Our Theory:
Soy causes many health issues in rats including but not limited to: early sexual maturation, early menopause, birth defects, cancer and tumors, lower immune response or damaged immune system, thyroid issues, respiratory issues, kidney problems and decreased life span.
History:
Rats have been kept as pets for many decades. They have been domesticated through selective breeding and socialization. 20 years ago the average life span of a domestic rat was 3-5 years. In the last 20 years, however, this has been decreased to 2-3 years average estimated lifespan, with many rats passing away before the 1 year or 2 year mark. There has been an increase in cancer, tumors (both benign and cancerous) and respiratory issues in the last 20 years. There has been increased knowledge about the nutritional requirements of rats in general. There is more information available about the housing of rats, including the toxicity of Pine and Cedar bedding, which was used very often 20 years ago when rats had a longer life span. There is vet care available now, and medications that are considered rat safe.
Personal History:
I got my first pair of rats in 1990. 1 male and 1 female who were litter mates. They came from a private breeder, meaning that they were bred and raised by a 12 year old boy and sold them to me because he had to reduce his number of rats. Lady, my female who was an agouti Berkshire (brown with a white belly), and the Tramp, my male who was a black hooded, were at least 6 months old when purchased. Both were fully grown and full sized. Tramp’s fur had turned course and he was experiencing buck grease on his fur as well.
My rats were housed in a home made cage of galvanized metal and a wooden bottom. This means that they could have been exposed to zinc oxide and their urine could build up in the wood of the cage. They were also housed on cedar bedding, males and females in 1 cage. Females were moved out when they showed signs of being pregnant. Although some did give birth in the colony cage without issues of fighting over the babies. As soon as the nests were discovered, they were moved out with the moms within hours.
For food we fed them whatever we could. Popcorn was a favorite as the local theater always had extra left over, so I would snag some on the weekends that would usually last them for about 3 or 4 days. Yes, there were times that my rats ate nothing but popcorn for a few days. They got large amounts of lettuce, as my mom figured that lettuce would be good for them, so on average they would get a head of lettuce a couple of times a month. They were also fed table scraps, pizza crusts, left over fast food or take out, fruits and veggies that were getting ready to spoil (give it to the rats rather than throw it out). They were also fed dog food, cat food and parrot food as well.
I had very few miscarriages or reabsorbed babies. We had 1 litter that was still born, a litter of 19 babies, but that was believed to be because the mother was 4 months old and not large enough to carry a litter that large. We rarely if ever lost babies after birth, if they were born alive, they survived. Most babies were sold to pet stores that did not sell feeders as we played with them constantly and all of our babies were very well socialized. We did keep some of the babies, which also lived to be at least 4 years old, usually passing away peacefully in their sleep.
What we didn’t have was any health issues. We never lost any females during delivery, we never had any types of health issues, no respiratory issues at all. We never medicated them, we never took them to a vet, because no vets that we knew of dealt with rats at that time. We never had issues with aggression with the ones we bred, but this can be attributed to genetics, not their food source. All of our rats were social and loving, most giving kisses and eating from our plates.
March 6, 2010
This is the beginning of the experiment. Currently I have a variety of rats, including rescues that are of varying age, some as old as 2.5 years or so. We have 3 lab rats that are about 2 years old. We are a breeding facility, so we do have multiple litters as well, currently 3. We have 1 litter of 3 babies born to PEW (Pink eyed white) who was pregnant when she was adopted. She was adopted for the breeding program. Her past genetics are unknown. She will be bred for one more litter in May, 2010, then will be retired. We have 1 litter of 17 babies born of a deep brown Berkshire top ear and a black silvered dumbo male. 4 of her babies are being fosters with the PEW mother. We have 1 litter of babies that most of which will be going to new homes tomorrow that are tan/fawn mix, top ear/dumbo mix and are Berkshire/veriberk mix. Of this last litter mentioned we will be keeping 1 male and 2 females.
Currently all of the rats are on a soy free diet, consisting of Brown’s Tropical Carnival Rat mix, with bran cereal, multigrain Cheerios and Crisp Rice cereal added daily and a protein supplement given twice per week. I also raise mealworms which I will be using for the protein for them in the future. Most of the rats who have tried the mealworms love them and can not seem to get enough of them.
