Bulk up an older rattie

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra,  My male rat Barney is about 1 year 6 months and has been losing weight.  My vet checked him out and found nothing out of the ordinary that might cause him to not feel well.  Actually he is acting fine.  Is there anything that I could add to his diet to help him maintain his weight?  He lives with 5 other lady ratties who adore him.  (the girls are all spayed when they were young - hoping for no tumors with them).  What a life!
Thanks for your help.

Heidi

ANSWER: If he is eating ok, he needs to have blood work done.  I wasnt sure if he had it done or not when the vet checked him.

He isnt very old, at just a year and a half, so he should not be slowing  down yet.

What diet is he on now and does he eat free or do you have him on scheduled feedings?



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The blood work is a good idea. The doc did an X-ray thinking that he may have an enlarged heart and a urine test - all fine.  He said that it's not easy getting blood from these little guys and I didn't want to put Barney through anymore than necessary. The doc also said he was over weight, and I did try to limit food for a little while, but the weight loss is too much and his other pals didn't lose any weight at all.  I just have the feeling that something is not right.  I am going to take your advice about the blood work.  I already spent $350 on the little cutie pie - what's a bit more.  I believe that if you can't properly care for the animal then don't have it.

Answer
Hi again

Is your vet a board certified exotic vet or just a general DVM that sees exotics?  Reason I ask is because its not hard to get blood from them.  There are several ways, the best way is to sedate the rat and get blood from the Ventral tail artery.  This is pretty standard in an exotic clinic.   Also how much does your rat weigh?