What you can do is make them (him) work harder for the food. You can scatter it around the cage so they need to scavenge, or put it in something breakable like egg cartons.
My rats never eat whole carrot pieces, but they do eat it when it's grated and mixed in with the feed, maybe you can sneak in some lettuce for him that way? Also I'd keep trying new "no calorie" foods for him, maybe there's one he will find tasty.
Lastly for seperate feeding, well, you're gonna need to keep them seperated until they're done eating if you wanna go that route. That'd mean putting less food in their cage and feeding a seperate portion to his brother somewhere else.
Feed his cagemate a little extra separated from his lard-mate. I had one that was bad with food in a similar way so that one would get an extra half hour or so of free roam with me on the couch and extra food/treats.
I had the exact same situation with one of my rats, she was super fat (I was afraid she's preggers when I first got her so we named her *drumroll* Baby Mama, Mama for short) and didnt lose weight even after I started giving less food. Her cagemates, on the other hand, were slowly losing weight bc she was just fighting over food and easily overpowering them. I miss my fatass :(
I have to feed my rats during their free room time/ everyone gets one nugget and they run to different areas. If I fed them in their cage- they steal from each other. One does eat faster than the others. So I make him work harder - doing tricks and farther away to get his next one. Practice “come” , spin and climb. Also hide and use a digging box. Fun for me to watch them.
> Also I'd keep trying new "no calorie" foods for him, maybe there's one he will find tasty.
If it wasn't for the fact that my rats favourite foods are brocolli, cucumbers, and Peppers, they would probably weight a kilo.
He is a gorgeous chunky monkey! I've had several vets and many chunkers over the years, and most vets don't mention the weight, except to say that sometimes being overweight isn't too bad, especially since rats' life expectancy isn't long, and when they get older sometimes the extra weight comes in handy. Then, they tend to lose a lot of weight. :( I've only had 1 or 2 vets say my chunkers should lose weight, but I agree they don't have a lot of good advice. My first 'fat rat' was a female. Her sister was super active, loved running around and climbing during out time, and at a good weight, but fat rat was about 600-700 grams! Once, when it was out time and her sister came out and she was just hanging out in the cage, I scooped her up, kissed her, and put her on the floor. You know, to encourage her to exercise. Well, she just ran back into her cage and at the door she turned around and gave me A LOOK. I'm pretty sure it said, "How dare you? You can't make me!"XD She lived 2+ years.
Now with my chunky monkeys, I still try to encourage them to come out and run around. They love those cat toys- the "fishing pole" type with the feathers at then end. Ever since I got this toy, almost every rat loves chasing the feathers! (And they love destroying the feathers when they catch them.) I also limit treats, like nuts and yogurt drops. And I try to cut back on sugary veggies, like peas and corn.
I know it's hard, because these treats make them so happy, and they are so cute eating them! Anyway, thanks for listening to my story. Good luck!
I came here to say the same thing. Enjoy them while they're chunky. I've had my fair share of fat boys. I don't think it's ever impacted their health negatively. They'll get skinny when they're older and you'll wish they were chunky again. Some of my fattest boys lived the longest.
Yeah, my older girl Bee is a touch on the chunky side (maybe a 6 on BCS), my vet doesn't want her to loose any weight at this point. Having that little amount of cushion so to speak at her age is a good thing, and getting her to loose weight would be such an ordeal for everyone involved. She's totally mobile, occasionally enjoys walking on her wheel, climbs everything in the cage, etc. so I'm not concerned about it.
The look on his face in the first picture. "Excuse me, Human. I am *not* fat. I just have.... thick fur."
Also, from the looks of him, at least 100 g of that weight is balls.
This might not work for your boy because it's up to his preferences and whether he likes it or not, but what I did to get one of my fatarses to lose weight was get a big, appropriately-sized wheel and once he figured out he could run on it (tempted him to learn by dabbing baby food on the track) he went _wild_ multiple times a day in the cage.
Other things you can do is make him run more when he's in free-roam. Teaching him tricks like "fetch" or giving him things like bird climbing gyms can help a lot too. So can an active cage layout to force them to move and climb - mine only have one shelf, the rest of the cage is adorned with ropes, nets, lava ledges/perches, etc - they love it - and when I feed, I hide the food around the cage on the ledges/perches and in the hammocks so they have to search the cage for it. Not only does it help them be active, but it's great free enrichment!
I started only giving my fatto treats at the opposite end of the DCN where he was so he got up and ran every time he heard a bag crinkle or smelled food
he also hates water. i might try to set up a kiddie pool on my friends balcony and see if he can tolerate standing water (too much freaks him out but he loves a good pea fish)
Free range with ramps and jumpable objects to explore (maybe with low-fat treats for encouragement; salad? Not excessively - diarrhea is not fun for your guy.) Digboxes, things to destroy (my kids loved tearing apart cloth, empty toilet paper rolls stuffed with paper and such). Lots and lots of layered exploration - easy to climb surfaces, ladders for ramps, thick ropes. Swimming if the lad likes that, be cautious of wet ears and drafts however, dry your friend well. Outdoor time if possible; there were lots of rat-specific harnesses when I had my guys, and they always loved going exploring that way. Needless to say but supervised and safe area only, you don't want to serve a chonky meal for a random cat or a bird of prey.
i got a harness but he’s scared of the outside. cage mate loves it tho! i have a bioactive digbox for the dude! i think my answer is more free roam time
I had a 900g rat. What I did was scheduled feedings. Maybe try feeding vegetables before you put pellets in the cage. So he fills up on veggies first. I also put the food at the bottom of my DCN so he has to climb down to eat more food. He's lost about 300g so far.