We will be using Harlan Teklab (2018) lab blocks for the soy fed portion of this experiment. 2 males and 2 females will be kept from Mitten’s litter for this experiment. Mitten’s is on a soy free diet currently with treats of meal worms given infrequently.
Harlan Teklab lab blocks were, until recently, given to everyone on a daily basis, however due to the research done, I believe that this is detrimental. Thus far, when I switched to a soy free diet, I had 12 rats who were exhibiting signs of respiratory issues with sneezing and congestion which were being treated with Amoxicillin, Doxy, Lasix, Baytril or a combination of the afore mentioned medications. All rats have shown signs of improvement since changing their diets to a soy free diet. The Harlan Teklab lab blocks will be what is to be used for this experiment since they are widely accepted as the healthiest form of rat food on the market, not commercially available, and are used in the lab setting.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Dangers of Rats and Soy - Study post
This is an article I wrote not too long ago, and what I believed to be the dangers of soy when it comes to our pet rats. I am just copy and pasting this so you have a good starting point to see where I am coming from. It is a long article, so grab a drink, grab something to uch and read on.
The Dangers of Rats and Soy
I have been wondering, well, more than wondering, I guess, as wondering does not cause me to go to the lengths that I have as of lately, about why our rats are having such a bad times as of lately.
Let me tell you about my first pair of rats, Lady and the Tramp. Just an FYI, I still name rats in pairs or groups, as I have Taffy and Apple, Bo and Luke, Hewy, Duewy and Louis, Tigger, Eeyore and Pooh, well, you get the idea. Anyway, Lady and the Tramp were wonderful rats, loving, social, sweet, Lady was a rododentist, while Tramp was as his name suggests, lazy and alpha, mating with anything in site, however, he would only snuggle with his Lady.
This is 20 years ago, keep in mind. THey were in a colony cage (meaning males and females mixed) of about 12-18 rats (all of their offspring). The cage was homemade of a wooden bottom and galvanized metal for the bars. We used cedar bedding, we fed them scraps, popcorn, loads of lettuce, pizza crust and food about to spoil out of the fridge. When we got them, we knew very little about rats, there was no internet and the best information we could find was a page in the back of a hamster book telling us to use cedar and that they were best housed alone. Keep in mind, I do not treat my rats this way now, but want to make the point about the difference in care as compared to now and then.
Lady bred til she was at least 3, assuming that she was 6 months old when I got her, both her and Tramp were full grown when I got them, so exact age is not known. I got them from a 12 year old kid who, like us, housed them all together. They would, as rats do, breed and breed and breed, so he sold me the pair for $5 just to get them out of his home. To be honest, I believe that there were a couple of pet rat only pet stores that we kept in stock of healthy, social rats for them to sell. Lady and Tramp passed away within a month of each other (they were litter mates) 4 years after I got them. It was a sad day when Lady passed and broke my heart even further when Tramp passed. All of their offspring that we kept until passing lived to be no less than 4 years old. We never lost babies in litter, we lost only 1 full litter, but believed this to be because a 4 months old rat had 19 babies and the babies sufficated inside of her.
Of all I have listed above, you will notice that I never mention cancer, that I never mention URIs, that I mention no illness at all. THis is because the ONLY illness we experienced was what finally claimed Lady. She had massive abscesses that would pop, clear out and come back. THe last abscess that she had is what killed her (in which case, I do not doubt that the cedar was a contributing factor in it) consumed her entire abdomen. Her ratty family kept her clean and comfortable, rallying around her to care for her. Someone was ALWAYS lying with her to keep her warm, the would clean her wound for her, they would bring her food, they loved her and it was, at the moment, that I realized how wonderful these pets were. (as I had only had a gerbil for half an hour before gettign my rats, pet store, unsocialized, bit me and my mom had to kill it to get it off of my finger, it locked its jaws on me when I was 6 years old and she broke the jaw, accidently killing it, trying to get it off of my finger).
I was used to dogs and cats and even parakeets, knew about them, how to care for them, how to feed them, etc, but none of them ever showed the loving and compassion that this colony showed to it's matriarch when she was dying. They even buried her in the bedding when she passed, which just amazed both me and my mom.
