treats and Kaytee Forti-Diet lab blocks that have Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal in them and I've noticed that its also in some of the other store bought Lab Blocks for rats. Is there something about the Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal that makes it ok?
I feed my Girls a Suebee's mix with dog food as the main source of protein. And I love it and my girls love it. But I would hate to have to throw out these handouts I was given, but if they're not good for my girls then they're out of here.

[Nara]

Hmm... I don't know anything about the Timothy Hay... I've never had any problems feeding my girls the Kaytee lab blocks, although I didn't know they had the alfalfa meal in them... I'll have to look into that. Hopefully someone else here will know a little more about it.

[pinkie1205]

Kaytee stuff is actually really bad for rats and mice. They use a preservative that is toxic and can cause problems in the animals.

[Nara]

Assuming you mean Ethoxyquin, it's actually good for them in small amounts. Here's an article about it:

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/ethoxyquin.htm

[pinkie1205]

I wouldn't feed my rats Kaytee food anyway...but thanks for the article

[Blueyed_Dreamer]

Thanks for the info guys. I looked on the back of the bag and it does contain Ethoxuquin, which sounds good, but at the sametime I'm still concerned about the alfalfa meal. Also my roommate told me (she also owns rats) what the lab blocks contain alot of yellow corn and that the type of corn they use is known for having fungus in it, or something like that.
Its hard to tell if this is actually a semi-ok lab block or not.

[pinkie1205]

Mazuri and Harlan Tekland are okay lab blocks..you should try to make a suebee mix.

[Nara]

Here's a link to Suebee's rat diet.

http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html

[Blueyed_Dreamer]

Thanks, but I already have a Suebees mix, I stated that in the original post. I use dog food as the main source of protien. My questions originated form the fact that I was given lab blocks from a friend and I didn't want to throw them away, but I wanted to see if they were any good before I decided what to do with them.

[GeishaGirl]

Too much Alfalfa can cause problems, but if they refuse to eat the alfalfa in most food (the dark green peices) than in small ammounts it is ok. I have not used my hay as of yet, they get enough in their diet now.

[pinkie1205]

They can't digest alfalfa and it gives them diarrhea. As far as I know, they usually just ignore it because they get smart. I know for my mice I put alfalfa in their cage to keep the smell down, I mix it with the bedding.