Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / February 2005

I think, just like people some animals are naturally fat.
I wouldn't worry about it too much, short of starving her, she's not going
to lose any weight (same as us!)
If she is getting her exercise via her wheel etc then she'll be fine,
there's nothing wrong with a hearty appetite (coupled with regular exercise
of course, which is where most humans go wrong)
I once had the fattest mouse in the world!...she outlived *all* of her
skinnier cagemates (no she didn't eat all their food!)

I have to agree with Phil.  As long as she is healthy then I wouldn't
worry too much about it.  Are you sure she isn;t pinching any food off
the others?  Is she the Alpha of the household?  I know my Alpha Male is
a porker but he is big all over, even his face looks a different shape
to the others...LOL.  I know he makes sure he is first in to get the
best of any/everything that is going..

Regards Kate

I had a real porker of a male a few years ago and the vet warned me that he
had to lose weight otherwise his health would suffer.  Well, that rat just
lived for food so putting him on a diet wasn't easy and I swear he fell out
with me for the first few days!

I've never fed my rats a lot of high fat foods - only occasionally they get
tidbits of things like cheese, crisps or chocolate.  My problem was not
thinking about all the hidden calories in some of the healthier foods.  Some
of the things I thought nothing of feeding my fattie rattie quite regularly
were baked beans in tomato sauce, mashed poatoes, avocado pear and scrambled
eggs - I didn't think about the hidden sugars in baked beans and never gave
it a thought that things like scrambled eggs, potato and avocado pack quite
a punch calorie-wise.  I cut out all the higher calorie foods and switched
his fresh food to low calorie veg only like carrots, swede, broccoli,
cauliflower and cucumber.  I also tried to encourage him to exercise more
(not easy as he was a real laid-back cuddly lap rat!) - I got the clothes
airer out and got him to climb up and down it for extra exercise.  But
changing what fresh foods I fed him was the major reason for his weight
loss.  He was never what you call slender but he lost enough weight for the
vet to be satisfied with.  When he'd lost his weight I started giving him
some of his favourites again, but only a couple of times a week rather than
daily.

Some rats are just more prone to be fatties - like us people, some can nosh
on cream cakes and not put an ounce on whereas others just have to look at
it to feel the flab appearing, lol!

Tracey

A fat rat is definitely not a healthy rat. It can cause all kinds of health
problems from enlarged kidneys to heart problems. Not to mention, it's
harder for them to breathe. I would have your rat on a rat block only, and
offer her fresh veggies daily and fruits. No table food, no human food
either. Most of our foods have much too much fat and protein for our rats.
No pasta, no meat, no nuts, nothing, just a rat pelleted food that is low in
fat and protein and fresh daily veggies and fruits.
Another thing you can do is have her work for her food. Have her climb to
the top of the cage whenever she's hungry. Hide the food in different spots
in the cage so she really has to search for it. During out time, bring her
far from the cage and watch her run back to it, especially if you have a
treat there waiting for her like 1 cheerio.
Good luck!!