fat rat

[lindsayfawn]

I couldn't really find anything to help me answer this question. Gloria and Emily seem to be getting on the heavy side for some reason. I'm wondering why and how I can slim them down a little. Gloria is more of my concern because she used to be really nice and fit but now she's looking a bit more round. She's older she's 1 yr and 5 months she's very active and so is Emily so I don't know why they're more plump then the others.
They have the Hamster extruison blocks in their cage all the time and then they'll have their veggies around dinner and supper and I'll give them baby cereal sometimes in the morning for breakfest to give them something different.
Any suggestions on how I can get them to slime down a little? Would be nice if they used the wheel like Alice lol then I wouldn't have to worry.

 

[jorats]

If ratties start to get bigger at 18 months, that's not exactly a bad thing. My vet once told me if we can keep all our rats very slim until they reach middle age, would be a huge benefit to our rats. When they get older, it's best to have them a bit plumper. Usually, rats with age tend to get sick and lose weight, so being a little bigger is better at that age. I don't think I would worry, specially if they are still very active. From what you described you are feeding them all the right things. :nod:

 

[lindsayfawn]

well that's good to know then. I just want to keep them as healthy as possible

 

[starfoot]

I shouldn't worry about fat rats if they are healthy otherwise.. My Jiggy pretty damn tubby but she hardly eats much at all!! She's on dry rat nuggets with daily veg and fruit, and hardly eats any of that.. she's always running around the floor or pottering round the kitchen yet she's still fat... I'm not sure of her age as she was a rescue, only that its at least 22 months but it's within the last 6 months she's put on the weight, she's still very healthy, just a fatty!! hehe... As long as they're happy and healthy there should be no worries, look at is this way.. the fatter the rat, the more there is to hug and squish!!