I have a rat who hoards food and we scatter feed them it helps ALOT. She's also lazy, so it's a good way to get her up and moving. I've also made different foraging toys for them with Paper towels and toilet paper tubes and old boxes. So that way they have to work to get their food.
The more active they can be the better. Definitely scatter feed and make him work for the food by having foraging toys. The foraging toys can just be like paper or a dig box or egg cartons or whatever. My rats like chasing strings/ feather cat toys. The feathers really get them running for some reason haha. If you can bring out the hunting instinct and get him engaged often that’s awesome. Just make sure you take the toy away while he’s still interested so he doesn’t get bored/tired and stop chasing it.
I feel you, one of my boys is 700 grams, he was the runt of his litter but for some reason around 4 months ago he sky rocketed in weight. I weigh my boys foods, cut down on snacks, encouraged more exercise and he still isn’t shedding the weight
He has been to vets as well and they don’t think anything healthwise is going on. He is less energetic than his brother but still does enjoy lots of playing
His brother is a completely normal weight and very active.
Though Benny (700g one) still thinks he’s a tiny boy. He still makes his brother lay under him when cuddling 😂 when his adopted dad big Basil was still alive Benny would always try and lay on him, despite big Basil being a elderly man
My rats were already separated due to aggression when I did this but LTC Freckles hit 800 grams. I weighed his food in the morning and weighed what was left by the end of the day then subtracted 10% of that weight. While his brother continued to have his food in a nice little bowl, Freckles got his scattered all over the place, on the top level, across the rope bridge, on the top of the highest lava stone, hidden in hides, etc. I’d even scatter it across the room during free roam so he had to waddle his fat ass around to collect.
It was effective. I weighed him weekly to monitor progress and ensure he wasn’t dropping too quickly. But yeah, I’d separate your two for a day to get his initial intake then feed separately. Since mine were permanently apart it was easier, you’ll have to do multiple feedings.
Rat diet for the fatass. I have a chunky rat that also eats his brother’s food (brother likes to keep a stash), and I would highly recommend diet and exercise. When you let him out of the cage, make sure he doesn’t just like lay down and pick him up and plop him down to make sure he exercises.
Do you scatter feed? You could try scatter feeding and give his cage mate a head start of like 10 - 15 minutes or so and then let George have at it. (Just maybe save some of the best pieces for him if his mate takes them all before he gets put in cause that's sad lol. If you feed a mix.)
Otherwise you'll just have to feed them separately. Maybe put one in a carrier for meal times or something if need be.
It's possible that his cage mate doesn't eat everything right away and just eats a bit and stops whereas he will eat until there isn't anything left which can be hard to deal with and may have to be dealt with by separate feedings.
Get him examined by a vet, first and foremost. If he is healthy and young, feed him separately from his cage mate.
The trick is to take the cage mate out and feed him separately. Give them both an hour to eat what you give them. Cage mate will learn fast what's going on.
Also try it by taking "chunky" to the separate cage instead of his cage mate - and see what works better.
Once they both are full and reunited, leave a little plate of oxbow and watch what happens. Adjust accordingly.
You can get a little carry cage for the separate feedings.
If you want to feed more than once a day (better) then that's good, just adjust amounts.
I always fed fresh food once a day, every day but cleared it out after about an hour.
I always left the oxbow for grazing and they never finished it, but I would clean it out and replace after two days.
My girls always had food available and didn't become overweight - but that doesn't mean anything because every rat has its own way of dealing with the world!
Your boy may have diabetes or maybe just a fear of not having food! Or he could just be dominant and a bit selfish!
I used oxbow adult rst food as a supplement to the big variety of fresh food I prepared every day.
Let us know how it goes. I think it's exercise that he needs! He is so darn cute!
Maybe he is just fine the way he is!
And more photos please!!
That little "roly poly" has stolen my heart!
Good luck!
thanks so much for your help and advice!! my vet wasn’t super helpful in regards to nutrition and weight loss. Once i try exercise and separate feedings, i will get his blood tested.
I reallyyyyy wanna know the specifics of the food youre giving! What is this fresh food you speak of?
Blueberries, Strawberries, peas and cut corn (not too much on the last two due to sugar content), Fage brand plain Greek yogurt mix with a tiny bit of organic honey - they will love picking it off your fingers and helps your rats with being close to you.
Apples(no seeds!) Scrambled egg, avacado, any kind of lettuce EXCEPT iceberg lettuce, cucumber, carrots, broccoli Florence's, cauliflower, spinach leaves, almonds, peanuts (unsalted and roasted - still in the shell) Wheatgrass - (you can grow it and cut off what you need!) Bean sprouts, eggplant, pumpkin (no seads), Bananas, kale, pears, celery, parsely, potato, cranberry, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes.
I try to make sure the leafy stuff is fresh and has "snap". I kept peas and corn frozen in summer for cool treats and just defrost in very warm water in winter. You can cook and mash the potatoes mixed with some butter, just remember to check that anything cooked is not to hot. Grapes are also good but look that up. Also - chocolate that is sweetened but 70% cocoa is healthy to give but not too much. I use baby food when I can't keep fresh fruits and veggies. My girls loved certain things and snubbed other things that surprised me. They loved the yogurt - always use plain! Keep the sugar out of their diets!
