# Feeding an old rat



## botje77 (May 14, 2013)

Hi! I have an old rat of over 2years old..and I'm noticing she is losing weight..can i feed her more or give something or some sublements? So yes what do i give her cause I'm realy worried!! I've checked her teeth and they look good so..I'm ging to the vet monday, but she doesn't know much about the feeding..


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## xrattielovex (Jul 19, 2013)

Make sure you check her for tumors. 2 Years is an age where tumors can be very common. Is she eating normally but still losing weight? Then I would suspect that she does have a tumor or cyst that is taking her nutrients from her. 
There are rat vitamins that you can get from any pet store that can help a rat to gain some weight, or feed her small amounts of foods that have good fats such as cottage cheese and baby food.  But you should definitely take her to a vet because a rat shouldn't be losing weight for no reason....just to make sure it isn't an underlying problem that is making her lose weight.


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## botje77 (May 14, 2013)

Is three a specific kind of flavor? I don't know if they can have everything..


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## botje77 (May 14, 2013)

I ment there..autocorrection..


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## PurpleGirl (Oct 12, 2012)

Most babyfoods will be Ok, I usually go for a simple vegetable or fruit mash, or something with chicken in it. Try to avoid the pudding-type things like chocolate banana pudding. There's a sticky thread on safe foods, so if any of the unsafe things appear on the babyfood jar, just go for another kind, here's the thread:

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?39486-Good-and-Bad-Food-for-Rats-amp-Ratty-Recipes

Wet cat food is also good for a rat you're trying to put weight on, plus they love it. Pretty much any variety is good. Mine all like chicken in jelly and fish-flavoured stuff. You can give her some boiled egg too (just let it cool down a little first.) I hope you get on well with her at the vet tomorrow.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

With an old rat I would be very cautious about feeding wet cat food, unless its mixed with something else, as it’s so high in protein.

In old rats weight loss is most often caused by organ degeneration, unless a lump is obvious. This is unfortunately a part of ageing as the organs wear out, and the most common are Kidney and hearts. Whilst there’s not much you can do to fix it you can slow down the progress and make the rat feel a lot more comfortable and full of energy giving them a good number of happy months left, it just takes a few tweaks in there diet.

The diet for heart and kidney issues is similar, but it is well worth getting them checked out at your vet too, a simple urine dipstick test can tell if there are high levels of protein in the urine, this is a sign that the kidneys are struggling. Heart is harder to diagnose, a course of ace inhibitors and a diuretic with a good response tells you their heart is wearing out. It is worth trying a diuretic regardless if your vet will prescribe one as it is part of the treatment for both conditions.

In terms of diet here’s some information I wrote recently for an article for my club magazine.

Feeding for protection – a general diet for older rats

This should ideally start at an early age, feeding correctly when young can make a massive impact on a rats health in later life, however for the purpose of this article I will start from when rats are well into their adulthood and fully grown and moving towards old age. There isn’t a sudden cut off when a rat becomes ‘old’, when you suddenly have to start thinking about specifically feeding as an OAP. It’s a gradual process, linked with their health and any conditions going on in the background. When a rat begins to show these symptoms depends a lot on the rat, it’s genetic make-up, it’s early diet, even its environment and activity levels can have a big impact. In many cases it may be worth gradually transitioning their diet when they get to around the 18-24 month mark, or earlier if they begin to loose condition or you are concerned. However if you rat looks young and fit at this age you may want to leave it a little longer, especially if there are young cage mates sharing the food. Bucks will generally benefit from this sooner in life than does as does tend to age slower and are less prone to kidney related issues. The age you pick is very much up to you and should take into account the rats cage mates as well as if you know anything about their line and any potential health risks associated.

