Purina Rat Chow....

[Ratskateer]

Hey.... I haven't posted on here in a looong time, but I have 2 pet rats named Rolo and Peppermint.  I recently took them into the vet (they were sneezing a lot..... I've been giving them medicine for that, though...) The vet checked them out, and said that Rolo has something wrong with his bottom teeth... I forget what she said exactly, but she did say that he can't eat hard food.  She suggested feeding him Purina Rat Chow as an alternative, and mixing it with water.  The problem is, there seems to be a few different kinds of Purina rat chow, and I don't know what kind to get him.  Anyone used the stuff before? Any ideas?
Also, what would be a good way to help Rolo gain some weight? Since I didn't know that his teeth were weird before I went to the vet, I thought he was just losing weight because he was sick.  Now he's really skinny, and I want to get his weight back up. Any ideas? Can I feed him really rich, fatty soft food like butter or peanut butter, or should I try something else? I've never really had to give them soft food before, so I'm kinda lost...

[eagle41]

I wouldn't try Peanut butter as rats can choke on it.  I don't know anything about the Purina rat chow, but you can get human baby ceral and mix it with ensure (stawberry and vanilla).  Throw in some mashed up banana.  You could also use cooked oatmeal.
Others on the forum will have other ideals but this is a start.

[TnM]

Like with people it's possible to gain weight rapidly but that doesn't mean it's HEALTHY weight... lean muscle mass with a small padding of fat is good, lots of fat and no muscle mass is bad and feeding basically straight, protein based fatty stuff isn't the way to go. You've just gotta do the same as with other rats - give as much variety as possible, but give as much as he wants and frequently(3-5 times a day + treats).

Creame cheese in small amounts is ok
fish/chicken seared in olive oil, think tilapia or tuna in water or salmon in water mush after cooking
brown rice with tomatoe/lentils/lima beans/avacado/red beans/squash/zuchinni/green, red, yellow peppers/cabbage/collard greens/spinach, olive oil or real cream- you can over cook all this, cut it into small bits to begin with and mush before serving, basically toss in anything you want, make a big batch and freeze as you unthaw it it'll get even mushier
soy milk, ensure on it's own
Scrambled eggs
oatmeal & untoasted wheat germ cooked with milk or ensure or soy milk is usually pretty popular, + fruit like bannana watermelon mango or apple well mushed,
veggies like peas corn carrot pumpkin you name it just toss in a bowl with a little water cover lightly cook in microwave till everything gets soft mush with fork and serve
some cottage cheese or full fat live culture yogurt
flax seeds or flax seed oil/sunflower oil - you can make your own "peanut butter" using various nuts and seeds bought in bulk at basically any grocery store add a little olive oil in a food processor pulse until it's smooth and it'll be healthier than store bought
Honey is great way better than adding sugar if you ever want to sweeten anything
You can add lab blocks to anything and everything just pound a bunch up into powder and keep them in a baggie so they're handy to add to food

I'm assuming the vet meant "soft" and not a "liquid" diet - anything that can be sort of broken off and swallowed without any real chewing or pressure on the teeth needed so there's a whole world of things that fit that catagory! There are many things available canned...
 
the only thing is too much protein is bad and can cause all sorts of issues. A great way to get a handle on how much protein is in his diet and still fatten him up is to go for the baby foods... Just be careful about giving straight out of the can people food because there's a suprising amount of hidden sugar and salt in a lot of things, read lables at the store ideally(this is my own preferance) go for stuff that doesn't have added salt or sugar it's just the food, packaged.

[bug.dragon]

a little bit of guacamole was a favorite among my girls if they had gotten a cold and lost interest in food for a few days, and during the last days, one of my girls got to eat it a lot - it helps put on some weight, but don't give them too much

[lilspaz68]

What do you feed now?  If its lab blocks, you can crush them up and add water or Ensure so he can eat them.

Did your vet say his teeth were maloccluded? Meaning growing in crooked?  If so the teeth won't align up and won't grind down properly.  His teeth will continue to grow and he will need to have them trimmed once they are too long.  Did your vet mention that?

[Ratskateer]

I've been feeding them harlan teklad blocks.... and i think the vet said his teeth were.... occluded? yeah, occluded lower incisors.  is this different from malocluded?

[chiropteragirl]

What about the Debbie Ducommun diet?

http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html

Its is a very soft food that my rats ADORE. What I do is I make enough of the molasses mix to last two months, then add the beans, liver, and some of the required vegetables. Then I just divide it into the amount needed per day, and freeze it. After you make a big batch, it is very simple to just grab one of the ziplock bags out the the freezer, defrost in the microwave, and serve!

I would be very surprised if your rats wouldn't eat it, and it is the most nutritious diet out there for rats.

Baby food is also a good soft food for rats. Or you can make your own by cooking vegetables/grains/meat and sticking it in the blender.

Another great thing rats love; wheat germ. Sprinkle it on anything (even meds!) and your rats will likely lap it right up.

[Claymore]

With the baby food, you will probably want to mix it with the multi-grain baby cereal, or you kiddo may end up with diahrrea.  You can make it into little balls for him to eat, and it won't hurt his teeth.