[ManBeard]

One of my rats, Plague, is quite thin. She doesnt have any bones sticking out or anything, but her hips and shoulders are defined. She has a very healthy apetite, eating everything I put in front of her, and I let her eat her fill. She is an extremely energetic rat. Hyperactive even, so hopefully thats the reason she is so lean. She doesnt show any signs of illness, and I cant find any lumps on her, but im just wondering if anyone knows of any health problems I should look out for.

Thanks,
ManBeard

 

[fallinstar]

if no one on here replys (sorry im not 2 clever with illnesses) i would sugest taking ur rattie to the vets as they know most things!

 

[lilspaz68]

How old is Skurge?

I have some active young girls here and they can be what I call Lean, with a bit of the greyhound look, rather than the more triangular shape of an adult girl. Especially if Skurge is a wheelrunner, that really makes them lean.

Fat rats are not as healthy, and are more prone to health problems.
Thin/skinny is when their skin feels likes its only thinly covering their bones, but lean is when there's lean muscle over the bones...they dont' feel frail.

 

[ManBeard]

Skurge is the larger one, and Im not sure how old she is. She isnt fat, but larger and more muscular than Plague.

Plague is the thin one, and I think perhaps she is, as you mentioned, just young. She has a small frame, and doesnt appear to be growing. Her spine or ribs are not protruding or anything that drastic, so I think Ill just keep an eye on her and take her into the vet if she loses any weight.

Thanks to both of you for the advice.

 

[JennieLove]

Is Skurge the more dominate one? I know that My two boys Jay and Bob, Bob tends to not let Jay eat as much, so Jay is a bit smaller (thinner comapred to Bob, LOL bobs kinda chunky)

 

[Poppyseed]

Just like the movies!!

 

[OnlyOno]

has she always been thin? if so, i wouldn't worry too much about it, just try to get her some nice fattening foods (like avocado, etc) where skurge can't get them from her. it could definitely be that she's still young, and that she'll fill out when she's older.

 

[DonnaK]

If she is eating well and is still thin, could she have worms? I don't know about treating rats for worms, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[ManBeard]

Skurge is typically the dominant one. I only got Plague about two months ago and she seems fairly young, although I havent percieved any growth yet.

Worms were something I was wondering about, but thought there would be noticable effects on her health? She seems overall healthy, but remains thin.

 

[Night]

What do you feed your ratties on a normal basis?

Some girls are very petite, especially when they're under a year. A good friend of mine has a girl that's about 6-8 months old now, and although she's always eating, she extremely small and seemingly thin. She's just very active and has a super fast metabolism, it seems.

 

[DonnaK]

Skurge is typically the dominant one. I only got Plague about two months ago and she seems fairly young, although I havent percieved any growth yet.

Worms were something I was wondering about, but thought there would be noticable effects on her health? She seems overall healthy, but remains thin.

I don't know too much about worms, as I've never had to deal with them *touches wood*, but I would think it would depend on how long an animal has had them as to whether there would be noticeable effects on their health, yet.

Like you say, it could just be her activeness that's keeping her slender, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I would recommend a check up with the vet, just to be safe. If you shop around, it shouldn't be too expensive just to have her looked over.