Dry mix
An older rats diet isn’t massively different to a healthy adult rat diet, there following changes are worth introducing as the rats begin to get older;
•	Protein should be around the 12%, this is at the low end of the typical range of protein (12-14%) content for an adult rat diet. Low protein helps reduce the amount of work the kidneys have to do and so keeps them going for longer.
•	Choose kidney kind proteins as the majority or entirety of their protein intake, the best are egg, soya and fish. 
•	Reduce the amount of food products high in phosphorous, this includes oats, wheat (though shredded wheat is still ok as it is relatively low phosphorous) and rye. It also includes ‘brown’ grains, so those grains that still have their bran attached, like brown rice and wholegrain. At this stage it is not necessary to remove them all together but making sure your mix has a larger bias towards low phosphorous grains really takes the load of the kidneys. Where your feeding a block style diet try and choose a block where its main ingredient isn’t one of the grains above, failing that you could water down the wheat by feeding it alongside a low phosphorous grain mix.
•	If your rats are struggling to maintain weight and you feed a mix increase the amount of processed grains in your mix a little, this is easier for older rats to digest, however be warned this can result in your younger rats getting a bit chubby so balance is everything. Where feeding blocks softening them in warm water or feeding regular wet meals can help.
•	Include foods high in antioxidants and vitamin C such as berries, these may help reduce oxidative damage to cells (effectively what causes cells to mutate leading to tumours) as well as boosting the immune system, a general vitamin c supplement is also worth considering.
•	Consider including garlic as this is good for the heart and can also help prevent parasite outbreaks, which can hit old rats harder than their younger cage mates, as they often can’t reach everything quite so well to groom and scratch. Powdered or dried is good for parasites, fresh (ideally raw) is best for the heart.
•	Don’t feed too much, one of the single biggest things you can do for an older rat to help protect it is to keep it from becoming overweight. A little extra weight is a good thing in old age (as it can act as a buffer for illnesses that come up), however your rats shouldn’t be massively pear shaped or spread into an omelette when lying down. Aim for a rat with a nice covering of muscle and some fat but still a nice tubular shape. Weight impacts on most old age conditions, it puts extra strain on the heart, the kidneys, the physical structure and joints and increases likelihood of tumours and other lumps and even cysts and abscesses. Along these lines keeping them as active as possible can really help keep them young for the maximum amount of time, as well as keeping them slim with good muscle tone.
•	Keep an eye on your rats skin, itchy looking dry skin can be a sign that they have too little oil in their diet or that they are becoming allergic or intolerant to a specific protein (sunflower seeds and peanut allergies seem to increase in old age). This tends to affect older rats more than younger, in part due to the reduced efficiency which they process nutrients and in part as they are not as good at cleaning themselves ( a regular brush with a soft bristled brush can help).

Supplements
•	Supplement with Omega oils regularly, these include things like linseed/flax oil, hemp oil, mixed omega oils etc. A few drops a couple of times a week is a good starting point. This helps with joints, kidneys and keeping their skin and fur healthy.
•	Investigate an older animal vitamin supplement, these tend to include some omega oils, lots of vitamin B (helps keep the brain and nerves from ageing so fast), taurine (good for the heart) and sometimes glucosamine (helps joints) too. You can get old animal treats too (normally sold for dogs), however I have found that generally the liquids are easier to control. Good brands I use here in the UK are Senior aid and Senilife, though not all rats like the taste of senior aid.
•	Supplement with a good quality calcium supplement a little more than normal (depending on diet; so if you feed straights based with a calcium supplement, up this from 2 to 3 days a week, if you don’t then including it 1-2 times a week helps). This helps ensure that your old rat gets the calcium it needs even if it’s kidneys are less effective at capturing it. It is important not to go overboard though as too much calcium puts strain on the kidneys too.

Fresh Food and extras
•	Be careful with the amount of dark green leafy veg you offer. Whilst it is very good for rats, in older age it can add extra load onto the kidneys. It is still worth feeding some, but keep this to less than you would give an adult.
•	Avoid lots of high protein meals to help protect the kidneys, where you do feed fresh protein keep it to egg, soya or fish and diluted by carbs.
•	Avoid overly salty and sweet foods to protect the heart and teeth, as well as helping reduce the risk of diabetes.
•	Don’t feed lots of extras unless your rat needs it to keep a healthy weight, whilst a small amount of excess weight is useful an overweight rat is far more likely to be effected by health problems common in old age.
•	Avoid giving them many bones as treats, these are excellent for younger rats and adults but do contain a lot of things like phosphorous and calcium, too much places an additional load on the kidneys. 
•	If your rats start losing weight and condition on just dry mix and veg then consider adding in a regular wet meal (frequency depending on how much they need to keep at a healthy weight) as well as getting them check out at the vets. This gives them more easily digestible nutrients that are also quicker to eat and becomes a very useful tool for hiding supplements in too. Ideas for wet meals will follow. You can also regularly feed a high calorie supplement (like nutrical, high calorie dog supplement) to give them an extra boost, this adds calories and is also an appetite booster, a small blob a day is a good way to help a declining rat and getting them hooked can make giving meds easier if it becomes necessary.
•	A good tip for a rat rapidly losing weight is to introduce high calorie foods such as coconut cream/milk and soya cream to top up a meals calories. Grating dried coconut cream over the top of a meal also goes down very well.

