Also one of my rats is extremely fat and one is normal.The dominant one is the fattest,Can I put her on a diet? If so what should I feed her please?
2007-09-29 13:15:27 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
I keep rats, and in all cases they lived for anything up to three years. I have never heard of or experienced one living to six years of age although there may be rare cases of rats living longer than three years.
It is possible to put your rat on a diet but this will have to be thought out specifically for your animal. Rats have complex dietary needs and many rat food mixes don't cater for this. This is why supplements of dry dog foods and other things such as fruit, veg and nuts are necessary. Just be sure not to feed them any citrus (i.e. orange), especially if males.
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I wish you and your rats all the best.
2007-10-01 11:19:52 · answer #1 · answered by Pye 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
most Rats I have known have lived around 3 years on average, some only made it to 18months and one 4 1/4.
as for the fat rat, if they live together, you can't really put one on a diet and expect it to eat different food to the other, it obviously gets more of the food being dominant and likely if you don't offer treats directly to them, will eat more than its fair share of treats, causes its dominate, it will take treats off the other one.
I would cut down on any treats and fatty or sugary foods extra to their regular rat mix diet, make sure it had plenty to do, ie a rat safe wheel as large hamster ones can e of the design that could risk the rats tail being injured.
if it is grossly over weight, it might be worth having it looked at by the vets to make sure it doesn't have a medical condition as to why it is fat. offer treats to each rat, don't just put a handful in the cage and hope they will 'share' fairly, as they won't.
check out good websites on feeding rats and see if you are feeding enough of the right stuff and you might get some expert breeders or vets advice on best makes of food that can be brought in your area/country.
last bit of advice, never just top up the bowl of food if they haven't finished the bowl full, as this encourages the more dominate one to select its favourite items out of the bowl and not eat a balanced diet, by making them finish their bowl full, the fat rat will be forced to eat the bits it likes less, which are normally the ones that are better for it and also help wear their teeth down.
hope this helps a bit
2007-09-29 20:53:10 · answer #2 · answered by crystalwillows 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
2-3 years is the average.I've heard of rats living to 4 but never heard of 1 getting to 6.
2007-09-30 19:22:02 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Put them on a Shaunomite diet.
But, yeah, generally rats live to about 2 1/2 years.
You might be thinking of Giant Pouched Rats that you can also keep as pets, and they live to 6+ years.
2007-09-30 06:59:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Rats live on the average of two and a half to three years, though the occasional has been known to live to be five or six, but this in tern is very rare
2007-09-30 09:25:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well it depends,i knew a breeder that had a rat lI've for 7 1/2 years my two lived for five and ive heard of rats dying before there 2 so i think it all depends on how there kept, decent sized cage with runs a good diet and a loving home with diligent owners makes for the best combination .
2007-09-30 12:28:22 · answer #6 · answered by bluepixie1982 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I have had three rats and the first one lived until he was about four, the other two only two... but my vet told me that two years was the average... As for a diet only a Vet can advice but if their life-span is so short, I would rather them enjoy what they can while they can..........
2007-09-29 21:10:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've had 7 rats. I would say 3-4 years is more accurate. My healthiest boy lived about 4 years, died in his sleep. It depends on how healthy you keep them and how strong their immune systems are! With a clean cage, lots of love and a good vet you are almost guaranteed 3 years!
2007-09-30 15:39:17 · answer #8 · answered by Atilla the Han 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Anywhere upto about 6 years, depends on the rat.
No idea how you could put one on a diet if you are keeping them together unless you were to feed the thin one a bit more while you have the fat one out for exercise.
2007-09-30 09:02:22 · answer #9 · answered by Debi 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Average life span is 2 to 2.5 years but they can live 3 to 4. Here are a couple good sites to check out...
http://www.dapper.com.au/
http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/Rat_Care.pdf?docID=1701
http://www.petwebsite.com/rats/fancy_rats.htm
2007-09-29 20:36:50 · answer #10 · answered by mom of 2 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