Size comparisons for judging healthiness

[blytherue]

My bf thinks I'm being paranoid and I hope I am being paranoid, but I figured I would post to get your opinions. I feel like Grady is underweight. He doesn't feel bony or anything. I know he eats. They are free fed blocks, but I see him eating blocks so I know he gets his share of them. And I make sure everyone gets their share when I feed them veggies and other treats. Maybe my other guys are just chubbos? Well I feel like ili is a good weight and pan and ben are my chubbos, but maybe Grady is a good weight too and I'm just paranoid. Maybe it's because when I got Grady he was bigger than ili & pan and they got bigger and he kinda stayed the same. I guess I should add that none of them have had any health problems so far besides being a little porphy when they first wake up. Hrm. Well I should probably get a food/rat scale, but since I don't have one yet, here are some belly pics for comparison.

Here's Grady first

and here's Iliaster

And here's Panache

and finally Benny

lol I guess I'm covering him a little much, but he was really nervous about the belly pic

 

[Joanne]

You can get a scale at Staples/Business Depot. It's hard to tell from pics - hard numbers would be better. Also, how old is he? My two boys are the same age, from the same litter, and have been as much as 62g difference in size. Today they are just over a year, and there is 54g difference. Both are healthy, and have been treated the same. Genetic potential I guess. The big thing is if he seems healthy and is acting normally. SOMEBODY's got to be the little one!

 

[lilratsy43]

Grady looks really good to me! If you can't feel bones he is probably fine, all rats are different some grown at different rates, some are just bigger then others...I have a good pic for you to see:

The white one is Teddy, the black one is Gunther...Teddy was older than Gunther and they were both full grown in the picture. Teddy was just a small boy. If you see Grady loosing weight, thats when you may want to take him to the vet.

 

[blytherue]

I think I am just paranoid...but I will probably pick up a scale as that would be useful. And I will check their teeth once they've forgiven me for the belly pics. It's been a couple weeks since I last checked. I guess I worry about Grady the most cause I don't really know his age. I was guessing that he was only a few months older than ili & pan based on the size difference when I got him and the info I had, which puts him at about 9 months old. But don't really know for sure since the girl that was giving him up on craigslist got him from petsmart. She got him in sept when she came up for school and they said he was 3-4 months and I got him in nov cause she had to get rid of him before thanksgiving break. And based on his cage size and the wheel she had in there he must have gotten bigger since she got him.

 

[Ewa]

I would definitely get a scale. Then you can put your mind at ease! All my rats are different sizes. Even the girls. I have one at 380g and one at 300g but they are both healthy , one is just a tiny girl. Also , Brian and Bron are brothers (bennys brothers) and Bron is much bigger than Brian.

 

[Moon]

I think a scale is something any rat owner should have... it's one definitive way of tracking our rat's health... not comparing rats to eachother, so much, but comparing them to themselves on a monthly (or so) basis.

Grady looks okay to me!

 

[sausage4ever]

Grady looks fine to me, and if he's being free fed than I wouldn't worry.
I wouldn't use size comparisons as a sigh of health, case in point
Alvin (who's going to be one next month) is 614g while Davey (who's going to be 2 next month) is only 540g, is Alvin fat?? Nope, he's just a big boy and he looks fine propotionally.

 

[blytherue]

Thanks guys, sorry for being a pest. I have paranoid rat mom syndrome lol. But I will pick up a scale tommorrow after work. Today was grocery day and I thought they might have one there but they did not.

 

[blytherue]

So I got a scale, but it measures in ounces so I used a converter.
Grady: 18 oz, 512g
Benny: also 18 oz, 512g even though he's still the baby of the group, the little porker!
Iliaster & Panache are both 22 oz, 626g (I thought pan looked chubbier tho!)
So I guess those are good weights? I've read other people's weight posts and I know I've seen both high and lower numbers. I do think it's odd that Grady and Benny weigh the same amount, but I guess I can attribute that to benny's rolipoliness and not Grady being underweight. I guess he's just the fittest of the bunch, he does use the wheel the most. I think I just worry about him slightly more since he's my craigslist rat who originally came from petsmart...

 

[Joanne]

That sounds good to me! My biggest boy is 460g!

 

[Lina]

Like the others have said, its best to compare him to himself with a set of scales. I weigh my lot every month to check they are not losing wieight. My smallest boy is Socks who is only 380gm. My biggest would have been Strauss who was over 640gms, he was not fat, just a big rat all over.

 

[Maple]

Wow, people like me don't realize how big boyzees really are when you don't have any. All those weights seem soooooo high.

 

All rats are different.
I have 5 males, all the same age. The smallest weighs 495 grams and the largest is 650 grams and they are all brothers.

 

[blytherue]

I just noticed, I don't know how I didn't see it before, but Benny was standing next to pan and benny's head is way bigger than pan's! And then I was looking at everyone else's heads and they're all the sameish, except benny's. I get the feeling he is going to be a BIG boy when he grows up.

 

My boy Oscar weighing in at 650 grams - 9 months of age, has a REALLY big head as well haha

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Geeze you people have tiny rats lol my men range from 640-736g although the guy that weighs 736g is fat and needs to loose weight but this 2 brothers who arent overweight weigh 670g and 692g. It all depends on genetics.

 

[Ewa]

I just noticed, I don't know how I didn't see it before, but Benny was standing next to pan and benny's head is way bigger than pan's! And then I was looking at everyone else's heads and they're all the sameish, except benny's. I get the feeling he is going to be a BIG boy when he grows up.

:nod: his brothers too! I just weighed Bron and he is already 425grams and only 13 weeks :shock: