Baby Weight Gain

[Cait]

Hey all! Not sure if this is general health or diet, feel free to move it though!

The new bubs seem a little on the thin side to me. I'm not sure how much they weigh as I don't have a digital scale, or even their actual age, although a safe bet would be 4 weeks. Should they be pudgy-ish? What can I give them to fatten them up a bit? Right now they get lab blocks (Mazuri... I know, I know...) baby cereal and soy milk, bits of whatever I eat (chicken, rice, pasta), banana, yesterday we tried green beans for the first time... When we get to my grandmother's for the week they'll have a lot more variety, that's for sure, since she cooks all of the time. I want them to be healthy, and in my opinion they are too thin. They act fine and in fact are very cheeky little monkeys, and they sound fine (so no URI's to supress their appetites). I don't get it. They should be gaining weight, but they aren't. I feel like a bad rat mom. It's more Andi I am worried about than Tip, although I think Tip could stand to gain a bit, too.

 

[jorats]

To be honest, the should be slim and sleek, no pudginess allowed. :wink2:
You are already feeding them lots so I wouldn't be worried. :thumbup:

 

[Cait]

No pudgy? Pwah... So used to fat rats. LOL. I can sort of feel their ribs when I pick them up, and they have loose skin. Is that normal? I feel like such an idiot asking such basic questions. *sigh* You've seen pics of them, do they seem too thin?

 

[jorats]

They look perfect!!! :thumbup:

 

[Cait]

*whew* Thanks, Jo! I just worry so much sometimes. Mostly for no reason!

 

[jorats]

I sure do know what you mean... and it seems to get worse and worse when your colony grows and grows because now, you've got all these different rats and you wonder why one is fatter than the other or if one has the same curve as the other and if not, why not, is that a bad thing? :wallbang: it's never ending.

 

[Cait]

Exactly right!!! I think that's what happened. I never worried about Denny when he was little or even Izzie and Preston... Now these two are smaller than them and I can't clearly remember how they felt/looked when they were that little so it makes me wonder if they are on track or not. So glad the rest of the ratties will be past this stage when I get them, LOL!

 

[Cityratt]

I know you guys have already mentioned that every rat is different....
But i was thinking (in light of Daisy's new litter) maybe Tip and Andi's (LOVE those names btw) mommy wasnt as well nourished as she could have been....also if these guys were taken from mom a little bit sooner than your other boys....
They both look good to me - but its always hard to tell in pictures, and i've only had a handful of furbabies.

 

[Cait]

Oh! I didn't even THINK of that! Of course they will be a little smaller, they have NOT had the proper nutrition at ALL before they came here. I just expected them to get chubbier/put on weight a bit faster than they have been. But that makes a lot of sense. Wow logic escapes me whenever I need it most!

And thanks about their names! I like them, too. My sister named them. She did a pretty good job of it.