# which of these two is better?



## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

I have been looking for the best diet for my mice. They are getting Mazuri lab blocks but that seems a little boring. I am down to two mixes and wanna know which is best ... below is the ingredients for both. Also I dont know if it matters for diet but i am getting pet store mice

Browns 
Ingredients: oat groats, millet, alfalfa meal, milo, safflower seed, sunflower seed, corn, kibbled corn, pineapple, buckwheat, wheat, peanuts, banana, raisins, lentils, squash, pumpkin seeds, almonds, brazil nuts, green peas, cantaloupe seeds, navy beans, carrot, potatoes, apples, papaya, wheat flour, cheese meal, semolina flour, soybean meal, gluten meal, soy oil, di-calcium phosphate, dried brewers yeast fermentation product, yucca shidegra extract, salt, vitamin A palmitate, cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), alpha tocopherol (source of vitamin E), ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), thiamine mononitrate, menadione sodium bisulfate (source of vitamin K), choline chloride, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, copper amino acid complex, calcium iodate, cobalt chloride, manganese amino acid complex, iron methionine, zinc amino acid complex, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus product, dried lactobacillus bulgaricus fermentation product, sulphur dioxide (a preservative), FD&C color, artificial flavors.

Reggie Rat

Ingredients:
Ground whole wheat, whole corn, flaked peas, flaked whole wheat, whole oats, pelleted soybean meal, dehydrated alfalfa meal, kibbled locust beans, soybean meal, soybean oil (preserved with BHT), ground whole corn, ground dried banana, salt, calcium carbonate, sodium sulfate, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, niacin, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride [vitamin b6], vitamin a supplement, riboflavin [vitamin b2], thiamine hydrochloride [vitamin b1], folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin d3 supplement), minerals (zinc oxide, manganese oxide, iron sulfate, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite), added fd&c colors (yellow 6, yellow 5, blue 1).

Also I can remove any parts that should would not be healthy or should be in moderation


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Mine are doing really really well on Mazuri. I give them rice, birdseed, or bread every now and then but as for overall health i like what the Mazuri is doing. What is your protien content? I used 23% on accident and it made them fat. I am now on the 16% and I LOVE it. 

Between the two foods I have heard goooood things about browns. Some mouse owners use hazel hamster instead of reggie rat however, if they do use that brand.


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

Hazel hamster Is like 23% protein ... WAY too much for mice ... I think i will go with browns. And I've heard only good things about mazuri and its what my hamsters are on and they are a healthy weight and doing great. Its definetly a brand i trust


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I used to feed Reggie Rat when I had just a few pet mice. My mice enjoyed it, ate it all up, and majoratively lived healthy, long lives.

Sarah xxx


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Brown's has several things not good for meeces; corn, salt, pineapple, Vitaman C...and then there are the artificial colors and flavors....why would they put those in in the first place?! The other has corn and the artificial stuff as well, otherwise looks good.


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

i was thinking that about browns but I wasnt sure ... I personally would prefer reggie rat but i want whats best for them ... I figure browns is a little cheaper for a reason


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

I've use Mazuri and it's a good food. I feed almost entirely on it in the warmer months, but supplement them with oats, barley, millet and some sunflower seeds in the winter.

I will admit I don't have any petstore derived mice and haven't had any in a long time, but I've heard a lot of people say they are prone to wheat and corn allergies, as well as being sensative to artificial dyes. I would play it by ear and if they show any signs of allergies stop using foods with those ingredients.


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

i cant find an decent "breeder" around here so I honestly feel safer with pet store mice and this pet store is good to theirs. I will just get reggie rat to play it safe and watch how they do with it. My pet store mice did great with all foods but better safe than sorry


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## HemlockStud (Apr 26, 2009)

I used Brown's when I first had pet mice, it turned the mice poo weird colors because of all the additives/colors. :lol: Ingredient wise Brown's looks better because it has more 'natural' items and not as many supplements as the Reggie.

For those that mentioned using Mazuri blocks, I thought Id just put the warning out there that you're most likely going to have sterility issues, smaller litters, etc popping up after feeding your mice it for a few generations. Thats because you can almost guarantee they contain genetically modified corn and soy(I think its 98% of all corn products in the US are GM, besides organic which cant be) in the blocks. Its been proven in labs GM corn/soy are terrible and cause these problems and more due to the chemical fertilizers used on the plants and also the unknown genes they map in when modifying.


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

my mice will not be bred it is the best lab block brand around here. My mice will only be pets

i'm just as confused as before i asked lol ... so would either be a decent diet?

however in case i find them what pellets are better?


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## bethmccallister (Mar 5, 2010)

Neither, you might like to mix your own and buy a large can of old fashioned oats, add in basic bird seed with no corn, puffed sugar free brown rice, whole grain "oat" cereal with no or low sugar for vitamins and a handful of meat & oat based small bite dog food low in fat like Purina One Beyond.

Things really wrong with Brown: corn, pineapple, almonds, FD&C color, artificial flavors. (Sunflower seeds and peanuts are thought to cause health issues)

Things really wrong with Reggie Rat: BHT preservative, corn, artifical colors and flavors.

So I guess out of the two the Reggie Rat is slightly less risky for causing nasty tumors etc...


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

they are my best options here and I cant find a good mouse recipe ... I think I'll just remove the colored pieces and get reggie rat


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## racingmouse (Jan 12, 2011)

You can still try to source some of the other ingredients though that beth mentioned to the Reggie mix. They don`t necessarily have to be found in a pet store. Things like bird/finch seed is fairly easy to buy in pet outlets anyway and grains like oats, wheat flakes, barley flakes and puffed rice can either be bought in healthfood stores or supermarkets. You just have to read the labels and make sure you choose the organic or no sugar versions if they are in cereal form.

Take five cups of your Reggie rat into a prepared food tub and then add one scoop of the other ingredients to this and mix together. Keep the bird seed seperate from the mix though as the small seeds tend to fall through to the bottom, so you can sprinkle this into the food dish last of all. Nearly all mousie people do this these days rather than relying on the bland mixes that are sold for small animals as many of them include things like corn, alfalfa, soya and locust beans. None of these get eaten by mice anyway and are considered as `fillers`. Cheap to produce. Soya for example is a high non-animal protein source, but it can cause tumours in susceptible mice, so I never feed it. Corn can carry a fungus and again, is just a `filler` that can be replaced with another ingredient that does`nt have the same health risks.

Once you buy your bag of Reggie, read the ingredients list. Decide which ones you want to pick out and look at what`s left. If there are not many real grains in the mix, I would look into the other mixes and they don`t have to be rat foods. Rabbit mixes can have more small grains in them than some rat foods, although won`t have animal proteins added as rabbits are not omnivores!


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

I ordered a parakeet seed mix until I find a better option.


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## elliriyanna (Feb 2, 2011)

I ordered a parakeet seed mix until I find a better option.


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