Some Healthy Wet Meal ideas
•	A ready-made balanced soakable mix like rat rations kidney friendly mix (uk and Europe only).
•	Senior dog food mushed up, aim for natural ranges with egg or fish protien if possible, I particularly like burns penlan farm range (essentially egg and rice).
•	Some cooked rice with egg beaten through and lightly cooked and a handful of veg added.
•	Baby food mixed with a bit of soakable carbs (noodles, soakable mix, flaked rice, breakfast cereals etc.), avoid too many sweet ones, unless the rat is refusing to eat anything else (good in an emergency situation). 
•	Tinned mackerel in tomato sauce with egg noodles and sweetcorn (or other veg).
•	Some healthy left overs such as vegetable soup or low salt pasta and sauce.
•	A homemade soakable mix along the following guidelines;
o	80% mixture of soakable grains (aim for at least 3 different grains), some options are as follows; flaked barley, pearl barley, flaked rice, flaked millet, bulgur wheat, cous cous, broken egg noodles, puffed rice, puffed spelt, breakfast cereals. Depending on the rats some prefer a bit more substance or texture to their soakable mix in which case aim for a mix of those that soften a bit (but hold their shape) and those that mush down well.
o	15% dried vegetables, herbs and spices (this adds flavours and variety, try and alternate what you add as if kidney failure is present often rats can associate certain tastes with feeling nauseous so need lots of change), some I commonly add are; mint, basil, thyme, turmeric, cumin, echinacea, dandelions, carrot, leek, cabbage, beetroot (turns the mix nice and pink), peppers, potato, mixed herbs and so on
o	5% protein element; aim for soya, fish or egg where possible here, some options are; egg biscuit, egg food, senior dog kibble (requires longer soaking), dried egg, soya mince, soya pieces, soya flakes
o	Add a bit of oil to each made up mix, ideally linseed or mixed omega oils, you can also use this as a great way to get other supplements into them like senior aid etc.

I’ve got a lot more specific stuff written if its any use, just let me know what condition your vet thinks it is and I will post the waffle for that one. I’d post the full article but it’s a long one and its not out in the club mag yet so they should probably get the first look of it all lol. It’ll go up on my website at some point too


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## botje77 (May 14, 2013)

Wow! Thank you alot for all the information!! I'm going to the vet over about an hour..I'm taking all my other pets with me (my 4 other rats en 6 bunnies) hope everything is allright!


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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

I wish I'd had this info a few months ago when my senior rat started to lose weight. Is there any way we can make this thread a sticky?


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## rattie-love-247 (Jul 9, 2013)

i give my 2 older rats (1.5 yrs) 1/2 a dried prune every week, to keep their digestive system going smoothly. this info above is a big read but i will for sure look into it as well.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Minky said:


> I wish I'd had this info a few months ago when my senior rat started to lose weight. Is there any way we can make this thread a sticky?


I will post the rest of the article here if I remember when it’s out in the club mag, but in the meantime if anyone is looking for some specific info on the following old age associated illnesses just give me a prod and I’ll send you the info.

Kidney degeneration
Hind leg degeneration/paralysis
Heart Failure
Tumours (none cancerous)

They’re the big 4 from my experience (respiratory isn’t such a big problem here, especially in breeder rats), and ones I’ve researched heavily as I’ve had my own rats with the conditions. Dietary stuff is so powerful in terms of controlling the symptoms and improving quality of life with conditions such as the above. Though most can’t be directly fixed (well tumours can be removed). It’s worth saying though that diet before old age has a massive impact on it too, that’s where you can make a big difference on the future health, by reducing the risks or delaying onset of some of the things above,


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## botje77 (May 14, 2013)

Hi people! Thanks for your help thanks to you my darling gained almost 30 grams I don't know how much that is in lbs..but it's alot here in Holland,. She waide 352 grams en now she waid 380 grams in 2 days..with the help of baby food and crickets..they love it I'm also giving her doxicyne for her airways and thank god she loves the taste..I don't have to force it on her..she just drinks it up and she even wants more..here is a picture of the old girl..









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