# Rats losing fur and weight??? Please help?!



## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

My friend has two rats and just recently she has noticed a great decrease in their weight and some loss of hair. They are sisters, both about 6 or 7 months old. They are eating fine and nothing has changed with their food or environment that we know of. One of them is very skinny where you can basically feel her bones. We are getting worried about them. Does anyone know what it might be?? 


-Rats are my life-


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Could you explain a little more about their diet? What are they eating? Also, a little background information on where the rats came from would be good - are they pet store rats (and therefore mill rats) or did she get them from a breeder or rescue? Have they ever had health problems before that either of you know of? Are they sneezing?


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

They eat Wild Harvest lab blocks, and fruits and veggies, some yogurt on occasion and sometimes she shares a little of her food with them depending on what it is. They were "feeder" rats from a reptile store. They have the exact same diet as my rats (except my oldest girl eats oxbow now because the WH blocks have too much protein for her.) and mine were from a pet shop who gets their rats from the local breeder. Other than that we both give our girls basically the same care. They have had some minor upper respiratory issues in the past but it has been pretty much cleared up now.


-Rats are my life-


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

All right. As with any responsible rat parent, I'm assuming your friend knows that her rats being feeders makes it highly likely that they are inbred or genetically predisposed to specific conditions?

Now, I'm most certainly not an expert in this department - and I'm not sure if it applies to rats - but I'll give it my best guess. First of all, anything I say should not be taken as professional opinion and your friend should get her rats to a vet as soon as possible. Onto my thoughts: 

When cats or ferrets begin to lose weight, and ferrets in particular often lose fur and begin to go bald, it's very often something to do with kidneys. In the case of the ferrets, it's Adrenal disease - a type of cancer that messes with the adrenal glands. I'm sorry to say that this is especially present in pet store ferrets, which are bred in mills, and is often eventually the cause of the ferret's death or needing to be put to sleep. My uncle has had seven ferrets over the past ten years and almost every single one of them passed to Adrenal disease. The only exception was one of the females who got another type of cancer as well and began to pass blood in her stool, so on and so forth.

As I've said, I don't know if this disease is particularly common in rats but I do know that it sounds like this disease. I hope for the sake of your friend and her fuzzies that I'm way off base.


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

Yes, she is aware of that. She just saw these two girls in there lonely in a little tank and just couldn't help but get them. 

Thank you for the advice! I will let her know. Her family is really struggling financially right now and I don't know how quick they will be able to get the girls to a vet, but we will do everything we can. Rats are our whole lives and her and I would do anything for ours. Thanks again! 


-Rats are my life-


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## Maiden (Mar 9, 2012)

I don't have any professional qualifications, but I say check their teeth. A problem tooth can be hard to spot but it can make the difference.

Also, lab blocks are a good healthy diet, but these girls sound like they need some weight. I would give them a seed mix to fatten them up a bit. And, personally, peanut butter cookie dough. Not too much, but my boys love it and it should chub them up a bit.


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

Thanks! I will let her know about that too! 


-Rats are my life-


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

I agree with them needing to put on some weight. If the weight loss is not due to poor kidney filtration but something else, then a change in diet may help. Ask her if she noticed that the girls are drinking more water than usual, and if they have diarrhea. These are more symptoms of kidney issues. I can't find anything that says Adrenal disease occurs in rats but seeing as the cause of it in ferrets are tumors in the adrenal glands, and rats are predisposed to cancer whether or not they're feeder rats, it seems highly likely that this could occur.

For both of the girls to have it kick in at the same time, however, is a bit strange. They may be related but it doesn't usually kick in, in sync. There could be something else going on with them - were they exposed to anything bad for rats? Like chemicals or other substances? Is there a possibility that despite the diet she has them on, there's something they're ingesting that is causing them problems?

Does anyone else know of anything that can cause kidney failure in rats if ingested? Where's that list of what rats can and can't eat...

