Overweight Ratties? Edit: Pic's Pg 1

I read somewhere that the proper weight for female rats is 250 - 350 grams and males rats 400 - 600 grams.

Currently my rat's weigh:

Females

Momma - 262
Bella - 317
Sophie - 340
Hannah - 423

Males

Oscar - 700
Teddy - 648
Bruno - 580
Toby - 582
Hunter - 539


I have had everyone except Bella & Hannah since birth. Hannah was a big girl when she came to me.
They eat Extrusion as their main staple diet + 1 to 2 cups of veggies a day (baby greens, Kale, Peas, Corn, Cucumber, Carrots (maybe once a week).
They usually get a handful of dry no sugar oatmeal supper time.
& they only get one treat a day which is 1 piece of puffed rice, or a multi grain cheerio, and thats in the morining before work.
They had atleast 5 + hours of out time a day, where they are running around, chasing cats toys, etc.
The boys (Oscar, Teddy & Bruno) have a superpet cages (XL) and have no ladders, so they have to climb or jump & their food is on the top level.
Thegirl have a Martins and their food is on the bottom, which they carry right to the top & they also get paper towles daily that they scater everywhere in their cage.

So why do I have overweight ratties? they don't eat fat or sugary food & they get lot's of exercise.

Pictures of them can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=51&t=19435

 

[jorats]

I had two chubby boys and lord knows I don't give any bad treats to my gang but the guys were born chubby and just stayed that way. I wish I could say they were big boned and big rats but nope, they were obese. The only thing I could do was to limit their blocks and that's something I really couldn't do since there were a lot of other cage buddies living with them who were the perfect size. So some of them you just got to grin and bear it and hope for the best.
In your crew, I would only be worried about Oscar. Just make sure to keep a closer eye on him.

 

Actually, the 3 overweight boys (Oscar, Teddy & Bruno) live in a cage together & my two normal weight boys (Toby & Hunter) live together.
So I could limit the blocks for the overweight boys. How many should I give them per day?
Also should I be worried about Hannah (415 grams?)

Also Oscar was always on momma the longest when nursing haha

 

[jorats]

How old are the boys and Hannah? There comes a time when making them lose weight is not a healthy and best to help them maintain instead.

The boys could get 3 blocks each a day along with their veggies. No limit on veggies. You can give a block in the morning, one in the afternoon and one at dinner time. 3 blocks is plenty but they will make sure you feel like a total meanie by doing this. lol
You could start small like don't limit the blocks instead give more treats like watermelon. If they load up on lettuces and watermelon, they will eat less blocks.

 

All the boys are 12.5 months, and I don't know Hannah's exact age as she came from a pet store, but I am guessing her age is around 14 months.

Oh god, 3 blocks, I think I'll feed them more veggies and fill them up that way, haha ..they prob eat 10 plus blocks each on a daily basis.

I know they can eat romaine, but can they eat iceberg? I'm thinking not but then again I dunno.

 

[jorats]

Iceburg would be a good thing to add to the diet, it's mainly all water, a good filler minus calories. But for your rats with a good weight, don't give the iceburg.

 

[Rachael]

I don't think you should worry, from pictures, you can tell they are not fat. Oscar is quite big but as for Hannah and the other boys I don't think they're massive.

 

Iceburg would be a good thing to add to the diet, it's mainly all water, a good filler minus calories. But for your rats with a good weight, don't give the iceburg.

Okay thanks!
Looks like the menu tonight will be iceberg lettus, peas & corn for the fatties & just peas & corn for the non fatties haha.

 

I don't think you should worry, from pictures, you can tell they are not fat. Oscar is quite big but as for Hannah and the other boys I don't think they're massive.

I'll take belly pics and overhead pics tonight so you can actually see thier size.

 

[Rachael]

Earlier on you said he was not fat, he was just a big build.

 

Oscar is big build, but he is still still on the chubby side.
I want them to live as long as possible and where they are starting to get older I really want to the the best I can for them.
& just adding iceberg lettus and watermelon to their diet is not harming them at all.

 

So I just weighed everyone & took belly pics, some of the weights were way off, I was doing it from memory, lol

Females

Momma - 262 grams

Bella - 317 grams

Sophie - 340 grams

Hannah - 423 grams

Males

Hunter (neutered) - 539 grams

Bruno - 580 grams

Toby (neutered) - 582 grams

Teddy - 648 grams

Oscar - 700 grams

So Only Teddy, Oscar & Hannah are overweight

 

[Rachael]

I think if anything Sophie is quite slim. That's about all I noticed. Oscar is a chunky man, but I don't think he looks obese, overweight, or at a dangerous weight.

 

Sophie is the seconed biggest rat out of the females

 

[Godmother]

I once had a group of sisters who all weighed 400-ish grams, and they were not fat. They had been well-fed as babies, and they were big. One of the girls did get overweight, and she turned out to have a heart problem.

So I tend to look at the rat's overall shape, especially around the abdomen.

 

[Rachael]

And the weights you called "proper", is just the average. They don't have to fit into that exact weight group.

 

And the weights you called "proper", is just the average. They don't have to fit into that exact weight group.

No one said they had too, I'm not concerned by Teddy, as he is only 46 grams over the average. Oscar is 100 grams over & this concerns me & Hannah is 73 grams over which also concerns me.
I'm asking for people opinons, not an argument.
So thank you for your opinion.

 

[jorats]

Hanging pics won't show if they are fat. Gravity pulls it all down. It's when they sit to eat. Do you see well defined hips and arms? Or do you see just one big blob of rat? If you see a blob, then your rat is fat.

 

In Hannah & Oscar, yes they are blobs of rat when they sit to eat.

 

[Dahlas]

I think from the pictures they look great. I love all the tummy shots. So very cute!