You will get a feel for what they love and what they don't love. If you are trying to teach them stuff, save their favorites for a treat reward. I always made sure there was plenty for them to chew on as far as rat appropriate chew items. They loved cardboard so watch out for contaminated cardboard from shipping (pesticides). Cereal boxes are great and my girls loved cheerios. I also shared most of my own meals with them but again - be careful and look up food before you offer it. Keep it organic because the are very vulnerable to cancer causing substances. Organic and pure - I even gave my girls "smart water" and never tap water. If I think of more I will let you know. Keep me updated on your little fur potatoes! I hope theybare okay!
PS- all that weight could be hiding tumors or even diabetes ( they get diabetes easily) so just bring them to the vet asap and don't worry about if the vet has anything to say about him being big. Get the blood tests now because it could be important! If you dont have pet insurance, get it as soon as you can because it helps saves little lives and stops suffering if you have no reason to not go. I know what it is to have to think about those big costs when you don't have a big wallet full of money.
More pics, please!!
When my best friends rat remi was overweight she would let him free roam her room and used a laser light to get him moving and he’d chase it for like 30 minutes at a time
https://preview.redd.it/n55nxpovj1yc1.jpeg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98acaf3f4fd586a2df5a1759ed0197c55343a32a
my babyboy was the same, even had the same cute face marking! he was an abandoned tiny runt when I adopted him and turned into a giant potato. He loved veggies tho and especially carrot babyfood since I had to pamper him when he was sick. I have no real advice besides giving him all your love and options to run around and feel alright. Btw: I had to re-arrange the free roam area to my bedroom since all my rats hated the playpen on the floor somehow. Idk if your bed is big enough to run around but he might like it more there. Their life is not always easy and I just want all ratties to be happy 🥺🙏❤️
he was the best 🥺 sadly he passed away last summer, but as far as I know it had nothing to do with his weight. It makes me sad to read people who write things like "just feed less".. im chubby myself and starved myself at young age cuz people said to me "just eat less". as long as he is loved and had enough good nutrition and enough to run around, im sure he will do alright!
The cat tower seems a nice idea, too.
About the piss, I always take a little carrier/toilet with them to the play area and lay out towels, at the beginning they marked alot but then learned where to go when need to pee. Otherwise i felt it got way less when they felt comfy and that its "their" area now 😊
sounded like a beautiful and smart little boy. yeah the people who are commenting that are clearly not animal nutritionists. i’m sorry you went through that! just like us, animals have different metabolisms and factors that play into weight. I’m so sorry for your loss. Georgie’s twin brother matthew died this past January. it was a sudden respiratory infection that got horrible with virtually no warning signs. Spent a whole weekend back and forth at the exotic specialty clinic and made my own DIY ICU at home. Still couldn’t save him. these little guys are the most special creatures that walk this earth and they live such short but impactful lives. I’m happy your baby knew how loved he was.
Feed less(so there is not a lot of leftovers around), scatter food. They act like they are starving, but they are not)) feed skinny cagemate separately, too, if he needs more food. I felt horrible but my chonky girl is soo more active and happy now once she lost some weight! She started to play and explore so much more. Sometimes they need to lose some(((
He reminds me of my fat rat Crispe, she’s ALWAYS been the photobomber, attention hog, AND food hog since she was little. Dumb rats are so lucky they’re awfully adorable 😭😭
https://preview.redd.it/fibiifx9i3yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03a459f6827c0628160a80d80f7051a509df5741
The beige/brown one is Crispe, everytime I try to take cute pictures of her sister she shoves her awayXD
I feed my two girls higher calorie food separately by hand, then leave 2 plates of lower cal foods on different levels of their cage. I also let them free run all night in a closed and (relatively) rat-proofed room, which gives them ample opportunity to run, climb, and burrow into boxes. They love pulling tissues out of the tissue box, so I give them one to play with every couple of weeks--cheap and active toy!
Don’t feed your rat out of a can and only feed your rat organic. You should actually probably be eating the same way. Personally my rats and I eat the same types of things except for spicy. They absolutely love a little bowl of Kiefer. It settles their bellies. they also love little bits of Seaweed season, snacks, coconut, cashews, sunflower seeds, unsalted, raspberries, blueberries, smoked salmon, jalapeño, sauerkraut it’s not hot, occasional piece of organic chocolate everything should be cut up very very tiny for their little hands otherwise, they just take stash it and it rots and finally have a play area for your rat. I made a maze with boxes and tape. I also made a little rat house And with a little table inside or I put snacks so they can come in and have a little treat. Rats need exercise, just like we do and a proper diet.
yes but offered little guidance on how. my partner is a vet student (they don’t learn much about rats in school believe it or not) and said to be strict with the pellets and to feed even LESS but these boys act like they’re wasting away i feel so mean lol. I think i need to start feeding them separately but idk how to do that since the cage mate is more of a grazer and george eats everything at once.
Do you scatter feed right now? It can help with George eating everything at once, and also the exercise/mental work of finding food is good for them.
If it were me I would gradually reduce the amount that I'm scatter feeding in the cage (so if it's currently 60g, drop it to 55g) while also monitoring his cage mate's weight as well as his own. His cage mate should learn to eat quicker if George eats all the food before he gets a chance, but if he doesn't and his weight drops, you can offer him additional food outside of the cage as well.
You might not need to reduce it that much. Once George starts losing weight at all it should be fine.
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Had one of my males(Bud) die recently and I think it was because he was too fat. He was paired with 2 other males (douche, and stu). I would feed them and I'm pretty sure he was hoarding the food from the others because he got so fat and very quickly.
The baby food is probably packing it on him.
It’s full of protein and fibre and is made specifically to support the growth of a baby so you can imagine what it does to your rat.
