An average adult female rat weighs eight to fourteen ounces (250 to 400 grams) and a male weighs fourteen to eighteen ounces (450 to 520 grams). Rats can suffer from a number of conditions that cause mild to serious symptoms, including weight loss. Some causes of weight loss in rats are: tooth & jaw problems, pain, mycoplasmosis or other respiratory illness, non-respiratory conditions, stroke, pituitary tumors, kidney or heart disease, diabetes and parasites.
Aging & Weight Loss
Many rats lose weight as they age. If a veterinarian rules out a health issue, but your aging rat is still losing weight, try adding calorie-rich and easy to eat supplements to a balanced diet made for rats. For aging rats suffering from weight loss who have trouble chewing, soak rat blocks or hard food in chocolate-flavored Ensure or Fortify until they are mushy before feeding to your rat. Discard the mushy blocks after a couple of hours and offer fresh ones and other soft foods twice a day.
Illness & Weight Loss
If a rat stops eating or its eating habits are altered, this is usually because of injury or illness. A rat's metabolism is very fast, so rats process calories rapidly and they can lose weight quite quickly. It's a good idea to have a small scale so you can weigh your rat once or twice every week to monitor changes. Rats often eat even when they are ill, and they do not always exhibit early signs of illness, so weighing a rat regularly will alert you if something is wrong. If a rat is losing weight, take it to a qualified veterinarian as soon as possible.
Respiratory Illness & Weight Loss
Most rats are born with mycoplasma bacteria and are susceptible to related infections and illnesses, including pneumonia. Signs of mycoplasmosis and secondary bacterial infections are: sneezing, wheezing, labored breathing, gasping, chattering, coughing and rattling breath sounds. What begins slowly with mild upper respiratory symptoms can worsen quickly and eventually progress into the lungs where scar tissue may form.
Rats who are having difficulty breathing tend to lose weight from not eating and from the exertion of trying to breathe. Treatment usually involves antibiotics, preferably Baytril (enrofloxacin) or a Baytril/Doxycycline combination. If a rat is not eating regularly, supplemental nutritional support is essential.
Symptoms of Other Illnesses
Weight loss is one of many symptoms rats exhibit when they are ill. Non-respiratory symptoms to pay attention to are porphyrin (a blood colored mucus) staining around the eyes and nose, coat in bad condition, hunched posture, changes in behavior, e.g. nipping, biting, avoiding contact, hiding. Contact your veterinarian if your rat displays and of these symptoms. If your rat has a bacterial infection, its symptoms can escalate quickly. What begins as sneezing or loss of appetite can end in death within a short time.
Diseases Causing Weight Loss
Symptoms of heart disease in rats are tiredness, lack of appetite, fluid retention and weight loss.Uncontrolled diabetes is another cause weight loss. Older rats may suffer from a kidney disease and show signs of increased thirst and urination, weight loss and a rough looking coat. A stroke or a pituitary tumor may affect coordination, resulting in the rat losing its ability to pick up or hold food, which limits what it can eat and leads to weight loss. If a rat is not eating regularly, supplemental nutritional support is essential.
Foods to Help Rats Gain Weight
Without nutrition, even for one day, a rat's chances of survival and recovery are jeopardized. Mix one to two scoops of human baby soy formula with warm water and liquid vitamin B complex. If your rat won't eat the formula, hand feed; use an eyedropper or try a syringe with no needle. Rats seem to like highly nutritious foods like cooked egg yolk, yogurt, tuna, salmon, cooked oatmeal, spaghetti, cottage cheese, cream cheese, banana, and baby food.
Sick rats need extra fluids to fight disease. Provide a second water bottle filled with diluted fruit juice (non-citrus for males). Rats like foods that contain a lot of fluid including yogurt, which also helps to remedy digestive problems, baby food, avocado, melon, other fruits (no citrus for males) and vegetables.
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