# Senior rat weak :( (critical care dosage ? )



## kindhearted (Aug 4, 2011)

My little old man Gilon will be 3 in August. I've noticed he gets a little more weak as the days pass on. When you hold him, he goes limp. My other female rat is 2 and is much more active than him. I recently bought some Critical Care and I was wondering how to mix this stuff for rats ? He's also getting a little skinnier. I know this comes with old age  He's still eating just not as MUCH as he usually does. He doesn't appear to be sick or anything.


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Oxbow critical care? I just googled to see if they make a rat formula now, and they do not. Do not feed your rat critical care, it is formulated for herbivores like rabbits and guinea pigs whose base diet is timothy grass hay. Rats are omnivores and need meat protein, and cannot digest hay. These are the ingredients for critical care.

Ingredients Timothy Grass Meal, Soybean Hulls, Soybean Meal, Wheat Germ, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Chloride, Cane Molasses, Salt, Potassium Chloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate (Vitamin C), Soybean Oil, Magnesium Sulfate, Papaya, Pineapple, Limestone, Natural Flavor, Oat Groats, Wheat Middlings, Yeast Culture (dehydrated), Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate,Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Copper Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Copper Proteinate, Riboflavin Supplement, Manganese Proteinate, Biotin, Manganous Oxide, Thiamin Mononitrate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium Iodate.
Guaranteed Analysis 

Crude Protein (min) 16.00%
Crude Fat (min) 3.00%
Crude Fiber (min) 21.00%
Crude Fiber (max) 26.00%
Moisture (max) 10.00%
Ash (max) 10.00%
Calcium (min) 0.40%
Calcium (max) 0.60%
Phosphorus (min) 0.20%
Metabolized Energy 24 kcal/tbsp
 Additives 

Vitamin A (min) 19,000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 (min) 900 IU/kg
Vitamin E 190 (min) IU/kg
Vitamin B12 (min) 13 mcg/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C) (min) 10,000 mg/kg
Niacin (min) 60 mg/kg
Iron (min) 300 mg/kg
Zinc (min) 100 mg/kg
Copper (min) 18 mg/kg


These are NOT beneficial or probaly even safe to feed your rat and your rat will not get any of the proper nourishment he needs and it could cause extreme tummy problems like blockages. Do NOT give this to your boy!

I used this for my rabbit after she went to the emergency vet for suspected GI stasis once, and it seemed to work well for her, but do not give this to your rat.


That being said, your boy is doing pretty well for being close to 3! He's a nice old man! I hope he hangs in there and feels better really soon... If you are looking for something to tempt him to eat and will also help him gain weight, buy a few bottles of Nutrical or Ferretvite (same stuff, just different labeling), get any kind, cat/dog/puppy/kitten/ferret, it's all the same recipe. This tastes great and most rats love it. It is also nutrient dense and will help him gain weight. It's sold in most pet stores, but you can also get it online for pretty cheap at Drs. Foster and Smith website. But I would get it ASAP at a pet store and buy more online when you're about halfway through the tube. It's wonderful stuff, it saved 2 of my very young babies who were having difficulty with solid foods. 

What do you feed him for his normal food? If they are lab blocks like oxbow, try soaking them in hot water until they are mush, and mix in some Nutrical. It will entice him to eat and the soaked kibble will help him get more fluids which is important for an older rat. Dehydration could be bad. You can also try a meat and veggie baby food. Most ratties like it. Mine like corn and sweet potato, garden veggie, and turkey and sweet potato. I also frequently make my own instead of buying it. It's cheaper DIY and I know exactly what goes into it. I've also used rice baby cereal and used whole fat soy milk or goat's milk to mix the cereal and they liked it. They soy or goat's milk will help to gain weight. 

Again, do NOT use critical care for him, you will most likely make him very sick.

Best wishes to your boy. Let us know how he does!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Finnebon beat me to it.

See if you can return the product. Hay and "soybean hulls" have no place in a rat diet, regardless of any "nutrients" they are coated in. It could honestly do more harm than good.

