Rat Diet: Feeding for vitality, longevity and in old age

By Alison Campbell

Rat Diet: Feeding for vitality, longevity and in old age, is the first ebook in The Scuttling Gourmet Series. It comprises a portion of The Scuttling Gourmet, but with enhancements. The complete series will present the bulk of The Scuttling Gourmet in a digital format, and is perfect for those who prefer the flexibility offered by an ebook.

This book is perfect for anyone interested in feeding their pet rats in a way that will enhance their vitality and help them to live out a natural lifespan. It takes a detailed look at the nutrition a rat needs in order to maintain vitality and well-being throughout life. It uncovers the nutrients a rat’s diet should provide, and looks at areas where deficiency might be a problem, before discussing supplements and when these might be needed. There is a close look at phytonutrients, along with the fresh foods that will help boost immunity and health, plus chapters on feeding elderly rats and feeding a soft diet. The whole premise is that diet and methods of feeding throughout life, can affect both well-being and longevity. If you want to know how best to feed your rats, in order to help them to achieve a long life - or how to feed them in their old age - this book is for you.

Find answers to questions like:
Is there something I can feed to boost my rat's immunity?
What's the best way to feed groups of rats to keep them at a healthy weight?
Why are fresh foods important for rats?
Is fasting good for rats?
Which supplements will really help my rats to thrive?
Where can I get the supplements you recommend?
How can I feed a soft diet to my old rat and still make sure he gets all the nutrients he needs?

Alison Campbell has researched and written widely on the subject of rat nutrition over the past 15 years. Her book, The Scuttling Gourmet, is now in its 4th edition and is widely recommended by experienced rat keepers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alison Campbell
• Release date: Jun 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310494390

Alison Campbell

I have three true passions in this life: I am an information sponge. I love to learn and - just as eagerly - love to grow. I am enchanted by words and have always written - even as a young child I was a poet. I want to help other people to expand themselves - nurturing is a big part of who I am. It's an inevitable then, that I should find myself after years of nursing, home educating and running a dog care business, considering ever-increasingly, that what I am, is an author. Inevitable also, that by far the majority of what I write is non-fiction expansion material. Currently this centres very much around rats, dogs and running a small business. I also - in my best moments - am still a poet. My life is currently very fluid. I do own a house in the UK, which is currently rented, and at the moment I live in my motorhome, usually somewhere in the North of England. I did this to escape the treadmill we all so easily slip onto in this busy life, and to apply the principles of minimalism and essentialism to my life. Although I still run the dog care business from wherever I am, and still do some hands-on work in that regard, most of my work time is now taken up with writing. If not writing, you might find me cooking, walking, enjoying the people I love, in an atmospheric pub drinking whisky or real ale, watching Liverpool play, listening to Audible or helping out on my sister's smallholding.

Book preview

Rat Diet: Feeding for vitality, longevity and in old age

The Scuttling Gourmet Series - book one

Alison Campbell

Copyright 2016 Alison Campbell

Published by Shunamite Publishing at Smashwords

Smashwords edition license notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Nutrients – the building blocks of life, health and vitality

Beyond basic rations – feeding for health

Feeding elderly rats

Feeding a soft diet

Recipes

References

About the author

Other books from Alison Campbell

Make contact with Alison Campbell

Prologue

This ebook represents a new era for The Scuttling Gourmet, which was first published in 2003 and is now in its fourth edition. The book still offers a comprehensive guide to wholesome nutrition for rats and at the moment (2016), is only widely available in hard copy. As part of my current regeneration of the old Shunamite Rats breeding site, into the new online home of The Scuttling Gourmet and all things pertinent to rat nutrition, enrichment and well-being, I have decided to create a series of ebooks. My intention is to digitalize the print version of the book, in order to make it more accessible abroad, and for those who simply prefer this format. The plan is for a series of 7 ebooks which will together encompass most of the material contained in The Scuttling Gourmet, plus added extras, such as links to information and suppliers. This is book one and the rest should be published throughout 2016.

If you enjoy this book, please bookmark the website and sign up to our free e-newsletter to be the first to find out as new ebooks become available.

Introduction

Rat nutrition is a wide-ranging subject, with many opinions and ideas as to what is best to feed your rats. While the book – The Scuttling Gourmet – aims to offer an all embracing look at rat nutrition, here, we are focusing down on only one area of feeding rats – vitality, well-being and longevity, with practical advice on feeding older rats, those who need a boost to their immune system and rats who need a soft food diet.

With this in mind there will be many natural gaps in the information given here, for instance, I don’t discuss what an all-purpose healthy rat diet might look like or how to scatter feed. If you are keen to put the information in the book into a wider context, or come across a concept like scatter feeding, that you wish to expand, then I would encourage you to check out the growing archive of information on The Scuttling Gourmet website.

If you need help or clarification on the back of reading this book, please email me at [e-mail] and I will try to assist you.

Nutrients – the building blocks of life, health and vitality

Many aspects of diet can have an influence over health and physical well-being, and certain illnesses have also been linked to particular dietary trends. The most important aspect of any rat diet is that it is varied enough to be able to provide all of the necessary nutrients for life and health. Diets that are lacking in essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals are unable to support immune system (and general) health. As well as these essential nutrients, there are many edible plants that contain phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, flavonoids and phytates all of which, though not thought to be essential to life, have properties that may protect against aging and disease.

Basic rations - feeding to sustain life

Health is not just the absence of obvious disease, but also the presence of robust defences against disease and a state of physical and mental well-being. Many diets provide sufficient nutrients to sustain life,