how can i help my lone fat rat lose weight with new babies?

[sofapillows]

TL;DR: how can i help my lone fat rat (1.5yr) keep losing weight when new babies (7wk) are introduced to the cage

so unfortunately my rat Remi is fat. he is a fat, obese, ~780 gram rat. this is completely my fault. due to negligence and worry that my other (tiny, skinny, old) rat would lose too much weight if food wasn't constantly available

a few weeks ago my older rat died due to old age. since Remi has been alone, I've been able to regulate his food intake (oxbow essentials and vegetables) and he's been losing some weight but he is still obese at this time

2 weeks ago i got him three new baby brothers. i have been letting the babies get used to their new home and Remi get used to their smell.
today was introduction day and it went absolutely perfect! so i want to integrate their cages together over the next week so Remi is no longer alone

the problem is that Remi is still obese who needs to lose weight. i have no idea how to go about that if babies in the same cage since the babies need high calorie food to gain weight and grow.

• is it possible to separate them for a certain meal time? is that healthy for the babies to not have food available all the time?
• should i just separate Remi for a meal time and let him load up on oxbow and veggies so he doesn't eat as much of what's in the cage?
• should i just keep them separated for now until their dietary needs are similar and easier to regulate?

any advice and insight someone can give me would be invaluable for the health of my rat. thank you!

 

[lilspaz68]

Unfortunately this can be a conundrum but i would just give as healthy a diet as possible to everyone, avoid sugars, excessive starches and fats. Hopefullly the youngsters will encourage your older boy to exercise more and lose weight gradually.

 

[sofapillows]

that's what i was thinking but im just worried about the lil boys getting their proper nutrients.

i have also made adjustments to the cage that will encourage him to be more active and will continue to do so!
luckily he is enamoured with the youngsters! hopefully they will motivate him to be more active to keep up with their antics
thank you!