# How Much Nutri-Cal for a Sick Rat?



## S-Harkey (Feb 13, 2008)

Hi Everyone,

The Long Version:

I posted here a few days ago about my old rattie girls. They hadn't been eating very much, and the with the advice of forum members we started feeding them baby food, bananas, and the occasional avocado meat. We've been to the vet, our rats are well cared for, but they are simply very old and nearing the end of their lives. We've even gone to the extent of having a breast tumor removed from one of our girls last winter. Now, we just want to make them comfortable in their final days, weeks or months.
Unfortunately, Basil passed away peacefully in my arms a few nights ago. She was in her favorite chair, with her sister and our family, and she just simply curled up and was gone. She was a wonderful rat, and we all miss her deeply.

The Short Version: 
Basil is survived by her sister, Remy, who is still eating nibbles here and there but who is noticeably depressed. We spend as much time as possible with her, but her appetite has plummeted since the loss of her sister. We were recommended to feed her Nutri-Cal to help her along-- she loves it, but I can't find any info on how much to feed. Can anyone recommend a dosage? If not, I'll make a trip to the vet and ask there. Also, is 100% apple juice ok for a sick rattie? She isn't very interested in water, and I don't want her to become dehydrated.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear about Basil, its never easy to loose one of your girls but I'm glad she had a great life and a peaceful ending. 

I would let Remy eat as much Nutri-Cal as she will eat.. I've never heard of there being a limit in underweight rats. As for getting water in her, don't forget shes getting moisture from any fruit, veggies, baby food and the Nutri-Cal your feeding her! If your worried about dehydration, plus you do want to give her all the fluids you can anyway... so you could feed her chunks of cucumber and watermelon. These are easy to eat and contain lots of moisture... they are also generally loved by the rats. Iceberg lettuce also contains a lot of moisture, but doesn't have as much nutritional value so don't let her fill up on it. You could also leave a shallow dish down, if shes weak she may not be able to use a water bottle.

Baby rice cereal is a great way to get weight on them too, and contains some of the needed carbs in the rice. You can also soak her usual food or lab blocks in warm milk. I would give her very frequent meals.


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