See if you can get some Ensure into him, by lapping it up by itself or mixing into a favorite food.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Some nutrical would probably help get his weight up too. Beef liver fried in olive oil is good for them too and some soy or almond milk helps. When Lilly's weight dropped off last year I got her plumped back up with the liver and vanilla almond milk (regular unsweetened almond milk works just as well, I was just drinking the vanila at the time). 

You could actually mix in some nutrical with the liver, I don't think any rat could resist that. 

I wish you and your little old man luck!


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## kindhearted (Aug 4, 2011)

Thanks guys I appreciate it. I didn't feed him it the other day I had a weird feeling not to give it to him. I remember one of my old exotic vets suggested it (probably just to make a buck then) so I purchased it in the office. I've been giving him canned pumpkin, and senior dog food. Also he's on Native Earth blocks but he seems to be losing interest in them and getting spoiled with the soft foods -__-

I also noticed Gilon is starting to drag himself and his back legs are VERY weak. I know this is common with older male rats. It makes me sad to see him dragging himself like that. Will I have to down size his cage ? He's in a huge ferret mansion cage with like 3 levels. He doesn't seem to go to the top anymore like he used to.

Is there anything I can give him or do for him to help his back legs


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

If he is very old, don't worry about spoiling him with soft foods, give him a lot of them if that is what he will eat.

Ensure is good, yogurt, wet canned cat food, soup, cooked meats, warm oatmeal, applesauce, etc are all useful to help with weight in elderly rats.

He may eventually need a single level cage. HED is very common and he could fall if he went too high.


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## Leraine (Feb 21, 2014)

Based on information from Debbie "The Rat Lady" Ducommun's Rat Health Care booklet, who has a background in animal nutrition and health care:
If your rat isn't eating well, Debbie Ducommun claims the best food is powdered soy infant formula, which you can get at the grocery store (Walmart brand is the cheapest). Buy the powdered kind because it wont go bad as quickly as the liquid kind. This infant formula is said to meet more of a rat's nutritional needs than Nutrical (which is a supplement for cats and dogs). To make it complete, you can add enough of a liquid Vitamin B complex supplement to supply 5 micrograms (mcg) of B12 per scoop of formula. Most rats will enjoy the taste. If he doesn't, you can add a drop of vanilla extract or some other flavoring (honey, maybe some sweet powdered drink mix). Give 1-2 scoops of the powder daily. Rats can drink 9-12mL of liquid in one sitting depending on size. Once mixed, the formula will stay good if refridgerated for 1-2 weeks. You can make it the liquid thick to increase the calories he'll get, or you can make it thin to increase the amount of fluid he gets. If he wont drink out of a dish, he might lick it off your finger, or you can use an eyedropper. (I personally give my rat homemade juice via a needle-less syringe, which I think you can get at a pharmacy). 


Infant formula is 50% fat so it should only be given to rats who are having difficulty eating or losing weight. Normal rat diets should only be 5-10% fat. If your rat just needs a supplement but shouldn't have so much fat, use a liquid nutritional supplement for humans like Ensure (available from the pharmacy or grocery store, Costco, and probably even Walmart). There's similar amounts of vitamins but not as much fat. Also give a liquid vitamin B complex supplement to supply 5 mcg of B12 twice daily. 


If you put it in a water bottle, try to use one with a glass sipper tube (metal tubes with ball bearings will get stuck). 


You can also put it in a heavy metal jar lid, and put that on top of a flat square magnet to prevent rats from tipping. (My rat weighs 0.6 lbs, and she is unable to tip over the large ceramic bowls for rodents from Petco, even if she stands on the rim). 


If your rat is sick, she recommends giving a vitamin supplement. You can give them 1/10 of a children's (age 4-12) chewable vitamin/mineral tablet 3 times a week. She recommends avoiding brands with artificial sweeteners because rats may not like that.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

For seniors, I prefer Ensure or other nutrition drinks over infant formula. Vitamin supplements are unnecessary in this case, which is one of the benefits of going with Ensure over infant formula.

Also, do not place it in the water bottle. It needs to be offered separately.


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