[STUgirl55]

So, I have eight rats in my cage. One of them, Picasso, is getting pretty chubby as of late, because the boys give her food and let her eat first because she's their mother. I want to get her to lose weight but how can I do that when she's one of many? I thought about seperating her for meal time but there will probably be left over food in the cage when I put her back, and while taking it away at earlier meals would be ok, I don't want to do that at supper time because it tides them over for the night! What to do?

 

[twitch]

how fat is fat? if she's just gaining a little bit then i wouldn't worry too much about the food issue, especailly if everyone else is of a good weight. you can try to curb the weight gain by getting her to excersie more. take her out alone and try to get her to chase a feather or try training her to do some tricks. they're fun and work as excerise as well if you make the tricks a bit of a challenge. an obstacle course would work for that and can be really fun. you may want to train her with treats, so make sure the treats are healthy. look into food that taste great but have little carbs or whatever it is that is the bad type of fat (hopefully someone with a bit more knowledge in nuition can help there). i hear that celery is great for empty things so they would taste good, make her feel fuller (and so not gorge on the food that is more then she needs) and she can have some fun. i can't think of any other way to get one rat to lose weight without the others losing too though, especailly if they save food for her anyway.