Now, 20 some odd years later, I want to start breeding again, I want to share the experience of rat ownership and raising with my own daughter. Squishy, as we call her, is now 2 years old and very gentle with them. She helps with cleaning cages (sort of) with feeding (or at least tries) with socializig the babies (still have to remind her to be gentle) and filling water bottles (she pulls them off of the cage for me). She is learning abotu compassion and animal ownership from a young age and does very well with it. We have had a few litters, we take in rescues (those we are unsure of or I have not evaluated for socialization yet are kept out of her reach) and we adopt out to new homes. She knows that some rats will stay here, but most will go on to new homes where they will be loved and cared for. She knows that sometimes they come back and those may stay or go on to find a new home. She knows when a rat comes back a second
time that it won't be leaving again.
So, a year ago, I decide to get some new rats. It take me about 2 months to convince my husband to let me. I take him to animal shelters, trying to push a dog, knowing that he is not ready to get a dog. I keep telling him I want an animal in the house again. He finally tells me that we can not afford a dog, but that I can get a caged animal. I tell him rats and he tells me (keep in mind his
parents are our landlords, we live in the upstairs apartment, separate, but close, which is a good thing that we are a true family and get along) that I would have to ask his mom. He tells me she will never go for it, and it is up to her. I ask, she says yes, right away. Ha Ha, I win...lol. The deal is, now, that I can get them, BUT he will not pay for them. So, now, I have to find them for
free. Which, through CL, I do. I find someone who is trying to reduce numbers and get a pair, from 2 different litters, of girls. Taffy, a tan hooded, very social, total personality and Apple (You know, Taffy Apple...lol) who is a black capped with a head spot. Apple is more skittish, but has calmed greatly in the last year. They are now retired, Taffy having had 2 litters, Apple just one due to health concerns. However, they are now my Auntie rats. They help with raising my litters, once the litters have their eyes open, mom and the babies are moved in with them and they teach them all about humans and how to care for their own humans. They are wonderful about doing it and my litters are always very social with them. I try to introduce pregnant and nursing rats that I take in as rescues to them well before I move them in with them, so there are no issues and they can help with the socialization.
After I got Taffy and Apple I started to do more research online, since I am a learning freak and like to expand my knowledge about things. I was shocked and a bit worried to find out that Taffy and Apple may pass away before they are even 2 years old now, because the life expectancy is so much shorter. Every site that I went to stated that it was genetics, it was from too much inbreeding, that it was the feeder breeder's fault and pet stores and I have discovered that this may be true, about the feeder breeders and pet stores, but not in the way that everyone seems to think. I will get to why in a minute. However, it seemed that even rattery bred or accidental litters were suffering the same issues. Cancer, URIs, Kidney issues, Myco, SDA (rare, but still an issue) all of these illnesses that just were not an issue 20 years ago.
I NEVER took my rats to a vet, partly because no vet in my area would see a rat, but also because they were never sick, other than Lady at the end, which is how we found out that no vets would see rats, so we were left on our own. And we did NOT live in a small hick town out in the middle of nowhere. We lived 20 miles from Muskegon and 45 miles from Grand Rapids in Michigan, in a little town called Grand Haven. We raised, I would have to say and this is ONLY a guess, over 800 rats. We, at one point, have more than 150 rats, most of which were
babies. We rarely had a litter less than 10, most averaging about 10-15 babies. 17 being the largest surviving litter.
What, then, is the one common factor in ratteries, breeders, pet stores, feeder breeders and private pet owners? What could have changed that no one took into account for the drastic change in lifespan and health? Could it really be genetics? With rats, because of their particular DNA, it takes 20 generations of inbreeding (brother to sister, mother to son, etc) to actually be detrimental to their genes, meaning that if you wait until the female is 6 motnhs old to breed, so 2 generations a year, and you breed as soon as mom is 6 months old, it would take 10 YEARS for this to be a factor. But in ALL rats?!? Something did not seem right. The other thing that got me was that it was global, not just the US. Again, what is the common factor?
I actually think I have found it. It was actually, by chance, that I was led to it by a friend who plans to adopt from me in the future, when I can make a mass trip up near her. Looking at maybe this summer sometime. Anyway, she said that she thought it was great that I offered a rat food that was soy free on my site because she and her sister were both fed soy formula as babies and both now have hormone related issues. A 15 and a 19 year old both have endometriosis, among other hormone related issues and she thought that it was a good idea for me to be selling soy free food because of how dangerous the soy was for rats. I was floored, because I never even considered soy to be an issue. I am not vegan, so don't eat soy. I have tried tofu and, to be honest, I would much rather have a big thick steak. It was never my thing, so never thought much about it.
So, I started doing some research on it and wanted to see if what she claimed to be an issue really was. I WAS AMAZED AND DISGUSTED BY WHAT I FOUND!!!
This is the article that I first found and started my whole research into thedangers of soy:
http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2009/01/disturbing-findings-in-rats-fed.html
If you read the article, you will find that soy is far from the miracle food that everyone thinks it is and, even Deb the Rat Lady will tell you that soy is good for your rats. Please, don't think that I have issues with Deb, because I think she is a great lady and a wonderful resource for any rat owner and I think she had been fooled about soy, as have all of the rat community.
Now, many rat owners will get down on feeder breeders, but I think that some wonderful rats and rat owners have come from feeder breeders. I have even met some that have bred rats in the past for feeders and discovered that they loved rats more than their reptiles and have turned to frozen thawed for their reptiles and no longer feed live, or even get rid of their snakes altogether because their hearts have been melted by that one special rat. We all know that rat, it is the one who opened our hearts to rat ownership. It is the one rat that left it's little pawprint in our hearts. It is the one rat that led to a lifetime of ratty love. Mine was Lady, although I prefer males to females, Lady was something special. She still lives on, in my heart. Feeder breeders are also, quite often, rat lovers thenselves, having their favorites or their own rat pets that they would die before feeding to their snakes. I have taken in a few rescues from feeder breeders because they knew they could not care for them and they wanted them to have wonderful lives. That, actually, is where I got Sugar from, my sweet tailless rat.
Soy, I have found, especially Genetically Modified, is very dangerous to rats AND is in almost every lab block on the market, including the Harlan Teklad, which everyone raves to be the best. GM soy is what is used for ALL pet food in the US. Brown's Tropical Carnival rat mix uses ZERO soy. This is why I feed it exclusively and am trying to get rid of all of my Harlan (5 big bags worth, over 100 lbs)
Here is what the research I have found has taught me. Soy can be the cause for ALL of our rat issues, including URIs and cancer. Soy can cause a host of issues and the DNA in GM soy is very unstable. Changing from one plant to the next and 1 part of a plant can be genetically different than another part. The DNA is GM soy can cross the placenta and can be found in the brains and organs of newborn rats if the mother ate it during pregnancy. (The same holds true for piglets as well.)
Soy causes depressed immune systems, cancer (or at least precancerous cells), kidney issues, liver issues, heart issues, lung issues (are you seeing where this is going?) It is my belief and that of another rattery that soy is the cause and the one common factor between almost all rat owners, that is causing our rat related illnesses and issues. Another rattery and I are going to be doing an experiment that we will be keeping 1 cage of males and 1 cage of females on the soy, those of rats we have bred, same bedding, same water, same conditions as the rest of your rats, except the food.
Here is why pet stores and feeder breeder rats do not live as long AND have more health issues. They are fed nothing but the lab blocks. Don't get me wrong, most feeder breeders care about their stock because healthy rats lead to healthy snakes, so as long as their rats are healthy, so will their snakes, so they will feed a complete diet, meaning good quality food, hence why most feeder breeders actually feed the Harlan. However, unlike most ratteries and pet owners, they do NOT offer treats and supplements of fresh fruits and veggies and meats, eggs,
etc. They are fed entirely lab blocks, so get the most soy, which causes the most issues.
I have come to believe that it has less to do with genetics and more to do with what we are feeding out rats. Even the Sue Bee homemade rat diet uses soy as the main source of protein. Deb, the Rat Lady, advises using soy with rats, everyone advises feeding soy to them, but no real goverment research has been done about the effects of soy. THe soy industry is too big now and I doubt it will be done for many years to come, however, the studies I have found are very disturbing.
I have had ppl ask me why I did not get rats from established lines when I wanted to start breeding and now, I am even more glad that I did not. Now, I have the chance to prove that the common issue is soy and not genetics. I believe that the reason why Apple had so many URIs is because she eats primarly lab blocks (or did). Taffy is more of a scavenger and will store them, but prefers other food to lab blocks, however, both girls have gone through menopause and are less than 18 months old.