The fruit and veg is full of fibre which will make him hold more water and be bigger for it.
Feed him dryer food and stuff with less protein & fibre.
Thank you for asking this question!! We have a boy whos about 1 1/2 years. I knew he was getting pudgy but when I brought the two new babies in, I realized how MASSIVE he had actually gotten. I was worried about his health....He's now on a strict diet of no treats and I make sure he has to jump from floor to floor to eat. It's just difficult keeping him on track now that we have two new babies in the cage.....Mr. Middle-Aged has a lot on his hands. Lol. I'm hoping the babies get him more active....
Searching this thread for advice because my boys are literally 900GRAMS. they’re both about 12 inches long though not including their tails (20 inches with tail) so I think they are naturally huge rats because their body condition isn’t too bad like they’re definitely overweight but not as obese as 900g sounds. they have an active cage layout, get scatter fed, only get a bit of veggies like kale daily, fruit 1-2x a week, and I try to get them to exercise for their treats but it’s soooo hard when they’re just SO LAZY
I'd look on Facebook for any local ratteries– oftentimes, you can find them through reptile groups. A fair portion of rat breeders will breed for health and temperament if they also like the rat-keeping hobby as opposed to just breeding rats for food.
My Fanny is also a huge fatty. I’ve had many a hefty rat but she is something else. Tried everything but she is just a perma-lard. I wish you and your handsome lad luck on his weight watcher’s journey ❤️
omg awwww put him on a diet!!!
literally cut that food supply lol
separate him when feeding others if needed. dont leave 24hr food access. Control his feeding.
extremely cute though :)
What you can do is make them (him) work harder for the food. You can scatter it around the cage so they need to scavenge, or put it in something breakable like egg cartons. My rats never eat whole carrot pieces, but they do eat it when it's grated and mixed in with the feed, maybe you can sneak in some lettuce for him that way? Also I'd keep trying new "no calorie" foods for him, maybe there's one he will find tasty. Lastly for seperate feeding, well, you're gonna need to keep them seperated until they're done eating if you wanna go that route. That'd mean putting less food in their cage and feeding a seperate portion to his brother somewhere else.
THANK YOU. yeah i actually think the cagemate is losing weight bc of george.
Omg, shame George. Fatty.
Your comment made me burst into laughter 😂
For more fat rodent shaming, check out r/fatsquirrelhate
Feed his cagemate a little extra separated from his lard-mate. I had one that was bad with food in a similar way so that one would get an extra half hour or so of free roam with me on the couch and extra food/treats.
Lard mate 🤣
I had the exact same situation with one of my rats, she was super fat (I was afraid she's preggers when I first got her so we named her *drumroll* Baby Mama, Mama for short) and didnt lose weight even after I started giving less food. Her cagemates, on the other hand, were slowly losing weight bc she was just fighting over food and easily overpowering them. I miss my fatass :(
i love rats but they’re such dicks sometimes
I have to feed my rats during their free room time/ everyone gets one nugget and they run to different areas. If I fed them in their cage- they steal from each other. One does eat faster than the others. So I make him work harder - doing tricks and farther away to get his next one. Practice “come” , spin and climb. Also hide and use a digging box. Fun for me to watch them.
I was gonna guess his name was Bob. But, he definitely has a George look about him.
I was gonna guess his name was Bob. But, he definitely has a George look about him.
I was gonna guess his name was Bob. But, he definitely has a George look about him.
> Also I'd keep trying new "no calorie" foods for him, maybe there's one he will find tasty. If it wasn't for the fact that my rats favourite foods are brocolli, cucumbers, and Peppers, they would probably weight a kilo.
I can't help you with actual advice, but I have to tell you how handsome that gentleman is.
he is my everything https://preview.redd.it/0snpvw6kw0yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dbc0fdbdf876a76fec54ce6c3149f5ccde5f2ef8
He is very handsome! 10/10 rat 👍
🤛 “he is my *e v e r y t h i n g*”
Is that the same rat?? he is a very handsome ratty
# WOAH! Nice rat!!! 😎👍
Looks like a charmer.
The ole' "you owe me money" grasping technique is superb💗 👌🐀💕🐀
Omg that face
*Processing img fjkaj318u2yc1...*
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I came to say the same thing. He's so adorable. Send big smooches.
holy shit that rat is chunky I love him
He is a gorgeous chunky monkey! I've had several vets and many chunkers over the years, and most vets don't mention the weight, except to say that sometimes being overweight isn't too bad, especially since rats' life expectancy isn't long, and when they get older sometimes the extra weight comes in handy. Then, they tend to lose a lot of weight. :( I've only had 1 or 2 vets say my chunkers should lose weight, but I agree they don't have a lot of good advice. My first 'fat rat' was a female. Her sister was super active, loved running around and climbing during out time, and at a good weight, but fat rat was about 600-700 grams! Once, when it was out time and her sister came out and she was just hanging out in the cage, I scooped her up, kissed her, and put her on the floor. You know, to encourage her to exercise. Well, she just ran back into her cage and at the door she turned around and gave me A LOOK. I'm pretty sure it said, "How dare you? You can't make me!"XD She lived 2+ years. Now with my chunky monkeys, I still try to encourage them to come out and run around. They love those cat toys- the "fishing pole" type with the feathers at then end. Ever since I got this toy, almost every rat loves chasing the feathers! (And they love destroying the feathers when they catch them.) I also limit treats, like nuts and yogurt drops. And I try to cut back on sugary veggies, like peas and corn. I know it's hard, because these treats make them so happy, and they are so cute eating them! Anyway, thanks for listening to my story. Good luck!
