What can I do to get my Tyra back in shape?

[Christie]

Well, as most of you know, I have and "older" rat named Tyra. She will be only 2 in August but compared to my other three, shes old lol. So lately (last few months) I have noticed she is a little fat and lazier than I could remember. I think its because not too long ago I fed a staple of dog food that had 14% fat!! I know its bad but I got them off that and now there are on a gran mix with a little bit of Blue Buffalo lite. I want to get the off this to a block (such as hamster extrusion ((WHICH I FOUND )) and MAYBE Kaytee Pro Health which isnt too bad) and a couple other things mixed in for the staple of the diet such as a little dog food, and a few grains and I think I might be able to order a 3lb bag of oxbow every few months but I would be paying a lot for it.

Anyways, I got a little off topic there lol So is there anything I can do other than the diet to get her weight down and get her fur to look better and shiner? She is a lot lazier than I would like her to be so any suggestions? She also lives with 3 babies which are great looking and shiny but I think thats because there babies lol. I didnt know where this was suppose to go so I just put it here because it does have to do with her health.

Thanks for everything guys!!

 

[Godmother]

Once she has been on a good lab block for a while you should notice a big improvement in her coat. As for the exercise, see if you can make her a nice play area with things to climb and scamper on. They love playing with cardboard boxes. She may be too old to figure out how to run on a wheel, but maybe she'd surprise you.

If you are short of space, or if you have no enclosure for a play area, you might want to try a table or couch with things for them to climb on.

 

[Christie]

Ok thank you! And would a diet lower in fat (4-5%) get her to loose weight as well?

 

[Christie]

Bump!

 

[ryelle]

I used to put my old fella on the landing at the top of the stairs (we recently moved to my mums and she would flip if i put him on the floor). id close all the doors so he couldnt disapear and id sit on the top step so he couldnt fall down. Its the ONLY place where he will actually move around. If u put him on a bed or couch he curls up or he hides under something and doesnt budge. Sometimes he may even climb down a step, but he needs a little help. His back legs arent so good anymore so i dont push it. I wish his fur would look nicer, but hes a rex and its all patchy

 

[SQ]

A good quality lab block - the hamster extrusian is fine, oxbow is great.
That is 80% of the diet. The other 20% is daily vegs ... such as broccoli, kale, mixed greens, etc. You might want to limit more fattening vegs, such as peas, for awhile.

Lots of opportunities for exercise. As godmother suggested ... boxes, as well as tubes, places to explore etc.

As he loses weight, I am sure he will start to become a bit more active.

 

[Godmother]

One thing that the most couch-potatoey of rats can't resist is a tube of some sort. I bought a fabulous toy called a ferret tube, that looks like a translucent dryer hose but is much longer (goes from 12' to 20'). If you can't find one of those (www.martinscages.com used to sell them), a dryer hose will do in a pinch. Dryer hoses smell very plastic-y, so you have to air them out for over a week before using them.

Anyway, rats cannot resist going through those tunnels. Even my overweight Rhonda, who had a very bad heart, would saunter through the tunnel every chance she got. The younger rats race through them. Best of all, there is something unbelievably entertaining about watching rats run through a tunnel or tube! I still giggle every time they do it.

Here is a photo of my former play area. I have one of the ferret tunnels and also a set of plastic tunnels (you can buy them on www.ferret.com).

 

[Christie]

Thanks guys!!

 

[jorats]

Exercise will really help. When I did the big switch from dog food and suebees mix to just blocks and veggies, wow, the difference was unbelievable.

 

[Christie]

Thanks Jo!!

 

[Christie]

So tomorrow I'm picking up a 3lb bag of oxbow. I already have extrusion and a little bit of dog food and some grains and stuff which are:

Barley
Oatmeal
Puffed Stuff (cant remember what its called)
Rice
etc...

I think that sounds like a pretty good, varied diet.

Shes also getting more excersize and stuff like that so hopefuly in a while i'll see some improvement. I'll keep you guys posted.