Here is what I have observed so far. I had, before I quit feeding the soy, 12 rats on meds for varying degrees of repiratory issues. From sneezing to congestion. Once I stopped the soy, everyone has cleared up (I completed the round of meds for each of them, just to be safe), but the issues all cleared within 72 hours of stopping the soy and since I stopped the soy, no one has been having issues. THat is close to a month ago now. I have seen more energy is some of my more lethargic rats. Ethel, a rescue rat who is in sanctuary (meaning that she will live her life out here) is about 2.5 year old and gets sick at the drop of a hat. If I get a draft, if I don't clean her cage on time, if I bring in a new rat, if she does not sleep under the blankets, if I look at her wrong (you get the idea) she gets sick. I have had her for about 8 months and she had been on meds 5 different times for resp issues. However, since I stopped the soy, she cleared up amazingly faster (she usually lingers when sick, taking at least 2 weeks to full recover) this last time, I stopped the say 3 days into her meds and she was better within a week, which is half the time it usually takes for her to recover.
I will be documenting any illnesses that I have, I will be keeping track of all of the rats and their health and I will be doing monthly reports on the progress of this experiment. I will be posting it online, but will not be sending out the link to the data until Xmas time, to give us (as I have another rattery that will be doing the sale experiment) time to get enough data up to prove my hypothosis.
The 4 rats of mine and the 4 rats of hers will be fed, like most rats, stricly soy. Harlan Teklab lab blocks (2018) as a diet, while the rest of our rats, rescues included, will be fed a soy free diet. Here is our preliminary diet, as we have figured out so far:
Main diet base: Brown's Tropical Carnival rat mix
Added in:
Multigrain Cheerios
Total Bran cereal
Crisp Rice cereal
Rolled Oats
With supplements of protein twice a week in the form of mealworms. We will be using live, roasted and powdered and will also be supplementing with ground flax seed as well within the next month. The powdered mealworms and ground flaxseed can be mixed in with yogurt, eggs or into a recipe for homemade yogurt drops. We both raise our own mealworms, so this will help to cut the costs of that feeding. If we are right, we will see a dramatic improvement in health of our rats over the next few months and by Xmas can prove, at least some what, that it is the soy that is an issue.
If you are a breeder and would like to join us in this experiment, please let me know. I would like ppl that used to breed or own 15+ years ago and currently breed or own now. I am looking for ppl who are willing to adhere to our standards for this experiment to get the proper data.
Thanks
Tami
Social Rats Adoption and Rescue
The Dangers of Rats and Soy
I have been wondering, well, more than wondering, I guess, as wondering does not cause me to go to the lengths that I have as of lately, about why our rats are having such a bad times as of lately.
Let me tell you about my first pair of rats, Lady and the Tramp. Just an FYI, I still name rats in pairs or groups, as I have Taffy and Apple, Bo and Luke, Hewy, Duewy and Louis, Tigger, Eeyore and Pooh, well, you get the idea. Anyway, Lady and the Tramp were wonderful rats, loving, social, sweet, Lady was a rododentist, while Tramp was as his name suggests, lazy and alpha, mating with anything in site, however, he would only snuggle with his Lady.
This is 20 years ago, keep in mind. THey were in a colony cage (meaning males and females mixed) of about 12-18 rats (all of their offspring). The cage was homemade of a wooden bottom and galvanized metal for the bars. We used cedar bedding, we fed them scraps, popcorn, loads of lettuce, pizza crust and food about to spoil out of the fridge. When we got them, we knew very little about rats, there was no internet and the best information we could find was a page in the back of a hamster book telling us to use cedar and that they were best housed alone. Keep in mind, I do not treat my rats this way now, but want to make the point about the difference in care as compared to now and then.
Lady bred til she was at least 3, assuming that she was 6 months old when I got her, both her and Tramp were full grown when I got them, so exact age is not known. I got them from a 12 year old kid who, like us, housed them all together. They would, as rats do, breed and breed and breed, so he sold me the pair for $5 just to get them out of his home. To be honest, I believe that there were a couple of pet rat only pet stores that we kept in stock of healthy, social rats for them to sell. Lady and Tramp passed away within a month of each other (they were litter mates) 4 years after I got them. It was a sad day when Lady passed and broke my heart even further when Tramp passed. All of their offspring that we kept until passing lived to be no less than 4 years old. We never lost babies in litter, we lost only 1 full litter, but believed this to be because a 4 months old rat had 19 babies and the babies sufficated inside of her.
Of all I have listed above, you will notice that I never mention cancer, that I never mention URIs, that I mention no illness at all. THis is because the ONLY illness we experienced was what finally claimed Lady. She had massive abscesses that would pop, clear out and come back. THe last abscess that she had is what killed her (in which case, I do not doubt that the cedar was a contributing factor in it) consumed her entire abdomen. Her ratty family kept her clean and comfortable, rallying around her to care for her. Someone was ALWAYS lying with her to keep her warm, the would clean her wound for her, they would bring her food, they loved her and it was, at the moment, that I realized how wonderful these pets were. (as I had only had a gerbil for half an hour before gettign my rats, pet store, unsocialized, bit me and my mom had to kill it to get it off of my finger, it locked its jaws on me when I was 6 years old and she broke the jaw, accidently killing it, trying to get it off of my finger).
I was used to dogs and cats and even parakeets, knew about them, how to care for them, how to feed them, etc, but none of them ever showed the loving and compassion that this colony showed to it's matriarch when she was dying. They even buried her in the bedding when she passed, which just amazed both me and my mom.
Now, 20 some odd years later, I want to start breeding again, I want to share the experience of rat ownership and raising with my own daughter. Squishy, as we call her, is now 2 years old and very gentle with them. She helps with cleaning cages (sort of) with feeding (or at least tries) with socializig the babies (still have to remind her to be gentle) and filling water bottles (she pulls them off of the cage for me). She is learning abotu compassion and animal ownership from a young age and does very well with it. We have had a few litters, we take in rescues (those we are unsure of or I have not evaluated for socialization yet are kept out of her reach) and we adopt out to new homes. She knows that some rats will stay here, but most will go on to new homes where they will be loved and cared for. She knows that sometimes they come back and those may stay or go on to find a new home. She knows when a rat comes back a second
time that it won't be leaving again.
So, a year ago, I decide to get some new rats. It take me about 2 months to convince my husband to let me. I take him to animal shelters, trying to push a dog, knowing that he is not ready to get a dog. I keep telling him I want an animal in the house again. He finally tells me that we can not afford a dog, but that I can get a caged animal. I tell him rats and he tells me (keep in mind his
parents are our landlords, we live in the upstairs apartment, separate, but close, which is a good thing that we are a true family and get along) that I would have to ask his mom. He tells me she will never go for it, and it is up to her. I ask, she says yes, right away. Ha Ha, I win...lol. The deal is, now, that I can get them, BUT he will not pay for them. So, now, I have to find them for
free. Which, through CL, I do. I find someone who is trying to reduce numbers and get a pair, from 2 different litters, of girls. Taffy, a tan hooded, very social, total personality and Apple (You know, Taffy Apple...lol) who is a black capped with a head spot. Apple is more skittish, but has calmed greatly in the last year. They are now retired, Taffy having had 2 litters, Apple just one due to health concerns. However, they are now my Auntie rats. They help with raising my litters, once the litters have their eyes open, mom and the babies are moved in with them and they teach them all about humans and how to care for their own humans. They are wonderful about doing it and my litters are always very social with them. I try to introduce pregnant and nursing rats that I take in as rescues to them well before I move them in with them, so there are no issues and they can help with the socialization.
After I got Taffy and Apple I started to do more research online, since I am a learning freak and like to expand my knowledge about things. I was shocked and a bit worried to find out that Taffy and Apple may pass away before they are even 2 years old now, because the life expectancy is so much shorter. Every site that I went to stated that it was genetics, it was from too much inbreeding, that it was the feeder breeder's fault and pet stores and I have discovered that this may be true, about the feeder breeders and pet stores, but not in the way that everyone seems to think. I will get to why in a minute. However, it seemed that even rattery bred or accidental litters were suffering the same issues. Cancer, URIs, Kidney issues, Myco, SDA (rare, but still an issue) all of these illnesses that just were not an issue 20 years ago.
