Fat rat

Question
QUESTION: Hello.  We have 2 female rats who we got from the same litter and are 1 year old.  About 6 months ago, we noticed one of them growing fatter.  She is pretty big no with a round belly and feels heavier than her sister who is slim.  The fat one does seem to eat a lot more and more often.  We have lab blocks and a healthy rat mix in their bowl at all times, but daily we give them fresh fruit, veggies, pasta, eggs and other foods from our dinners (only the healthy parts, without added salt or butter).  We rarely feed them meat and only sometimes cheese.  I'm sure there is no way to stop her from eating more, but I am concerned about her health from being overweight...should I be?  Thank you!


fatty boy Pepsi   ANSWER: Hmmm.....you and I both have fattie ratties.  As cute as they are and some people even love having their rat getting all fat and chunky, it really is not good for them, just as it isnt good for humans.  Rats have a short life span as it is and having extra weight on them isnt helping anything. However, its hard to get them to lose weight. You can cut back on treats if you give them. How much time out of the cage does she get daily?  Has she has a vet palpate her abdomen for any masses?  Scary, I know...but sometimes they have a huge mass inside that is causing them to be fat, esp if the weight is more in the belly than anywhere else. I dont want to scare you, and 9 times out of 10 its nothing more than being extra chubby but I would have a vet check to be certain since the other rat isnt fat like she is. Two out of three of my intact males are porkers. Pepsi is my two hand man I call him because he needs two hands to hold him safely.  He will be 2 in May. I found a small cyst on his leg and fear for his safety so I wont have it removed. I dont think he will fare well under anesthesia due to his weight, which is over 900 grams.  Ben is pretty chubby too, but Jackson is just a big boy, not chubby.  My boys have fat all over, even hanging from their legs making it look as if they have bloomers on!  I feed them healthy diets as you can imagine (being I do what I do, of course) and let them run out of the cage as long as they want...usually an hour once or twice a day, but the go back in the cage on their own and go to sleep. I know that means they have had their fill of running the room (a spare bedroom, the smallest of the three, is dedicated to the rats only but they all live in cages, apart from each other despite the fact they were cage mates.  Their cages are very big, too, so they have plenty of room in their cage, too.  I have had many fatties and many average and even petite rats, losing only one to a heart attack at a young age, and I blame weight as the culprit. He was just 14 months when he died from a heart attack.

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Zoey the fattie   QUESTION: Thank you Sandra for your detailed response.  Your Pepsi is adorable!  Zoey is a little less fat I think.  I have attached a photo of Zoey so you can be the judge.  To answer your questions, not sure what you consider "treats"...we don't give them cake or other sweets, except maybe a small bite every once in a while.  Sometimes they get yogurt treat, like Yogies.  They do have plain sunflower seeds and almonds in their dry mix, but there is not very many of them.  They DO love them tho and always eat those first, and then they are left with just lab blocks, unsweetened Cheerios, oats, wheat bread, and freeze-dried fruit.  I refill this food bowl once a week only, so when they finish all their favorites, they are left with just lab blocks and pasta.  Although we don't have a spare room for them to roam in, and their cage is not super large (24 x 12 x 30 inches with 3 levels), but their cage does stand on 2 adjoining tables which are about each about 5 feet long by 2 feet wide and we leave their cage door open all day (closed at night), so they have free roam all day on the tables.  We have various boxes and tunnels and a digging box on the tables for them to go in and out of.  Once a day, my daughter takes them for at least 30 minutes to run up and down the stairs or climb all over her...they love that!  Is that enough excercise?  We have not thought of taking her to a vet for a check.  She always acts healthy and active so we didn't think about it.  It is expensive for a visit so I will consider it.  But please do look at the photo I attached and tell me in your experience if this is considered too fat?  Maybe it is average and other other rat, Ziggy, is just too skinny.  These are our first rats so I don't have much to compare to.  I will look forward to your response.  Thank you!

Answer
They are getting fat from probably the seeds, which are also pretty high in protein.  Pepsi is fat, but I know he gets low protein in his diet so his organs are healthy. High protein damages kidneys. What brand of lab blocks do you buy?  I love your rat too...SOOOOOO cute. What a face!