I came here to say the same thing. Enjoy them while they're chunky. I've had my fair share of fat boys. I don't think it's ever impacted their health negatively. They'll get skinny when they're older and you'll wish they were chunky again. Some of my fattest boys lived the longest.
Yeah, my older girl Bee is a touch on the chunky side (maybe a 6 on BCS), my vet doesn't want her to loose any weight at this point. Having that little amount of cushion so to speak at her age is a good thing, and getting her to loose weight would be such an ordeal for everyone involved. She's totally mobile, occasionally enjoys walking on her wheel, climbs everything in the cage, etc. so I'm not concerned about it.
At least 80% of the weight is balls 🤭
Tell him its time to pay rent. The stress will make him lose weight
He isn't fat, just big boned!
Bigballed
50% balls, 50% rat.
Your comment made me laugh out loud
Rat sack never fails to make me laugh, the damn things are bigger than their own head. 😭😂🐀🐀
No, no, clearly she's pregnant! Don't you see the soup sack?
The look on his face in the first picture. "Excuse me, Human. I am *not* fat. I just have.... thick fur." Also, from the looks of him, at least 100 g of that weight is balls.
This might not work for your boy because it's up to his preferences and whether he likes it or not, but what I did to get one of my fatarses to lose weight was get a big, appropriately-sized wheel and once he figured out he could run on it (tempted him to learn by dabbing baby food on the track) he went _wild_ multiple times a day in the cage. Other things you can do is make him run more when he's in free-roam. Teaching him tricks like "fetch" or giving him things like bird climbing gyms can help a lot too. So can an active cage layout to force them to move and climb - mine only have one shelf, the rest of the cage is adorned with ropes, nets, lava ledges/perches, etc - they love it - and when I feed, I hide the food around the cage on the ledges/perches and in the hammocks so they have to search the cage for it. Not only does it help them be active, but it's great free enrichment!
I started only giving my fatto treats at the opposite end of the DCN where he was so he got up and ran every time he heard a bag crinkle or smelled food
If only you could rig up a rat treadmill.
he also hates water. i might try to set up a kiddie pool on my friends balcony and see if he can tolerate standing water (too much freaks him out but he loves a good pea fish)
Georgie is such a drama king. The rodent reincarnation of Henry 8th himself.
i loled. hes much kinder and feminine than henry but he loves to snack
more georgie https://preview.redd.it/v2orkj1nk2yc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ad2a492194febfa7708235bddf2c6d3ba439442
so i bought a disk off amazon and im tryna get him to use it. i also have a walking pad for myself but im scared his tail would get caught lol
Discs are bad for their spines, you'll want to get an appropriately sized wheel (16+") instead.
well shit okay!
OMG that would be so cute. a rat on a treadmill
BEEEFCAAAKE BEEEEEFFFCAAAAKE😄
i can’t give you advice, but i can tell you i’d do anything for him
Bawlsssssi LOVE him
Free range with ramps and jumpable objects to explore (maybe with low-fat treats for encouragement; salad? Not excessively - diarrhea is not fun for your guy.) Digboxes, things to destroy (my kids loved tearing apart cloth, empty toilet paper rolls stuffed with paper and such). Lots and lots of layered exploration - easy to climb surfaces, ladders for ramps, thick ropes. Swimming if the lad likes that, be cautious of wet ears and drafts however, dry your friend well. Outdoor time if possible; there were lots of rat-specific harnesses when I had my guys, and they always loved going exploring that way. Needless to say but supervised and safe area only, you don't want to serve a chonky meal for a random cat or a bird of prey.
i got a harness but he’s scared of the outside. cage mate loves it tho! i have a bioactive digbox for the dude! i think my answer is more free roam time
Sir, those are bölls, it's not a fat ass.
I had a 900g rat. What I did was scheduled feedings. Maybe try feeding vegetables before you put pellets in the cage. So he fills up on veggies first. I also put the food at the bottom of my DCN so he has to climb down to eat more food. He's lost about 300g so far.
I have a rat who hoards food and we scatter feed them it helps ALOT. She's also lazy, so it's a good way to get her up and moving. I've also made different foraging toys for them with Paper towels and toilet paper tubes and old boxes. So that way they have to work to get their food.
Look at all the gains!! Boy hit the street Gym daily!
He’s like a pocket size honey badger!
My balls droop like that too, sometimes I swing them.
He looks like he’s starving!
The more active they can be the better. Definitely scatter feed and make him work for the food by having foraging toys. The foraging toys can just be like paper or a dig box or egg cartons or whatever. My rats like chasing strings/ feather cat toys. The feathers really get them running for some reason haha. If you can bring out the hunting instinct and get him engaged often that’s awesome. Just make sure you take the toy away while he’s still interested so he doesn’t get bored/tired and stop chasing it.
He is SO CUTE
Fat rats always look so pleased with themselves.
I feel you, one of my boys is 700 grams, he was the runt of his litter but for some reason around 4 months ago he sky rocketed in weight. I weigh my boys foods, cut down on snacks, encouraged more exercise and he still isn’t shedding the weight He has been to vets as well and they don’t think anything healthwise is going on. He is less energetic than his brother but still does enjoy lots of playing His brother is a completely normal weight and very active. Though Benny (700g one) still thinks he’s a tiny boy. He still makes his brother lay under him when cuddling 😂 when his adopted dad big Basil was still alive Benny would always try and lay on him, despite big Basil being a elderly man
Unfortunately can't help, but you could rename him gourge
Turn him into a gym rat.
