Weight loss

[Kersty143]

So I’ve got a girl she is one of three that I have. I weighed her yesterday and she weighed 275g which I was kinda worried because she was looking thin,which is why I weighed her, I checked again today and she lost 5g over night. One of my other girls is bullying my third rat so due to that I’m rehoming her, could the bullying cause her to lose the weight even if she isnt the one being bullied? She sleeps all day and runs around just fine and seems normal besides the weight issue and the fact she won’t take treats or food from anyone in the house anymore. Should I separate her to keep an eye on if she’s actually eating or not? I’m just so lost and worried about her as she’s the most friendly one of the three.

 

[Dena]

What do you mean by bullying? How old are they? Don't separate unless there's blood. The stress will be worse for her. Have you held her sides to your ears and listened to her breathing? A good way to get nutrition in her and help her put weight back on, is take her out, feed her organic soy infant formula mixed with infant rice cereal. Or soak her lab blocks in the formula and make a mush. Have you checked her teeth?

On a side note, how bad has the bullying got, and what made you decide to rehome one? If they are young, sometimes play (they play rough) can be mistaken for fighting. If need be, separate them at feeding time, give them a bit to eat, and put them back together again. I'd keep checking the weight to make sure she's getting food, and keep an eye out for any signs of sickness. Rats will hide it well until it's almost too late.

 

[Kersty143]

she will chase my PEW around the cage constantly to the point she doesn’t get a break, I noticed the other day my PEW has a small chunk missing from her ear that had dried blood around it and when she went to get water or food the one I’m having problems with would pull her away from it by her ears. I decided then that I wanted to rehome her also because she bit me and drew blood on me as well. The one that’s losing the weight has been breathing a little more heavier lately, I can’t listen to her breathing because I’m hearing impaired. She finally took some food from me when I took problem child out of the equation and ate a couple Cheerios and seeds, I noticed she took a little while to eat it and at first she kinda just kept turning it before biting it but the seeds she had no problems with pulling the shells off to get inside for the actual seed part of it so I’m not really thinking her teeth are the problem