Essentials Rat Food, Pet Food for Adult Rats, All-Natural Vitamin & Mineral Rich Formula, Veterinarian Recommended, Oxbow, Rodent Pellets, Made in USA, No Artificials, 3 lb. Bag

I believe this is one of the best rat foods out there. I have been using it for years and my rats live long, healthy lives. Their coats stay shiny and they are very active. Mine like to eat some and store some. The food was fresh, not crumbled, and the bag was in perfect condition.

Definitely one of the best foods on the market in terms of nutrients & flavor. I have three rats and I give them around two handfuls a day. They always finish and are always very excited about it, they maintain a healthy weight and something I've noticed about this food specifically is that they like it even more than the seed and nut mixtures that you can purchase for rats. Honestly they get more excited for this than they do their fruit & veg which is a shock as other pellet type food I've tried usually isn't such a hit.

Great quality rat food. Nice chewable little triangles. Perfect for tiny hands. Quality ingredients. My rats loved this.

they loved it

It's not that this product is an A+... but it's the best option I found. Oxbow has the healthiest ingredients. Their little "wafers" are better than the pellet brand I've gotten. My girls do what many do with the mixes... pick out their faves (the less healthy parts) and leave the rest! So I had to go with a nugget. Oxbow has WAY less dust in the bottom of their bag! I got this GIANT bag off of Amazon because I couldn't get this brand in the stores. I had looked for weeks and they were always out. Out of desperation I bought another brand until this arrived. Two days later my perfectly healthy girl got sick and has since died. It may or may not be related but she lost function in one of her "arms" and fell out of the hammock trying to get in and out. When the Oxbow arrived and I put the other product aside, she improved a lot. She has since died. I don't know if it's related but it seems a strange coincidence. So I'm also really grateful to have this huge bag (despite storage issues) because I know I have what my other girl needs and we won't run out! So in a pet food... it seems a great product, healthy, smells fine, the rats like it fine... convenient to get on Amazon and in bulk (way cheaper than buying 5 lb bags every couple of weeks at PetSmart!)... so I do recommend! Baaaa Haaaa... Amazon has "Rate Features" below this and wants me to rate "Freshness" "Value for money" and "Flavor". Sorry.... not gonna taste it!!! Sadly if I put both this and those less-healthy pellets in at the same time... Cully will eat the other pellets first! Sometimes I eat dessert first too... doesn't make it good for me!!!

***NEW Review 11/1/2011*** They are now shipping the "New and Improved" Formula and Flavor, at least that's what I got. I've posted pictures of the new Package, Ingredients, and what the pellets look like. I am pleased to say that my Rats love it. It's slightly smaller than the Older Formula, which I like. It's very easy for them to hold while they eat. I hope that this continues to be sold on Amazon for as long as they make it because my local pet stores only offer a generalized pellet that's for Mice/Rats/Hamsters, which just won't cut it in my book. There are also times when my local Vet doesn't have this. I am much more inclined to buy it on Amazon rather than go to the vet every time my rats need more. ***Edit 10/28/2011*** It appears that they have had the new Formula and Flavor for months now. I just wish that there was clarification on Amazon that this is now the new flavor. Anyway I've purchased more and hope that it is the new flavor. If not then I know my local exotic vet carries this stuff as well. ***Original Review*** I bought this 6 months ago. I used it all and it really helped my rats. They were more energetic and had a beautiful and soft coat. I really wish my rats would eat more of this though, I can never get them to. It's one of the best rat foods on the market, but they just don't like the flavor. I have heard that they are making another flavor available soon. I hope it will be available through Amazon. If anyone knows when it's available please let me know. The things I do like about this food is that it's small and easy for my rats to hold when they eat it, yet big enough that they don't need to keep getting more and more just to satisfy their hunger. It's nutritional value is wonderful as well! It's the only thing my exotic pet vet recommends. Hopefully the new flavor will do the trick for my rats.

I believe the quality of this food is at the top of the list, my rats love it and actually prefer it over the other foods with all the fruits and nuts. I think the value for the money is comparable to pet stores. The bag is pretty durable and I have to say I appreciate the resealable "zipper".I also must say the ease of use of the bag helps when you have multiple bowls to fill. The opening is big enough to put a small scoop and my hand in, where as other brands I have used don’t open completely unless I rip the bag. I don’t think the smell is too bad kind of just smells the same as other animal food, nothing too stinky.

My go to rat food. I always buy the 20lb bag its more affordable and having 20 rats I need to save money.