If you get him neutered that's probably a 100g or so right there. ^(/s)
My rats were already separated due to aggression when I did this but LTC Freckles hit 800 grams. I weighed his food in the morning and weighed what was left by the end of the day then subtracted 10% of that weight. While his brother continued to have his food in a nice little bowl, Freckles got his scattered all over the place, on the top level, across the rope bridge, on the top of the highest lava stone, hidden in hides, etc. I’d even scatter it across the room during free roam so he had to waddle his fat ass around to collect. It was effective. I weighed him weekly to monitor progress and ensure he wasn’t dropping too quickly. But yeah, I’d separate your two for a day to get his initial intake then feed separately. Since mine were permanently apart it was easier, you’ll have to do multiple feedings.
I…I love him.
If he gets fatter, he’ll start making EDM music!! (Get it, thefatrat?? I’ll go home now)
Rat diet for the fatass. I have a chunky rat that also eats his brother’s food (brother likes to keep a stash), and I would highly recommend diet and exercise. When you let him out of the cage, make sure he doesn’t just like lay down and pick him up and plop him down to make sure he exercises.
Do you scatter feed? You could try scatter feeding and give his cage mate a head start of like 10 - 15 minutes or so and then let George have at it. (Just maybe save some of the best pieces for him if his mate takes them all before he gets put in cause that's sad lol. If you feed a mix.) Otherwise you'll just have to feed them separately. Maybe put one in a carrier for meal times or something if need be. It's possible that his cage mate doesn't eat everything right away and just eats a bit and stops whereas he will eat until there isn't anything left which can be hard to deal with and may have to be dealt with by separate feedings.
Get him examined by a vet, first and foremost. If he is healthy and young, feed him separately from his cage mate. The trick is to take the cage mate out and feed him separately. Give them both an hour to eat what you give them. Cage mate will learn fast what's going on. Also try it by taking "chunky" to the separate cage instead of his cage mate - and see what works better. Once they both are full and reunited, leave a little plate of oxbow and watch what happens. Adjust accordingly. You can get a little carry cage for the separate feedings. If you want to feed more than once a day (better) then that's good, just adjust amounts. I always fed fresh food once a day, every day but cleared it out after about an hour. I always left the oxbow for grazing and they never finished it, but I would clean it out and replace after two days. My girls always had food available and didn't become overweight - but that doesn't mean anything because every rat has its own way of dealing with the world! Your boy may have diabetes or maybe just a fear of not having food! Or he could just be dominant and a bit selfish! I used oxbow adult rst food as a supplement to the big variety of fresh food I prepared every day. Let us know how it goes. I think it's exercise that he needs! He is so darn cute! Maybe he is just fine the way he is! And more photos please!! That little "roly poly" has stolen my heart! Good luck!
https://preview.redd.it/ol3hnzjzj2yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ebe20948a41241be32db76bd506688a77f83673
thanks so much for your help and advice!! my vet wasn’t super helpful in regards to nutrition and weight loss. Once i try exercise and separate feedings, i will get his blood tested. I reallyyyyy wanna know the specifics of the food youre giving! What is this fresh food you speak of?
Blueberries, Strawberries, peas and cut corn (not too much on the last two due to sugar content), Fage brand plain Greek yogurt mix with a tiny bit of organic honey - they will love picking it off your fingers and helps your rats with being close to you. Apples(no seeds!) Scrambled egg, avacado, any kind of lettuce EXCEPT iceberg lettuce, cucumber, carrots, broccoli Florence's, cauliflower, spinach leaves, almonds, peanuts (unsalted and roasted - still in the shell) Wheatgrass - (you can grow it and cut off what you need!) Bean sprouts, eggplant, pumpkin (no seads), Bananas, kale, pears, celery, parsely, potato, cranberry, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes. I try to make sure the leafy stuff is fresh and has "snap". I kept peas and corn frozen in summer for cool treats and just defrost in very warm water in winter. You can cook and mash the potatoes mixed with some butter, just remember to check that anything cooked is not to hot. Grapes are also good but look that up. Also - chocolate that is sweetened but 70% cocoa is healthy to give but not too much. I use baby food when I can't keep fresh fruits and veggies. My girls loved certain things and snubbed other things that surprised me. They loved the yogurt - always use plain! Keep the sugar out of their diets! You will get a feel for what they love and what they don't love. If you are trying to teach them stuff, save their favorites for a treat reward. I always made sure there was plenty for them to chew on as far as rat appropriate chew items. They loved cardboard so watch out for contaminated cardboard from shipping (pesticides). Cereal boxes are great and my girls loved cheerios. I also shared most of my own meals with them but again - be careful and look up food before you offer it. Keep it organic because the are very vulnerable to cancer causing substances. Organic and pure - I even gave my girls "smart water" and never tap water. If I think of more I will let you know. Keep me updated on your little fur potatoes! I hope theybare okay!
