It's unlikely, but definitely possible.

I was in your shoes with my boy Asa. He did not grow very much in his first few weeks, despite being on the same diet as his brother Ivan from 5 weeks on. It's a mystery that I never quite solved, but he did end up catching up many, many weeks behind Ivan!

Just be sure that he's getting enough protein. Perhaps scramble an egg for him and offer it to him separately.

 

Could just be a very small standard rat. My girlfriend's rat Milly is about the same weight and size as my 3 and half month old girl Ellie and she's 9 months old.

 

Seem odd.

Only way to tell is from weight, most at max weight are around 60 to 80 grams, and what his face looks like. Dwarf rats tend to have extremely large eyes.

 

Take some pictures of him next to your other rat so we can have a look! It's possible one of his parents could've been a carrier of the dwarf gene perhaps?

 

Both parents have to have the dwarf gene for a dwarf to be born. Just like in people.

 

Ahhhh I see! Fair enough.

 

Well I had to play spy to get pics of him for you to have an idea of his size...managed to get him next to a toilet paper roll, hes like the same size as one [minus tail of course] the only thing he has grown is his boy parts lol.
Also, this morning he had a lot of poryphin [spelling?] around his left eye...bathed it in Vetericyn eye wash that I keep for my babies.
I've noticed Herman is getting quite the bully...he never actually hurts Fang & Lucifer, but he does like to put them in check a lot...like as soon as I put little Lucifer back after tending to him Herman was straight on him...sniffing him & power grooming etc. Herman seriously has jelousy issues!!! I'm sure many of you may remember the story I told you in another thread when he actually bit me because I was giving the other two some love & ignoring him.

Anyway...here are my detective pics of Lucifer next to the toilet tube [excuse the messy cardboard shredded cage weekends are when my boys are due for their big cage cleaning]

One of his eye...

Let me know what you think...maybe hes just slow growing & I'm worrying for nothing lol. The way he was treated before I got him it wouldn't surprise me if hes stunted. Also let me know what you think about his eye...hes not sneezing & no wheezing when I rat phone him. I'm just hoping Herman isn't being a bully & stressing him out.

 

Also...the 2nd & 3rd pic you can see the colour change where his fur grew back.

 

He's not a dwarf, he looks too big for a dwarf rat. Can you weigh him if possible?

He looks like he is stunted, could be from diet, could be the runt of the litter, or even some other issues like disease.

Looks like he might of just scratched his eye. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't get infected.

Just want to add. I'll see if I can get a picture of Niko. we think he was the runt or something happened during his first few weeks that caused him to be stunted when we got him. He's now about the same size as his brothers at 6 months. Some rats are also just slow growers.

 

Ok thank you...will do! How much should a 10week old weigh? I have old skool bathroom scales, but I'm not sure if he will be heavy enough to get a weight on those lol. I don't own any kitchen scales...not much of a baker haha. He eats well...but his diet was pretty terrible before he came to me. Hes munching on some rice crispies in the first pic, they like to eat cereal in the mornings when my daughter & I have ours ;D

 

Too big to be a dwarf? How big are dwarf rats? They must be teeny weeny!

 

I believe Most are dwarfs are around 60 to 80 grams Full Grown (at 6+ months) and can fit easily in the palm of your hands. Think slightly bigger mouse, or maybe small hamster if that helps you.

I think at around 10 weeks the average rat is are between 150 to 250 grams. Runts typically a bit under that, so around 100 grams I guess. I did some reading and sometimes runts or rats in bad condition at 12 weeks will be under or just above 100 grams.

It really depends on the line actually. Rats raise for feeders typically grow faster then those raised for pets (though they both end up at around the same weight when adults).

 

I have a seven (maybe even eight) month old girl, Cream that is the size of my three month old girl, Eevee (who is pretty petite). Cream had baby fur when I got her, but barely grew. She looks like she's half the size of Silver, who is only a month or so older than her. However, Cream is definitely way too big to be a dwarf (I truly can't imagine a rat being that small... wow) so I guess some rats are just different sizes. Cream's sister, Peaches would be the same size, but Peaches is fat. Peaches is still shorter bodied, though... just wider.

In addition, to show how the sizes vary in my house, I have a three month old boy, Cricket that is bigger in every way than my two six month old boys, Gus Gus and Bartok. Then I have Meeko who is the same age as Cricket and less than half his size!

Your boys smallness could be one thing or a combination of things. For example, he had a rough start in life and probably didn't receive as much nutrition as he needed which would stunt his growth a bit. He could also just be naturally small, like Meeko and Cream. Or he could just be hitting a slight growing roadblock. I think Gus Gus and Bartok stopped growing for a while around that age and then abruptly doubled in size almost over night.

I personally wouldn't worry too much about his size as long as he looks happy and healthy. He looks so much better than he did when you got him!

 

Yeh right now he fits in the palm of my hand & I have small hands...but I guess he is still young. I shall just have to watch & see. If he still doesn't grow in a few months he could be a dwarf, but I understand its unlikely. Yeh he has been doing really well...he's still slim, but has gained a lot of weight compared to the skin & bone baby he was when I first got him & obviously his hair grew back. He's friendly & loves to snuggle...but still shy & poops when I first pick him up...but its not runny & nasty like it used to be. Just got this eye problem to keep an eye on & I am keeping a close watch on Mr Herman!

 

Squeakers was really small like yours too but he had a growth spurt after his 12th week ^_^

 

Daisy (coincidentally also a PEW) showed almost no growth until she was closing in on a year old, then suddenly gained 60g, bringing her up from 225 to 285 over the course of a few months.

Yours could be dwarf, but could just be a bit slow on the grow