Two obese rats--need advice!

[Vixie]

I wish I was exaggerating about this, guys. I recently acquired two PEW males, each weighing at least 2 lbs.

I am unbelievably upset with the person(who will remain unnamed) who let them get to this point...their bellies drag the floor, for goodness' sake! 


What I came here for, though, is how to help them lose weight. I'm not sure how to go about that at all. I have a wheel, and the cage requires a lot of maneuvering around toys and such so hopefully that will help. Any other advice?

Here are a few choice pictures of the poor boys...

[rawralphadawg]

In the first pick, your golden rat looks a little intimidated by their size. I know the subject isn't funny, but that picture made me smile.

I'm sure having them on a stable, healthy diet will help. It's probably just going to take time for them to shed the weight, but with a healthy lifestyle of regular exercise and nutritious food, they'll probably return to a more normal size. Now that you have them, their lifestyle is probably going to change so that should help a lot.

[Vixie]

In the first pick, your golden rat looks a little intimidated by their size. I know the subject isn't funny, but that picture made me smile.

Yeah, the PEW facing the camera was screeching at his brother(the other PEW) and Moose(the cinnamon) jumped back like "WhatwhaWHAT?!" 


I feed my rats Nutro Natural Choice Lite and Suebee's...anyone want to suggest a better diet(if there is one)?

[scout]

Just like with humans, exercise and fewer calories are what helps rats lose weight. I'd recommend using the Harlan/Teklad 2014 lab block (available from a couple of online resources), and fresh fruits/veggies for their diet. No sugary treats like yogies! If you have to use treats, use something like rice krispies or fresh fruits and veggies. Most rats love peas and watermelon is a hit with most rats. If just changing their diet doesn't help, try tapering the amount you give them. Don't cut it drastically all at once, but gradually. 3-4 lab blocks per day is a good number to shoot for, and about a tablespoon of fresh fruits & veggies per day.

If your rats hang out at the top of their cage, put their food and water at the bottom of their cage so they have to go ALL the way down there to eat or drink, then ALL the way back up to their hang out place. A wheel will help, but don't expect they'll use it. Most adult rats that never had a wheel as babies never use it. Take them out for walks around your home, or even outside if you have a leash for them. Many rats will follow you around as you walk. A couple of 15 minute sessions a day is a good place to start. You don't want to exhaust them the first day, but rather, gradually build them up to exercising.

It will take time to get them into shape, but with a good diet and exercise, they'll be healthier even if they don't lose a lot of weight.

[Lise]

I would also recommend a lab block diet for these guys.  (+fresh veggies as scout said)

The high carbs in Suebee's diet may very well just add weight onto them...

[whtnyte]

How old are these boys and do you have a scale to get their gram weight with?

[Vixie]

They are about a year I'd say and I could put them both on the human scale and the larger of the two hit the two pound mark.


BUT! Both have drastically lost weight just getting a normal amount of food! Shows how ignorant their previous owners were. 


Not to mention they're getting lots of exercise rolling around with my alpha rat, Ajax(who is, laughably, half their size!).

[pinto bean]

Last time I took my boys to the vet, he said they had to loose some weight (he called them potatoes  ). I forget exactly how many grams they weighed; they weren't obese, just moderatly overweight. Now, 3 months later, they are a nice healthy size. All I did was feed them each less lab blocks (they are on Harlan Tekklad)--giving them each a large size one twice a day--plus unlimited fruits and vegetables. Occasionally I give them some low-fat yogurt, or part of a boiled egg white, or some other healthy treat. I used to fill up their little bowl with lab blocks and dog food, and they probably ate 4-5 a day, but they I looked on the package and it said they only need 2 or 3 a day.

 Now that they have lost some weight they run around and exercise a lot more during free range time; so I am really glad that I did that and didn't give in even when they were begging for food! They definitely seem healthier over all too, though they have had respritory problems their whole lives, it comes up a lot less frequently now.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[hairless_love]

Oh wow...those are very fat rats.  I rescued two boys who were over weight, not quite to that extreme, and like you said, just changing their diet to a proper one and feeding them the right amount helps A LOT. Another trick that I used is before putting the food bowl in the cage at meal times, I would hold out a couple of pieces and make them run out side the cage to come get them, and they'd go back in the cage to eat and/or stash, so it got them a bit of exercise. 

[Mischief Mistress]

Those are not potatoes those ar polar bears! thats what I call my two himi males probably weighing 2 pounds or a little less. They are completely proportional though and most of it is muscle! For the most part of their life they've been on HT. What were they fed previously?

[Vixie]

What were they fed previously?

SueBee's and dog food. WAY too much of it.

I'm feeding them the same thing but a proper amount, and they are both close to normal weight now. I have noticed the 2-pounder is naturally large but he's lost a little over half a pound in the few weeks I've had them. The smaller has also taken to the wheel now that his belly no longer drags the ground! 

I tell you what, this is almost as stressful as trying to tame a half-wild(of course, I didn't know Jake was half-wild at the time, which made it worse)!