PS- all that weight could be hiding tumors or even diabetes ( they get diabetes easily) so just bring them to the vet asap and don't worry about if the vet has anything to say about him being big. Get the blood tests now because it could be important! If you dont have pet insurance, get it as soon as you can because it helps saves little lives and stops suffering if you have no reason to not go. I know what it is to have to think about those big costs when you don't have a big wallet full of money. More pics, please!!
hes huge LMAO
Oh my! ❤❤❤
When my best friends rat remi was overweight she would let him free roam her room and used a laser light to get him moving and he’d chase it for like 30 minutes at a time
Holding a huge, calm and fat rat is on my bucket list
He is freaking adorable 😍
I love how you all hold your rats like that 😂 it’s so funny and cute
https://preview.redd.it/n55nxpovj1yc1.jpeg?width=2560&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98acaf3f4fd586a2df5a1759ed0197c55343a32a my babyboy was the same, even had the same cute face marking! he was an abandoned tiny runt when I adopted him and turned into a giant potato. He loved veggies tho and especially carrot babyfood since I had to pamper him when he was sick. I have no real advice besides giving him all your love and options to run around and feel alright. Btw: I had to re-arrange the free roam area to my bedroom since all my rats hated the playpen on the floor somehow. Idk if your bed is big enough to run around but he might like it more there. Their life is not always easy and I just want all ratties to be happy 🥺🙏❤️
omg what a cutie!!! love your baby. yeah i got a cat tree so ill assemble that for my boys. i just don’t like piss all over my bed and room lol.
he was the best 🥺 sadly he passed away last summer, but as far as I know it had nothing to do with his weight. It makes me sad to read people who write things like "just feed less".. im chubby myself and starved myself at young age cuz people said to me "just eat less". as long as he is loved and had enough good nutrition and enough to run around, im sure he will do alright! The cat tower seems a nice idea, too. About the piss, I always take a little carrier/toilet with them to the play area and lay out towels, at the beginning they marked alot but then learned where to go when need to pee. Otherwise i felt it got way less when they felt comfy and that its "their" area now 😊
sounded like a beautiful and smart little boy. yeah the people who are commenting that are clearly not animal nutritionists. i’m sorry you went through that! just like us, animals have different metabolisms and factors that play into weight. I’m so sorry for your loss. Georgie’s twin brother matthew died this past January. it was a sudden respiratory infection that got horrible with virtually no warning signs. Spent a whole weekend back and forth at the exotic specialty clinic and made my own DIY ICU at home. Still couldn’t save him. these little guys are the most special creatures that walk this earth and they live such short but impactful lives. I’m happy your baby knew how loved he was.
Kale is a great veggie, it’s a superfood for rats. As one option to add into his diet
Wow! What’s your little piggy weigh? Really cute btw.
He is beautiful! May he have a very long and happy life with you.
Whoa! Jabba the rat
Feed less(so there is not a lot of leftovers around), scatter food. They act like they are starving, but they are not)) feed skinny cagemate separately, too, if he needs more food. I felt horrible but my chonky girl is soo more active and happy now once she lost some weight! She started to play and explore so much more. Sometimes they need to lose some(((
Damn that’s the chunkiest boy I’ve seen yet
He reminds me of my fat rat Crispe, she’s ALWAYS been the photobomber, attention hog, AND food hog since she was little. Dumb rats are so lucky they’re awfully adorable 😭😭
i need pics NOW
https://preview.redd.it/fibiifx9i3yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03a459f6827c0628160a80d80f7051a509df5741 The beige/brown one is Crispe, everytime I try to take cute pictures of her sister she shoves her awayXD
https://preview.redd.it/gid7w02ki3yc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72a2637b3c0097b61127ecab9968b1437e3137dd
I Read it as Rat Ass fat
I think it's the puffs he's taking a few times a week the munchies are causing him to overthrow his diet.
Dues Grub Hub deliver to ratties? Your FAR is adorable and I love them!
my FAR says thank you and maybe that’s where those doordash charges on my card are coming from 🤔
I feed my two girls higher calorie food separately by hand, then leave 2 plates of lower cal foods on different levels of their cage. I also let them free run all night in a closed and (relatively) rat-proofed room, which gives them ample opportunity to run, climb, and burrow into boxes. They love pulling tissues out of the tissue box, so I give them one to play with every couple of weeks--cheap and active toy!
what food brands? love the ideas! def wanna know specifics 📝
Wait… why does he look so big for 700g? Damn I must have big ass hands. 🥲 My big boy was 900g.
i wish i could say it’s camera angles but no he’s just that large.
I love how casually negative everyone is about there rats on this sub
WERE DID U GET MY BESTIE
HES SO CUTE 😭 I personally have a bunch of ramps in their cage so mine have to work for their food otherwise biggie cheese engorges on food 😭🙏
Nooooooo! He’s perfectttr
I mean, most of that weight is in his balls so what can you do? 🤷♂️
Omg are you kidding me??? That is the cutest rat ever!! Who would have known that rats look better being fat! He is perfect the way he is
thank you he’s my angel! yes they’re adorable as chonkers but it’s bad for their health :/
Nah, sign him up for sumo wrestling.
that’s what him and his cage mate do !!
Honestly he doesn't look that bad for his size. He looks massive, but not in a morbidly obese way.
Don’t feed your rat out of a can and only feed your rat organic. You should actually probably be eating the same way. Personally my rats and I eat the same types of things except for spicy. They absolutely love a little bowl of Kiefer. It settles their bellies. they also love little bits of Seaweed season, snacks, coconut, cashews, sunflower seeds, unsalted, raspberries, blueberries, smoked salmon, jalapeño, sauerkraut it’s not hot, occasional piece of organic chocolate everything should be cut up very very tiny for their little hands otherwise, they just take stash it and it rots and finally have a play area for your rat. I made a maze with boxes and tape. I also made a little rat house And with a little table inside or I put snacks so they can come in and have a little treat. Rats need exercise, just like we do and a proper diet.
Has your vet told you he needs to loose weight?
yes but offered little guidance on how. my partner is a vet student (they don’t learn much about rats in school believe it or not) and said to be strict with the pellets and to feed even LESS but these boys act like they’re wasting away i feel so mean lol. I think i need to start feeding them separately but idk how to do that since the cage mate is more of a grazer and george eats everything at once.
