fenshae
Well-Known Member
I've been watching a rat for a friend for quite awhile now. His name is Token, and he's a big, squishy black-hooded who I fondly refer to as "the foreign exchange student", and I've been taking care of him as his owner has been unable to keep him due to a messy domestic situation.
Anyway, Token is a friendly, kissy, lovable squish around 1.5 years, who has lived alone his entire life because, according to his owner, he's very animal aggressive. I've never seen this, personally, and I really would like to intro him in with my boys so he could have some company, but have been told repeatedly not to by his owner so I've been respecting her wishes. When I brought him in, it was supposed to be a short visit so she could straighten out some housing issues; that was a few months ago and he's still with me, so I'm not sure what's going on now.
Anyway! All that background, onto the question.
Token is *fat*. I've had big boys before, but Token is literally squishy -- I've never had a rat who actually had a layer of fat over his ribs before. I haven't weighed him but he looks almost twice as big as Sweeney and Sweeney is around 600g. Also, he smells, very distinctly. Not like a sick or infected smell, and not a marinating-in-urine smell, but...a little more like mouse smell? You know that mousey musk? It's like that. He smells VERY ratty. Until he came to live with me he's been on a diet of Mazuri pellets and Reggie Rat, so I guess that explains the fat; I've cut down to just the pellets (i'll explain momentarily) and have been feeding him a lot of fresh veggies but he's still a chubster.
I'm not sure if I should be concerned about his fat or if I should do anything. How do you put a rat on a diet? Lower protein pellets, more vegetables? Reduce the quantity? If I can convince Courtney to let me intro him to my boys he'll get more exercise because he'll have a much larger cage to climb around in, but for now he has to be content with scuttling around the couch or the bed (and he spends most of his out time burrowing into the cushions and snoozing).
Any guesses why he's so smelly? I'm considering giving him a bath to see if it helps. I also notice that he's been shedding; not sure if this could be related to the diet? he's otherwise very sleek and shiny and no respiratory problems or anything so he seems quite healthy.
The other thing is he seems to be losing hair around one eye. Obviously, I don't think it's barbering since he lives alone, but he definitely has a raccoon-ring of skin/thinned fur around one eye, and his skin is looking reddish around there. I'll try to get pictures tonight. Any ideas?
On a semi-related note, I'm currently finding myself unable to mail-order my rat food and will have to buy locally for awhile. What's the best pet store brand to buy until I can get back on my feet and mail-order some more? My store doesn't carry Oxbow as near as I can tell. Any and all help would be awesome
*will post pictures of Token's weird eye later*
Anyway, Token is a friendly, kissy, lovable squish around 1.5 years, who has lived alone his entire life because, according to his owner, he's very animal aggressive. I've never seen this, personally, and I really would like to intro him in with my boys so he could have some company, but have been told repeatedly not to by his owner so I've been respecting her wishes. When I brought him in, it was supposed to be a short visit so she could straighten out some housing issues; that was a few months ago and he's still with me, so I'm not sure what's going on now.
Anyway! All that background, onto the question.
Token is *fat*. I've had big boys before, but Token is literally squishy -- I've never had a rat who actually had a layer of fat over his ribs before. I haven't weighed him but he looks almost twice as big as Sweeney and Sweeney is around 600g. Also, he smells, very distinctly. Not like a sick or infected smell, and not a marinating-in-urine smell, but...a little more like mouse smell? You know that mousey musk? It's like that. He smells VERY ratty. Until he came to live with me he's been on a diet of Mazuri pellets and Reggie Rat, so I guess that explains the fat; I've cut down to just the pellets (i'll explain momentarily) and have been feeding him a lot of fresh veggies but he's still a chubster.
I'm not sure if I should be concerned about his fat or if I should do anything. How do you put a rat on a diet? Lower protein pellets, more vegetables? Reduce the quantity? If I can convince Courtney to let me intro him to my boys he'll get more exercise because he'll have a much larger cage to climb around in, but for now he has to be content with scuttling around the couch or the bed (and he spends most of his out time burrowing into the cushions and snoozing).
Any guesses why he's so smelly? I'm considering giving him a bath to see if it helps. I also notice that he's been shedding; not sure if this could be related to the diet? he's otherwise very sleek and shiny and no respiratory problems or anything so he seems quite healthy.
The other thing is he seems to be losing hair around one eye. Obviously, I don't think it's barbering since he lives alone, but he definitely has a raccoon-ring of skin/thinned fur around one eye, and his skin is looking reddish around there. I'll try to get pictures tonight. Any ideas?
On a semi-related note, I'm currently finding myself unable to mail-order my rat food and will have to buy locally for awhile. What's the best pet store brand to buy until I can get back on my feet and mail-order some more? My store doesn't carry Oxbow as near as I can tell. Any and all help would be awesome
*will post pictures of Token's weird eye later*