I NEVER took my rats to a vet, partly because no vet in my area would see a rat, but also because they were never sick, other than Lady at the end, which is how we found out that no vets would see rats, so we were left on our own. And we did NOT live in a small hick town out in the middle of nowhere. We lived 20 miles from Muskegon and 45 miles from Grand Rapids in Michigan, in a little town called Grand Haven. We raised, I would have to say and this is ONLY a guess, over 800 rats. We, at one point, have more than 150 rats, most of which were
babies. We rarely had a litter less than 10, most averaging about 10-15 babies. 17 being the largest surviving litter.
What, then, is the one common factor in ratteries, breeders, pet stores, feeder breeders and private pet owners? What could have changed that no one took into account for the drastic change in lifespan and health? Could it really be genetics? With rats, because of their particular DNA, it takes 20 generations of inbreeding (brother to sister, mother to son, etc) to actually be detrimental to their genes, meaning that if you wait until the female is 6 motnhs old to breed, so 2 generations a year, and you breed as soon as mom is 6 months old, it would take 10 YEARS for this to be a factor. But in ALL rats?!? Something did not seem right. The other thing that got me was that it was global, not just the US. Again, what is the common factor?
I actually think I have found it. It was actually, by chance, that I was led to it by a friend who plans to adopt from me in the future, when I can make a mass trip up near her. Looking at maybe this summer sometime. Anyway, she said that she thought it was great that I offered a rat food that was soy free on my site because she and her sister were both fed soy formula as babies and both now have hormone related issues. A 15 and a 19 year old both have endometriosis, among other hormone related issues and she thought that it was a good idea for me to be selling soy free food because of how dangerous the soy was for rats. I was floored, because I never even considered soy to be an issue. I am not vegan, so don't eat soy. I have tried tofu and, to be honest, I would much rather have a big thick steak. It was never my thing, so never thought much about it.
So, I started doing some research on it and wanted to see if what she claimed to be an issue really was. I WAS AMAZED AND DISGUSTED BY WHAT I FOUND!!!
This is the article that I first found and started my whole research into thedangers of soy:
http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2009/01/disturbing-findings-in-rats-fed.html
If you read the article, you will find that soy is far from the miracle food that everyone thinks it is and, even Deb the Rat Lady will tell you that soy is good for your rats. Please, don't think that I have issues with Deb, because I think she is a great lady and a wonderful resource for any rat owner and I think she had been fooled about soy, as have all of the rat community.
Now, many rat owners will get down on feeder breeders, but I think that some wonderful rats and rat owners have come from feeder breeders. I have even met some that have bred rats in the past for feeders and discovered that they loved rats more than their reptiles and have turned to frozen thawed for their reptiles and no longer feed live, or even get rid of their snakes altogether because their hearts have been melted by that one special rat. We all know that rat, it is the one who opened our hearts to rat ownership. It is the one rat that left it's little pawprint in our hearts. It is the one rat that led to a lifetime of ratty love. Mine was Lady, although I prefer males to females, Lady was something special. She still lives on, in my heart. Feeder breeders are also, quite often, rat lovers thenselves, having their favorites or their own rat pets that they would die before feeding to their snakes. I have taken in a few rescues from feeder breeders because they knew they could not care for them and they wanted them to have wonderful lives. That, actually, is where I got Sugar from, my sweet tailless rat.
Soy, I have found, especially Genetically Modified, is very dangerous to rats AND is in almost every lab block on the market, including the Harlan Teklad, which everyone raves to be the best. GM soy is what is used for ALL pet food in the US. Brown's Tropical Carnival rat mix uses ZERO soy. This is why I feed it exclusively and am trying to get rid of all of my Harlan (5 big bags worth, over 100 lbs)
Here is what the research I have found has taught me. Soy can be the cause for ALL of our rat issues, including URIs and cancer. Soy can cause a host of issues and the DNA in GM soy is very unstable. Changing from one plant to the next and 1 part of a plant can be genetically different than another part. The DNA is GM soy can cross the placenta and can be found in the brains and organs of newborn rats if the mother ate it during pregnancy. (The same holds true for piglets as well.)
