Loki's weight loss.

[hopefloats]

I am struggling to keep his weight up. The problem i have, is my other rats are little porkers. So i cannot just feed them all. I wont pull him out of his group at this point so i have to feed him and not the others. He doesnt seem majorly impressed with anything food wise, he eats but not like i want, i need something really extremely tempting. I gave him sunflower seeds to see if he would eat them, and he only stashed them. When he is out of the cage, it is seriously "go, go, stop catch my breath, go, go " LOL he has a heart problem so he has to stop in between but he is all over. You couldnt look at him and tell he has a problem until he stops. I can see and feel the weight loss and it is happening fast.

I tried to bring him out for some food time, and he is so excited he is out, it doesnt work. I can block him off for a bit, but i am not hitting much that is so tempting he will eat it. I have seen him eat lab blocks and oxbow but nothing is so exciting. It is just like he has less of an appetite, so i need to make sure when he does it, it will help put weight on him.

 

[SQ]

give a dish of lab block mush in the cage.

Pull everyone else out several times a day to run around and at that time feed him special tastey things in the cage such as soy formula or ensure mixed up with some baby cereal, etc

 

[jorats]

I would always have mushy blocks in the cage. But for extras, anything yummy, eggs, chicken, tuna, baby cereal with olive oil. He might like to lick rather than chew.

 

[mamarat]

I put mine in a cat carrier with the yummy food, at first they won't eat but eventually get used to the carrier meaning yummy foods.

 

[hopefloats]

that is the problem i am having, he is being so picky. I put sweet potatoes down, and he wont eat it, but if i feed him from my finger, he will eat it.

I see him eating but I dont think his appetite is as big as it was. I will buy some eggs and try to scramble them for him, we never eat eggs.. I tried tuna once before and none of them liked it.

I have the lab blocks mixed with a bit of apple sauce and water. They are all going nuts but he seems to like to lick them so that might help. I am still waiting for them to finish so i can put them in the cage with him I thought they mushed up faster.

How many times a day do you do this?

He went from 683g when this first started to 618g...so he is loosing weight fast. My boy was over 700g before all this started.

 

[mamarat]

When I have sickies I always keep mushed up lab blocks in the cage. I always seem to have some soaking on my table. lol I only use water in mine.

 

[hopefloats]

But with my chubby rats will that make them chubbier? like bindi does not need to gain more weight... Obviously i wont and cant take him away from his buddies, but bindi, skittles, pika, and al do not need to gain anymore.. When the girls got spayed, their waist line shifted outwards even more LOL

 

[mamarat]

But they're only the same lab blocks they would eat dry? Mine (the healthy ones) didn't eat as much dry when they could get the wet ones but they didn't gain any extra weight either. I add only water though to the blocks and they prefer the Oxbow ones for wet.

 

[hopefloats]

i took them off the lab blocks and put them on oxbow because they are chubby... I use the lab blocks on occasion but not often ...does oxbow mush up?

 

[mamarat]

It becomes very soft but still hard enough to carry around.

 

[hopefloats]

I could try it in a blender LOL that might help it mush up... I will do that tomorrow...I could mix some goodies with it

 

[jorats]

My sickies love the oxbow with water. They become like a big sponge so they can still hold it but they are much easier to eat.

 

[hopefloats]

I just hope mally and her hoarding habits dont try to stick the wet food in the stash of dry food LOL

 

[mamarat]

I know mine don't stash the wet just the dry. I can just imagine the mess it would make. lol

 

[hopefloats]

mally stashes anything she can carry and isnt bolted down in that cage LOL she is a mess. I have it controlled now, as long as i keep her food on the same shelf and under the same igloo, it stays but anything else she runs it to that spot.

 

[hopefloats]

Lab block mush with ensure is a huge hit with him. He dont eat a lot of it but he eats it. with the water that should help weed out the concerns i had him drinking enough

 

[mamarat]

With water the mush is not any more fattening than dry blocks.

 

[hopefloats]

With water the mush is not any more fattening than dry blocks.

It is like crack to them... they act like they havent seen a meal... I took a picture to show you LOL

This why i am having a hard time LOL

My girls are food freaks..

This is how they looked every time i feed him. They are like buzzards swarming him LOL I fed him first then I opened the ramp up so they could clean up the mess. While he was up there eating, lucy the pew was trying to chew on the bars to get up to him.... I could hear her little teeth going to town

it is like a huge treat, even with just water

 

[mamarat]

lol My mush never gets a reception like that. The girls are so cute.

 

[hopefloats]

Of course only me LOL

Mally, Isis, Lucy, Eleanor, Pika, Skittles, and Algernon in the back the big boy. The blue girl and the 3 pews could use it, always been thin...but you can tell my others dont need anything extra.