Help! Rat Weight Loss

[Bowser]

Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum, or to any forum for that matter (this is my first post). I was hoping someone here would possibly be able to give me some advice or help me out. I have a total of four rats, two males and two females, the males have one cage, the females have another. I had a third female (Cupcake) but she passed away about a month and a half ago. She was a year and three quarters old. Back in July I discovered that Cupcake had somehow gotten rat mites. I did some research online and found a couple websites/forums/articles that recommended using Revolution put on a q-tip to treat them so I treated both cages and the mites appeared to have disappeared, however through this process she slowly lost a lot of weight but still appeared healthy in all other ways (happy, enjoyed coming out to run around, healthy appetite, healthy feces). The beginning of September she started sleeping a lot, however everything else appeared healthy, then two weeks later she passed away. Now my other two female rats have also begun to lose a significant amount of weight, they are sisters and are just under a year old. I again checked them for mites, couldn't find any and from other pets the only reason I can think of that causes weight loss is worms, so again after doing some research gave them a rice sized bite of a brand of horse dewormer containing Ivermectin which was supposed to clear them of both mites and worms. That was two weeks ago and the weight loss has continued. These two rats also look healthy in all manners except their weight. My cage with the two males sits above the female cage and I use the same cleaning supplies when I clean the cages (cloth, water and soap), they eat the same type of food, nearly the same amount of food and they are healthy as could be.
Does anyone have any idea what's going on or how to stop their weight loss? I am concerned that they too are going to soon see their demise if I don't help them.
Thanks!!!!
Bailey

 

[victoria]

Are they having trouble with her balance or holding food? Any issues with her teeth? How many times did you treat with Revolution and over what period of time? Ivermectin?

Unexplained weight loss is a cause for concern, even your first girl was old but not that old that she should have just lost weight. The best thing would be to take them to an experienced rat vet to have a check up.

In the meantime, you can pick up some baby cereal at the store and supplement their diet to help them put weight back on. What food are you feeding them right now?

 

[Bowser]

No issues with balance or holding food. They seem perfectly healthy in every way except their weight and their teeth are both in tact and not too long to obstruct normal eating.

I did two treatments with Revolution, a month between the two, no treatments for about a month and a half/two months, then I did two treatments of Ivermectin, each a week apart, the last treatment was last week.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will try out the baby cereal, they are currently eating roughly equal amounts of vegetables with some fruit (whatever's in my fridge; carrots, broccoli, celery, apples), a seed/peanut mix, and Living World Extrusions.

If no one has any suggestions about what's wrong I will consider taking them to the vets, I was just trying to avoid it because it can get costly (I've taken a previous rat with an abscess in, paid lots of money to get it removed then it came back and I realized with some medicine from the vet and a hot compress that I was able to get rid of it on my own at home). Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any vets in my area that know much about rodents, specifically rats which is why my last rat visit to the vet ended up with an abscess being mis-diagnosed as a tumor. I am just concerned that my inexperienced vet may know less than other people who also keep rats.

 

[victoria]

There are some vets in your area... at least one anyway. Look in the Vet Listings section of the forum or post a thread asking for recommendations - there are quite a few active members in your area.

Rats have molars in addition to their incisors that are difficult to see without a scope. Because both are losing weight I doubt it's a tooth issue but it still sounds like they need a check up.

The Revolution should have worked on the mites, although sometimes 3 are required. I think you need to do one or two more treatments with Ivermectin to make sure you cover the entire life cycle of all possible parasites.

As for the food, I would ditch the seed mix and stick with Extrusion and fresh foods for treats. Feeding them a block and seed mix defeats the purpose of offering a block with balanced nutrition. Fruits can be high in sugar and lead to weight issues, but that doesn't seem to be an issue here. You can also try giving them some boiled egg or baby food to keep the weight on.

 

[jorats]

Are you using a scale to weigh your rats? Can you tell us exactly how much weight they are losing?
In the baby cereal, add olive oil that should help kick start their metabolism.

 

[Bowser]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately I do not have a scale small enough to weigh them so I can't say how much weight they've actually lost however they were a healthy weight before, not overweight or underweight, and now they feel skinny. The one that passed away was so skinny that her haunches were very distinct and she felt lighter to hold than the other rats. These two don't have that look where I can distinctly see their back legs (yet!).

 

[victoria]

A digital kitchen scale works well for most people and they're widely available for about $20-25. It's a small amount of money what you get. It's much easier to see how urgent an issue is if you can distinguish whether a rat has lost 20g or 80g.

 

[crumbilina]

Dr. Gerald at Mitchell Animal Hospital on Gage is excellent.
I live in Hamilton and drive back to kitchener when my ratties need care. If you need a vet I highly recommend him.

 

[Bowser]

Thanks crumbilina, I will try giving Dr. Gerald a call tomorrow, I looked it up online and their clinic isn't too far away from my house.

 

[Dazzle87]

Glad you found a vet. I hope you can figure out what is going on. I know respiratory issues can cause weight loss, there's no wet sneezing, congestion, etc?

I also second the scale suggestion. It has helped me to find problems quicker with my rats.

 

[crumbilina]

Thanks crumbilina, I will try giving Dr. Gerald a call tomorrow, I looked it up online and their clinic isn't too far away from my house.

No problem

Good luck!