I wonder if certain pet food products can be used for feeding more than just one species of pets?
For example, there are plenty of worm products being made as fish food. Such as bloodworms or blood worms, and Tubifex worms, both in frozen form and freeze dried form. They are high in protein and minerals. On the bottles of these worms it often say they have enhanced vitamins. Fish are delicate species, as they are among the pet species that can die the easiest. If fish can eat these worms without ill effect, can these worms be fed to worm eating birds and lizards?
Same goes for certain pet food made for dogs and cats. Can some of them be used for both dogs and cats? Most rat species also prefer to eat meat, can they be put on a diet to eat dog and cat food?
Some larger species of fish have to be fed with feeder fish. Can the same feeder fish be fed to lets say cats, snakes, and some bird species feed on fish?
I don't believe so because each type of food is designed and formed for different animals. My fiancee's mother's dog used to eat cat food that her two cat friends would eat. The veterinarian said it was rather unhealthy for her and you could tell by her nose and her weight.
Well, I don't think you could call any of them "universal". There is no food that would be good for a clown loach, lionfish, gourami, python, iguana, monitor, cat, dig, hamster, sugar glider, love bird, and a macaw. That said, there are certainly foods that can transfer between species. Monitors and tegus can eat pretty much anything, including feeder fish and crawfish, moist cat food, ground turkey, insects, rodents.
As for rodent diets, they will certainly eat meat, but most rodents, at least domestic mice, Mus musculus, and domesticated rats, Rattus norvegicus, do much better and live a longer healthier life on a prominently grain based diet. And before anyone asks, yes, this makes them much healthier feeder animals.
As for feeder fish, they can be feed to monitors, certain snakes, like garters, banded & ringed water snakes, (though this is mostly necessary in wild caught animals), false water cobras. I suppose you could feed them to certain cats. I wouldn't. One of the main problems with feeding fish to things that aren't other fish, is parasites. Especially feeder goldfish, which are typically raised in extremely cramped, not necessarily "clean" tanks. I have told many people, if you are going to feed a reptile allot of live feeder fish, you should learn allot about Panacur. How to dose it, how to administer it to your particular animal. So I would avoid it with cats as well.
I know one person who was giving their rabbit guinea pig food because the rabbit was so picky it wouldn't eat regular rabbit pellets. The rabbit is alive but I don't think it is the healthiest decision.
(07-23-2012, 04:22 AM)mora2000 Wrote: I know one person who was giving their rabbit guinea pig food because the rabbit was so picky it wouldn't eat regular rabbit pellets. The rabbit is alive but I don't think it is the healthiest decision.
If you want to talking about weird, there was a rabbit who like to eat fish. At first the rabbit didn't give the fish even a second look, until one time somehow he gave the fish a try. Once the rabbit had tasted the fish, he wouldn't stop eating it. The owner was also able to walk that rabbit like a dog, not sure if it had to do with the eating fish habit. After all, scientists say fish is good for the brain, but I doubt it can happen in just one generation lol.
My friends dog started eating the cat food when she got the two cats. It won't eat its own dog food anymore. She seems to think the dog is doing it to spite the cats since he was there first. I know I've heard it's not healthy, but he's 15 now and still kicking.
My daughter feeds her goats, degus and guinea pigs the same base feed. She just adds certain things for their diets according to the animal. It has worked perfectly for years and it saves us money. The dogs have tried it, but really don't care for it.
There's no food you can feed to everything but there definitely is a lot of food you can use for multiple species. For example, I feed my frog turtle pellets. He's a couple years old at least and he lives on the things. Can't get enough of them.
No general pet food exist, but you could feed some of them the same food.
My ducks, geese chickens and rabbits all eat duck pellets, I just add some additional greens and some meal worms for the chickens. The rabbits occasionally raid my veggie garden, but as they are free range I assume they get what they need from the pellets and their surroundings.
I sometimes give my chickens some wet cat food as well, this is to boost their protein intake in breeding season, I just limit the amount greatly. If I give them eggs for protein, they will eat their own eggs.
My dogs love to steal my cat's pellets, I think they just find it more yummy that their own. My son steals my dog's pellets in return. He just loves it. I am not really concerned with him eating the pellets as the latest food scam test even found kangaroo and snake in our sausages. I do not think a few pellets will do any more harm.
Obviously there really can't be one single food that would be nutritious and delicious for every single pet out there! Not only do certain animals require certain nutrients and vitamins and food consistencies, but a lot of individual pets can be picky about what they will or won't eat! My uncle's dog, for example, used to eat his breakfast if and only if it was dry white toast cut into 6 pieces. (I wish I were joking, he was impossible to please with anything else!) And obviously the amount of food that would satisfy an angelfish wouldn't come close to filling the mouth of a horse. Every animal is different! Although there are some foods that many of them all like, such as carrots -- my dogs, hamster, horses, birds, and even ferrets have all loved carrots --there is no one food that's good for all of them!
I really don't think that it would be ideal. It would probably be ok with different breeds of one type of animal like dogs for example. But even then you get different types of dog food for large breeds, medium, small and toy. So although it might be possible it might result in nutritional deficiencies later on.