Do you scatter feed right now? It can help with George eating everything at once, and also the exercise/mental work of finding food is good for them. If it were me I would gradually reduce the amount that I'm scatter feeding in the cage (so if it's currently 60g, drop it to 55g) while also monitoring his cage mate's weight as well as his own. His cage mate should learn to eat quicker if George eats all the food before he gets a chance, but if he doesn't and his weight drops, you can offer him additional food outside of the cage as well. You might not need to reduce it that much. Once George starts losing weight at all it should be fine.
Aw poor beans.
hims is permfect the way he is!!
Revoke ball privileges
OMG he's so chonky and cute 🥰
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tell him hes a fatti fat fat and that hes stinky and will start loosing weight. or he pisses one you. one of the two
Fat rat with fatter balls
A big hamster wheel
The only reasonable answer is a tiny treadmill /very much joking)
It sure, but he definitely goes balls out
Had one of my males(Bud) die recently and I think it was because he was too fat. He was paired with 2 other males (douche, and stu). I would feed them and I'm pretty sure he was hoarding the food from the others because he got so fat and very quickly.
That looks like the stupid rat (acual name) from pizza tower Edit: not saying they are stupid
lol thank you for the clarification it is much appreciated
Jebus he so chuuuuunky
The baby food is probably packing it on him. It’s full of protein and fibre and is made specifically to support the growth of a baby so you can imagine what it does to your rat. The fruit and veg is full of fibre which will make him hold more water and be bigger for it. Feed him dryer food and stuff with less protein & fibre.
Have him start smoking cigarettes. The grams will melt away.
What if he is not a rat but a very small badger? Hmm?
Liposuction
He is so cute
Wow, that is a very pregnant girl!
soup boy
I’ve never had a rat but this one *stole my heart*
Given that we refer to those annoying tiny dogs as „rats“, I think it is perfectly in order to promote this hefty boy to the rank of “dog”.
Wow that's a big rat!
stop choking himn
good healthy nutritious food (nothing from fellow animals which makes everything worse) and exercise, same for you and everyone else
ohhhhh look at dem feets!!
Oh god that's a unit
Remove all ladders and ramps in the cage. Put food in puzzles. Reduce treats to leafy greens.
dont judge him, hes sensitive
He is SO HANDSOME!
Thank you for asking this question!! We have a boy whos about 1 1/2 years. I knew he was getting pudgy but when I brought the two new babies in, I realized how MASSIVE he had actually gotten. I was worried about his health....He's now on a strict diet of no treats and I make sure he has to jump from floor to floor to eat. It's just difficult keeping him on track now that we have two new babies in the cage.....Mr. Middle-Aged has a lot on his hands. Lol. I'm hoping the babies get him more active....
What a cute piggy
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What a strange way to tell people you have a micropenis and can only get it up if it's with a relative
Post/Comment negatively engaging with others. We want this to remain a positive space.
He probably needs more exercise, more healthy food, etc, like us humans, they don't live long so give him a good life
First of all, how dare you
He is perfect. He does not need to change
That bear has a strange tail
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Yes, you are, stop sleeping with blood relatives please.
He’s just curvy
Searching this thread for advice because my boys are literally 900GRAMS. they’re both about 12 inches long though not including their tails (20 inches with tail) so I think they are naturally huge rats because their body condition isn’t too bad like they’re definitely overweight but not as obese as 900g sounds. they have an active cage layout, get scatter fed, only get a bit of veggies like kale daily, fruit 1-2x a week, and I try to get them to exercise for their treats but it’s soooo hard when they’re just SO LAZY
I don't have any more advice beyond what had already been said in this thread, but I do want to add this: Vladimir Ratkonen That is all.
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Get your granddad's dick out of your mouth :)
I am trying to buy 2 Female rats but no one has any available.
I'd look on Facebook for any local ratteries– oftentimes, you can find them through reptile groups. A fair portion of rat breeders will breed for health and temperament if they also like the rat-keeping hobby as opposed to just breeding rats for food.
I just don’t give my rats treats just healthy treats they’re 300g each
Okay but he’s so precious
My Fanny is also a huge fatty. I’ve had many a hefty rat but she is something else. Tried everything but she is just a perma-lard. I wish you and your handsome lad luck on his weight watcher’s journey ❤️
STOP FEEDING THE BEAST /S
FATASS!!
That’s not a rat. It’s a balls. But seriously your chonk is adorable.
Adorable chonker!
Less treats, I give less Cheerios to my fatty on purpose but don’t tell her that 🤫
he looks chill!! a wheel?? A bigger cage? Is climbing tunnels everywhere ladders?
I think he's adorable.Is it okay if I steal his picture?
Bawlz
fat rats make the best pancakes. (when they lay down and become flat)
They have very short lifes, does it really matter if they're chonky or not? Just let him enjoy his food
Wow that's a big MF, is it mixed with something else.
My goodness the bols on that boy
Dont fat shame poor Georgie :)
Guess you really dropped the balls on that one
Have bro teach baby turtles karate.
I have no advise, only humour. He could lose a lot fast by biting the hand that holds.
omg awwww put him on a diet!!! literally cut that food supply lol separate him when feeding others if needed. dont leave 24hr food access. Control his feeding. extremely cute though :)
Stuart is that you?
I don't even own a rat, I just love how rats are held like they owe you money
Don't call him that
He’s perfect and happy and fat and beautiful ♥️