Soy causes depressed immune systems, cancer (or at least precancerous cells), kidney issues, liver issues, heart issues, lung issues (are you seeing where this is going?) It is my belief and that of another rattery that soy is the cause and the one common factor between almost all rat owners, that is causing our rat related illnesses and issues. Another rattery and I are going to be doing an experiment that we will be keeping 1 cage of males and 1 cage of females on the soy, those of rats we have bred, same bedding, same water, same conditions as the rest of your rats, except the food.
Here is why pet stores and feeder breeder rats do not live as long AND have more health issues. They are fed nothing but the lab blocks. Don't get me wrong, most feeder breeders care about their stock because healthy rats lead to healthy snakes, so as long as their rats are healthy, so will their snakes, so they will feed a complete diet, meaning good quality food, hence why most feeder breeders actually feed the Harlan. However, unlike most ratteries and pet owners, they do NOT offer treats and supplements of fresh fruits and veggies and meats, eggs,
etc. They are fed entirely lab blocks, so get the most soy, which causes the most issues.
I have come to believe that it has less to do with genetics and more to do with what we are feeding out rats. Even the Sue Bee homemade rat diet uses soy as the main source of protein. Deb, the Rat Lady, advises using soy with rats, everyone advises feeding soy to them, but no real goverment research has been done about the effects of soy. THe soy industry is too big now and I doubt it will be done for many years to come, however, the studies I have found are very disturbing.
I have had ppl ask me why I did not get rats from established lines when I wanted to start breeding and now, I am even more glad that I did not. Now, I have the chance to prove that the common issue is soy and not genetics. I believe that the reason why Apple had so many URIs is because she eats primarly lab blocks (or did). Taffy is more of a scavenger and will store them, but prefers other food to lab blocks, however, both girls have gone through menopause and are less than 18 months old.
Here is what I have observed so far. I had, before I quit feeding the soy, 12 rats on meds for varying degrees of repiratory issues. From sneezing to congestion. Once I stopped the soy, everyone has cleared up (I completed the round of meds for each of them, just to be safe), but the issues all cleared within 72 hours of stopping the soy and since I stopped the soy, no one has been having issues. THat is close to a month ago now. I have seen more energy is some of my more lethargic rats. Ethel, a rescue rat who is in sanctuary (meaning that she will live her life out here) is about 2.5 year old and gets sick at the drop of a hat. If I get a draft, if I don't clean her cage on time, if I bring in a new rat, if she does not sleep under the blankets, if I look at her wrong (you get the idea) she gets sick. I have had her for about 8 months and she had been on meds 5 different times for resp issues. However, since I stopped the soy, she cleared up amazingly faster (she usually lingers when sick, taking at least 2 weeks to full recover) this last time, I stopped the say 3 days into her meds and she was better within a week, which is half the time it usually takes for her to recover.
I will be documenting any illnesses that I have, I will be keeping track of all of the rats and their health and I will be doing monthly reports on the progress of this experiment. I will be posting it online, but will not be sending out the link to the data until Xmas time, to give us (as I have another rattery that will be doing the sale experiment) time to get enough data up to prove my hypothosis.
The 4 rats of mine and the 4 rats of hers will be fed, like most rats, stricly soy. Harlan Teklab lab blocks (2018) as a diet, while the rest of our rats, rescues included, will be fed a soy free diet. Here is our preliminary diet, as we have figured out so far:
Main diet base: Brown's Tropical Carnival rat mix
Added in:
Multigrain Cheerios
Total Bran cereal
Crisp Rice cereal
Rolled Oats
With supplements of protein twice a week in the form of mealworms. We will be using live, roasted and powdered and will also be supplementing with ground flax seed as well within the next month. The powdered mealworms and ground flaxseed can be mixed in with yogurt, eggs or into a recipe for homemade yogurt drops. We both raise our own mealworms, so this will help to cut the costs of that feeding. If we are right, we will see a dramatic improvement in health of our rats over the next few months and by Xmas can prove, at least some what, that it is the soy that is an issue.
If you are a breeder and would like to join us in this experiment, please let me know. I would like ppl that used to breed or own 15+ years ago and currently breed or own now. I am looking for ppl who are willing to adhere to our standards for this experiment to get the proper data.
Thanks
Tami
Social Rats Adoption and Rescue
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