Fur Changes

[maria-mar]

Hi, sorry for posting again in the same week... -_-

I have two male brother rats who are not yet two months old.
They're both roans (husky), one dark and one champagne, so i'm aware that their fur color will change. The dark one is already changing a lot ^_^
What i wanna ask is if the fur, not the color but the softness and length, will change with age, and when.
The fur used to be really smooth, but now it's getting a bit more greasy. Is it normal, or am i feeding them too much oleaginous food?

Thank you all

 

[lilangel]

what ive herd is males have buck grease i think its called it is normal for them to have if neutered i think it will go away.

and no need to be sorry

 

[maria-mar]

Well if it isn't something bad for their health, then no need to neuter ^_^
Thanks a lot

 

[Moon]

Males can have more buck grease as they get older, but I have heard that too much protein can cause excess grease also.

The coat texture can get a bit rougher as they get older, but a good diet should help stop that from happening.

Length shouldn't change much at all.

 

[maria-mar]

Thanks Moon, that's what i thought ^_^
Maybe i need to reduce the dog food i had to their seeds...

 

[jorats]

Find a dog food that is low protein and low fat as well but also has more carbs from grains. Food can really affect a rat's coat.

 

[maria-mar]

The lower amount of protein i've found in dog food was 18%, rats only need 8%, right? It was for senior dogs.
I'll do that, thank you for the advidce ^_^

 

[jorats]

A lot of people here feed an 18% protein rat food to their rats and are very happy with it. I keep mine on 14% or lower. If you add veggies to their diet, that also brings the protein down.

 

[maria-mar]

Aww, i'll try that one then
I'm now using cat food (the breeder who offered me the ratties said it was better), but i see that compared to some dog food it's just too fat, so what i'm doing now is adding less cat food to their seed and veggie mix, and when it ends i'll get that senior dog food ^_^

Using rat blocks here in Portugal is really impossible, we just can't find it without traveling half country, so i'm just doing the best i can with a home made mix.

Also, i read that the dominant rat will mark the other one on the backs with urine, i don't know if it's true, but it fits the situation, as the fur from the dominant one is not so greasy...

 

[jorats]

If your cat food is anything like ours here, it's very bad for them. Cat food is mainly all meats and rats really shouldn't have all that much meat. They get their energy from carbs, not from meats. I'd stick with the dog food for sure.

 

[maria-mar]

I tried to pick a white meat cat food, and it has lot's of veggie blocks that they love.
I will buy that 18% dog food, i'm just finishing the cat food as it is already mixed with their food.

 

[maria-mar]

Just so you can know, their fur is back to normal, or even prettier ^_^

I haven't changed their diet yet, but now i figure what it was!...
I read that some rat owners feed them sunflower seeds as treats, and so i got them some of the big ones and feed like, 3 to each, not more. The day after, their fur was totally different
A week later and it's back to normal.
I guess i won't use them again :wink:

 

[jorats]

Ah yes, sunflower seeds... maybe occasionally give them one.

 

[pinkies_mama]

Ah yes, sunflower seeds... maybe occasionally give them one.

Is there something bad about sunflower seeds??

 

[Joanne]

Fur changes do happen with age and sex. I adopted a rat that had babies. I have three of the girls and two boys. The coats on the two sexes are totally different. They are 4 months old now. The girls have a very fine, soft, silky coat but the boys have a much coarser, greasier coat. They are fed exactly the same diet. Apparently after neutering the boys the coat will become less coarse and greasy. It's kind of neat you can tell who you're stroking even if you can't see them!

 

[mercurydust]

I know Nature's Recipe brand dog food makes a vegetarian formula dry food.

 

[ryelle]

Ah yes, sunflower seeds... maybe occasionally give them one.

Is there something bad about sunflower seeds??

Sunflower seeds are high in fat and protein. I know this from owning a parrot, most generic parrot seed mixes are 80% sunflower seeds, which leads to a lot of fat around the heart and a generally unfit bird. Some parrots and rats are pretty much the same in size

 

[maria-mar]

Fur changes do happen with age and sex. I adopted a rat that had babies. I have three of the girls and two boys. The coats on the two sexes are totally different. They are 4 months old now. The girls have a very fine, soft, silky coat but the boys have a much coarser, greasier coat. They are fed exactly the same diet. Apparently after neutering the boys the coat will become less coarse and greasy. It's kind of neat you can tell who you're stroking even if you can't see them!

Aww, i never had girls, so i so knew that but never really experienced it. I can't wait to move home in the summer, i intend to get some girls then to feel the differences, i heard they are much more active too XD

Well, it's been a while, i never fed them too much sunflowers together again, and their coat is looking shiny and beautiful ^_^

 

[maria-mar]

I know Nature's Recipe brand dog food makes a vegetarian formula dry food.

Yeah, i found some veg dog foods too, but the level of protein wasn't that little compared to that senior dog food that had 18% of protein, i think it was pratically the same, but i'll check next time and post here :wink:

 

[Joanne]

Aww, i never had girls, so i so knew that but never really experienced it. I can't wait to move home in the summer, i intend to get some girls then to feel the differences, i heard they are much more active too XD
quote]
My girls are total maniacs! They just zoom around all the time, and never sit still to be snuggled. It was almost impossible to restrict their activity after their spays. After two days I just had to let them out. They just climbed away, oblivious to the fact they just had major abdominal surgery!