# Underweight Rat Advice!!



## Gemificus (Jan 26, 2007)

OK so in January i got my very first rescue rat, my partners friend was unable to keep him and so he was brought to us, (I've kept rats for about 15 years but never had a rescue only ever shop bought or bread) 

the story behind him as i have been told was she found him in a pet shop curled in the corner of a tank, the shop said he had been returned to them due to illness, she said he was bald and underweight, she was told by the shop they couldn't explain why!

she felt sorry for him and took him home, and after some love and attention his hair started to grow back she took him to the vet who said he was ok just to bulk him up abit, and recommended she use high protein cat biscuits (i'm not 100% sure if it was the vet told her this cos i know she said she had taken him back to the pet shop to show how well he was doing) she kept telling me that he is quite an old rat, but having kept rats for most my life i believe he is only quite young.

the most part of us having him from her is because her two rats would harras him if given the chance and she was basically waiting for him to die (as the pet shop told her he wouldn't live long) and didn't want her little girls to have to see it.
he smelled quite bad when he came to us we gave his cage a clean and disinfectant removed his old chewed and stinky toys gave him a warm bath (which he quite enjoys) and made sure he was wormed and deflead. 

he's a friendly happy little boy who loves to sit with the dog and climb all over her, he likes to sit and cuddle with you on the sofa and he's always chattering away, he's a little shy when it comes to exploring and doesn't go far. 

the problem i'm having is that he doesn't seem to be gaining weight. you can feel his bones when you stroke him, he eats like a little piggy, we have been feeding him the high protein food she brought with him, along with a fruit mix, the occasional dog biscuits, we went and got him lots of yogurt and choc buttons from the pet shop and some banana chips and monkey nuts and sunflower seeds. His name is biscuits cos they are his fave treats so we also give him a little bit of a biscuit from times to time, he enjoys eating crackers with us not a fan of cheese, he enjoys chicken also likes to "share" the kfc when we have it, with him being a lone rat we don't like to leave him in his cage alone so he spends most of his time with us he is not shy about helping himself to food and snacks

any ideas of how we can bulk this little fella up like i said he eats like a pig but doesn't seem to be gaining weight we cant worm him again just yet.

her's a couple pics i got of him last night to use up my camera battery, i will put a few of him if you need to see him properly


----------



## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

It's hard as the pictures make it hard to judge how skinny he is. He looks okay on those weight wise.

We had a rescue rattie called puck who was literally skin and bones. The bottom picture on here is the day we brought her home.









She was literally just skin and bone, and absolutely filthy.

With her I used a lot of high protein foods to bulk her up. I used walnuts, scrambled eggs, even offered lactol,oily fish,avocado, banana etc. All the rats used to get daily spring greens, curly kale, dandelion greens etc in adition to their shunamite type mix. Puck especially got lots of pasta (wholemeal/whole wheat/whole grain..whatever it's officially called :razz dried and cooked to help bulk her up a bit.


----------



## Gemificus (Jan 26, 2007)

it is hard to gage from those pics once my camera is charged ill get some more pics, but i will defiantly try some of the foods you mentioned i didn't think to give him scrambled egg or pasta


----------



## Esarosa (Jul 13, 2007)

Gemificus said:


> it is hard to gage from those pics once my camera is charged ill get some more pics, but i will defiantly try some of the foods you mentioned i didn't think to give him scrambled egg or pasta



They all used to get it as a treat, but puck got it pretty regularly until I was happy that her weight was stable.

They LOVE hard boiled eggs. It's good enrichment for them too as they have to get into the egg i nthe first place.

We gave the usual chicken,tuna etc as well, those I listed were just the foods I fed pretty frequently to bulk her up a bit. The rats used to get leftovers from tea quite often (we didn't add salt). Puck was partial to a bit of steak though she never got it too regularly.


----------



## Gemificus (Jan 26, 2007)

I am just worrying as he does seem very thin compared to all my other rats. i do give him treats and a substantial food, and he has had stake from us once before and we also give him walnuts, he gets his greens as well and usually we only give him bland chicken he very rarely gets to steal KFC,

i stroke him and i can feel his pelvis bones so it concerns me, he is very healthy in all other aspects so it is basically just a case of getting some weigh back onto him, i have only had him about a month or so. 

I just don't want to underfeed him but at the same time i don't want to overfeed him the wrong food and have him become unwell


----------



## Jacs (Jun 7, 2009)

im not sure if it will be any help but when one of my degus got underweight due to illness the vet gave me _Harrisons Recovery Formula _which is a powder that you mix with water, and critical care again a powdery mixture you mix with water... both of these helped bulk my lil man up nice and quickly. i think it was the harrisons that really helped speed up his weight gain, xx


----------



## Marianimal (Sep 30, 2009)

Nutrical is a really good high calorie supplement to use - The Rat Warehouse sell it. Complan is also another good bet - Boots sell that.


----------



## Gemificus (Jan 26, 2007)

I will look into all of these options, I don't think i will have much trouble getting him to bulk up he loves his food to the point he will almost take you finger off if you try to give him anything, 

my partner has been giving him banana as a small treat which he has really enjoyed and i made him 2 boiled eggs and he obliterated both of them in less than a day and my partner almost lost a finger for the whole wheat pasta. 

which him having such a big appetite i can see him bulking up in no time i have only had him a few weeks so i probably am jumping the gun in the worry department, 

my partner bought me a new little boy for valentines day he's a cute little critter, so i'm gonna give him a week or so to settle in properly and then i will start to introduce them so Biscuits not only gets a new loving home a better diet but a new pal this year


----------



## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Careful with the protein if he's fully grown - 2 eggs at one sitting might be a bit more protein than he needs - gotta take care of those kidneys. :2thumb:

Pasta will help him to bulk up without putting a strain on his kidneys.


----------



## Gemificus (Jan 26, 2007)

feorag said:


> Careful with the protein if he's fully grown - 2 eggs at one sitting might be a bit more protein than he needs - gotta take care of those kidneys. :2thumb:
> 
> Pasta will help him to bulk up without putting a strain on his kidneys.


I've just finished cleaning him out n he had two half's of the eggs left so they went in the bin he seems to have finished his banana and walnuts so i'm happy with that,

i will get some more pics of him when i have a lil extra time so u can see him properly i think he's a Siamese


----------