Well, the good and bad food list here says that mangos & orange juice can lead to kidney cancer in male rats (I'm not sure why not female), so that's probably not it - and also mentions dried corn could cause liver cancer via contaminants. Ask her if she's fed them any treats on the side with their normal food, and ask her what those treats are - very specifically.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Maiden said:


> I don't have any professional qualifications, but I say check their teeth. A problem tooth can be hard to spot but it can make the difference.
> 
> Also, lab blocks are a good healthy diet, but these girls sound like they need some weight. I would give them a seed mix to fatten them up a bit. And, personally, peanut butter cookie dough. Not too much, but my boys love it and it should chub them up a bit.


Good on the teeth call, but not good on the diet supplementing. You want them to gain weight, not fat or get excess protein.

OK 6-7 months old, both girls having hair loss right?
Are they rex? Rex rats coats can thin and look patchy although 6-7 months is very early

Has she checked them over for any scabs on the body or excessive itching.

I created an article on my site just to answer ectoparasite questions, instead of typing, I just link now 

http://lilspazrats.wikispaces.com/Health+Care+-+What's+On+My+Rat?++(ectoparasites)

One girl started to get very skinny/bony? Does she run on a wheel? Some rats become seriously lean if they are avid (read fanatic) wheel runners LOL

Is she still acting well, bright, active, eating, pooping, etc just fine?

Definitely check the teeth, if she has a malocclusion (crooked teeth) then she will be unable to eat properly, you can also smell her mouth to see if you can smell infection from there.

Wild Harvest lab blocks? I cannot find ANY information on them, which in itself is scary. That would mean its not quality at all and may not be supplying ALL the nutirents a rat needs, hence fur loss and losing weight for some.

What is the breakdown of protein, fat, fibre, etc?
What are the ingredients?

I think you need to change the diet of all your rats except Oxbow lady, she's getting prime food.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Found it. Corn and Molasses...yeah ...ick.

Look for Living World Extrusion for Hamsters...oddly enough its a fantastic balanced lab block for rats. Harlan Teklad is fantastic but you need to order it online, and as you know Oxbow. I won't suggets Mazuri because the Mazuri you buy in stores is 23% protein. 

http://www.pet360.com/Product/16048/living-world-extrusion-hamster-food#product_ingredientstab


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

lilspaz68 said:


> Good on the teeth call, but not good on the diet supplementing. You want them to gain weight, not fat or get excess protein.
> 
> OK 6-7 months old, both girls having hair loss right?
> Are they rex? Rex rats coats can thin and look patchy although 6-7 months is very early
> ...


They aren't rexes, just normal fancy rats. 

Me and everyone I know in my area who has rats feeds them Wild Harvest blocks and all of our younger rats have always been very healthy until this time with my friend's two girls.
But should I list the nutrition information for you? I'm not even 15, I know a few people who have rats and so they told me what food they all used and since everyone I know used it I figured it must be pretty good quality. Probably should do my own research instead next time, but none of us have had problems in the past related to our rat's diet except my oldest girl losing some hair which I simply switched her food to oxbow.

Wild Harvest Rat/Mouse Blocks:
Crude Protein (min.) 16%
Crude Fat (min.) 6.0%
Crude Fiber (Max.) 5.0%

Also, I asked her and she said that lately one of her girls (the skinniest of the two) had been wheezing and coughing really bad last week when she had been very busy and did not get the chance to thoroughly clean the cage. Also I read that bad uri's can cause weight/hair loss. 




-Rats are my life-


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

lilspaz68 said:


> Found it. Corn and Molasses...yeah ...ick.
> 
> Look for Living World Extrusion for Hamsters...oddly enough its a fantastic balanced lab block for rats. Harlan Teklad is fantastic but you need to order it online, and as you know Oxbow. I won't suggets Mazuri because the Mazuri you buy in stores is 23% protein.
> 
> http://www.pet360.com/Product/16048/living-world-extrusion-hamster-food#product_ingredientstab


Thank you, I will tell her about these foods and work on finding them for my own rats. 


