How to Fatten Up A Rat?

[Bundyrats]

Hello,

My girl Sheba is light as a feather, she's about about 14 months old and has been unwell at times over the past year where I've had to put her on Baytril. I'm finding I have to do this every few months as she just seems to drop off and become lethargic. When she has Baytril she bounces back and is fine again. But I'm now have trouble keeping weight on her.

I feed the girls a diet of homemade mix - rice, pasta, beans, peas, corn, pumpkin & sweet potato for supper plus some fresh vegetables and organic baby food and in the morning: fruit, organic baby breakfast food and some soy milk and cereal. And they have access to a bowl of homemade dry mix all day - oats, sunflower seeds, buckwheat and a handful of this and that for variety and of course lab pellets.
They also get scrambled eggs occassionally, some yogurt plus a bit of what we have for supper (usually straight off the plate if hubby isn't looking, otherwise sneak it under the table while they are on my lap!). Sometimes a bit of fish, chicken, steak and I even bought them liver and oysters - which they love.

I'm wondering if it's her being fussy with eating because she will eat if she's handfed but sometimes turns her nose at the food bowl. Although other times, I have seen her sit there for ages eating. Is there a 'super food' that I could give her with lots of energy & nutrition? She just feels so fragile and it's awful to feel her hips under her coat. She appears to be healthy and she's not skin and bones but she is definately on the light side and I don't know what to do.
Here are some pics. Sheba is the white one. Rosie, the brown one is so fat in comparison and Meesha the black hooded is in between. It doesn't show too well in the pics.

The last weights I had for them were on the 10th March. Sheba - 288g (but I am sure she's less than this now), Rosie - 388g, Meesh - 328g

PS. What is the proper name for Sheba's markings? Apricot hooded? And what colour do you think Rosie is? Agouti or Mink or what?

 

[hprats]

Hmm, she looks fine to me, but I guess she is under the average weight?

But no, I wanted to reply about Rosie! She looks to be about the same colour as my Peter, and I've always been told he's a "bad" black.

 

[MMak]

If those photo's are recent, she looks fine to me as well. I would almost say border-lining onto pudgy!
When she does start to get hard to keep weight on, and/or becomes sick, I would add something like Glucerna to her food. (Just a tsp per day works fine)
Someone else had suggested this to me a few months back and it really helped one of my seniors.

 

[jorats]

You have a fawn hooded, a black hooded and what appears to be a russian blue.
Sheba looks like ok in the pics. But if you are worried especially if she's unwell, you can always give her extra good fat like olive oil.

 

[hprats]

^oh yeah, wow. Before I was on my phone and the colours looked totally different, Rosie just looked dark brown, but now I see she's more grey.
They're all gorgeous colours though. Is Rosie a berkie?

 

[Argent]

Lol if you think she's skinny, my poor Lavi is anorexic! She was a baby who had babies so her growth was completely stunted, I'm sure she's not starving but good god she's tiny, I'd love if she was Sheba's size!

 

[Bundyrats]

Well thanks all. I will give the Olive Oil and Glucerna (if they make it here) a try.
Yes, I think Sheba is definately lighter now than in the pics. They were taken a month ago.

Rosie is a berkshire hprats. She kind of has that sewer-rat colour about her but gosh she's adorable! I love her to bits :cuddle:

 

[SQ]

Peas seem to put on weight
Baby cereal mixed up with soy infant formula does as well.
(Are you aware that rats need low protien? I think Jorats has a post about protien in the reference or diet section.)

But she looks like she does not need to gain any weight.

 

[Bundyrats]

I know! She looks so good in this photo but I know that she is light. If you held her and felt her little bones you would see that there's not much of her and if she's loses any more weight she would be skin and bones.
I've started with the olive oil and she does eat when hand fed, so I guess I will just have to start doing that.
Yes, I have read about the low protein, thanks, and I try to keep to this.

 

[Ria]

On the topic of weight, I have a question regarding my boy. Oskar was a 'fat' chubby rat. He's recently lost a lot of weight but most would class him as 'normal' weight for a male. Do I try and get him back to his original chubbiness as that was his Norm or not worry?
He is old.. so I think the weightloss was down to that. I worry a lot. P:

 

[Bundyrats]

Hmmm, I'm not sure sorry but I would think if he's a normal weight now you don't want to try and fatten him up again. As long as the weight loss is not due to illness, I would leave him.

 

[MMak]

I would think he's fine, Ria.
Just as long as he doesn't start getting on the skinny side. One of my originally chubby boys drastically lost weight (quite recently)
due to age. I'd just keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't lose anymore..

 

[Ria]

Thank you for your answers guys. It really was due to old age; he lost his appetite completely and passed away peacefully last Monday. Basically, weight-loss in old rats is inevitable I think; and when they start losing weight and they're old, just watch them and their behaviours!

 

[Dazzle87]

You should take those beans out of the dry mix, uncooked beans are on the forbidden foods list.