-Rats are my life-


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

PrincessRat said:


> They aren't rexes, just normal fancy rats.
> 
> Me and everyone I know in my area who has rats feeds them Wild Harvest blocks and all of our younger rats have always been very healthy until this time with my friend's two girls.
> But should I list the nutrition information for you? I'm not even 15, I know a few people who have rats and so they told me what food they all used and since everyone I know used it I figured it must be pretty good quality. Probably should do my own research instead next time, but none of us have had problems in the past related to our rat's diet except my oldest girl losing some hair which I simply switched her food to oxbow.
> ...


Coughing and wheezing are a respiratory infection not a dirty cage. URI's can cause weight loss because it takes so much energy just to breathe. A severe untreated URI could definitely lead to a poor conditin which could include hair loss, but its not a common thing at all.


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

lilspaz68 said:


> Coughing and wheezing are a respiratory infection not a dirty cage. URI's can cause weight loss because it takes so much energy just to breathe. A severe untreated URI could definitely lead to a poor conditin which could include hair loss, but its not a common thing at all.


I didn't mean the coughing and wheezing was from a dirty cage, the girls had been struggling with a slight uri for a while and a dirty cage could have been a part in making it worse is what I meant.


-Rats are my life-


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

PrincessRat said:


> I didn't mean the coughing and wheezing was from a dirty cage, the girls had been struggling with a slight uri for a while and a dirty cage could have been a part in making it worse is what I meant.
> 
> 
> -Rats are my life-


Ahhh, does your friend realize that URI's don't go away and only get worse and worse ending up killing the rats in a horrible way?

And this is why we try to give them the best possible diet...it can help improve their immune system as much as each rat isable...some rats have weak immune systems due to previous exposure or genetics, and you hae to work within that sadly, but you try to give each rat the best chance you can. I changed all my rats onto a high quality lab blocks and noticed a huge difference overall in health. My sickly rescue rats often live 2.5 years plus now.


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## elliriyanna (Jul 27, 2011)

When my rats came to me they were very thin and I had to supplement their diet with other foods also I have heard about nutri-cal but I have never tried this. I do agree that fur loss sounds like they are not getting the proper nutrients or at least not digesting them right. I feed Mazuri but we get it from a local feed lot and its only 16% protein.

Is there anything in their diet that maybe shouldn't be?

I have also heard about feeding oatmeal to help with weight... This may not apply to rats lilspaz correct me if I am wrong but when my hamster lost a ton of weight because she has no teeth we had to seriously re-evaluate her diet ... now she gets soaked pellets so they are mushy with baby food and nut butter mixed in ( I am sure for rights there are better options than peanut butter) she is very healthy now the baby food is to thin the butter so its safe for her to eat


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

lilspaz68 said:


> Ahhh, does your friend realize that URI's don't go away and only get worse and worse ending up killing the rats in a horrible way?
> 
> And this is why we try to give them the best possible diet...it can help improve their immune system as much as each rat isable...some rats have weak immune systems due to previous exposure or genetics, and you hae to work within that sadly, but you try to give each rat the best chance you can. I changed all my rats onto a high quality lab blocks and noticed a huge difference overall in health. My sickly rescue rats often live 2.5 years plus now.


Yes, we are both aware. She taught me almost everything I know about rats. 


-Rats are my life-


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## CheckeredRats (May 19, 2021)

lilspaz68 said:


> Good on the teeth call, but not good on the diet supplementing. You want them to gain weight, not fat or get excess protein.
> 
> OK 6-7 months old, both girls having hair loss right?
> Are they rex? Rex rats coats can thin and look patchy although 6-7 months is very early
> ...


hey, So you seem like you know what your doing, can you help me? It has a lot of the same symptoms, check out my post for more info but please help.


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## Enne (Dec 12, 2020)

CheckeredRats said:


> hey, So you seem like you know what your doing, can you help me? It has a lot of the same symptoms, check out my post for more info but please help.


The post you replied to is 9 years old, they probably aren't going to reply.


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## CheckeredRats (May 19, 2021)

Enne said:


> The post you replied to is 9 years old, they probably aren't going to reply.


oops, I thought it was only a couple months old
I didn't pay attention. I must look pretty dumb


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