Possible signs of malnutrition?

[Rapalje]

I'd like to get everyones opinion and ideas about the following:

My pouchies are showing two things that are signs of slight malnutrition in fancy rats. The first is bald circles around the eyes (in fancies it's believed to be a sign of copper deficiency). The second is square edges on the tail. Fancy rats are supposed to have fat, round tails - if they have edges on their tails there's usually some kind of undernutrition going on - the worst kind are very square, 'matchstick' tails, but slightly edged tails are more common and can be avoided by feeding them well, especially during stages of rapid growth.

So... Norbert and Siouxsie both have bald edges around their eyes and slight edges to their (otherwise muscly and thick, but not entirely round) tails. Both could be normal for pouchies, but mabye I should feed them a richer diet than they already get...
I think it's normal for pouchies, with them storing less fat it's probable that they also store less fat in their tails, and the circles round the eyes look like they're supposed to be there, but I'm not sure. What do you think?

[shirley-whirley]

hi there, Bobs tail is nearly all round but seems flatter underneath, I put most recent photo for you, ( ignore the Bump lol) its his injury I take regular photos to compare that it is getting better with time, bald patches I don't know, but I feed Bob same as my fancies, if we are having fried chips n egg then he gets a little, everything we eat he gets a bit in a bowl, sometimes he leaves it, most times he eats it, I give cheese on toast, bits of bread and flora buttery, every morning every rat in the house Bobby included & the gerbil gets a bowl of ready brek porridge ( made with milk) all their lives, i give cereals like crispies & cheerios,I give baked beans & spaghetti in tomato sauce, they love soups, the list is endless they like a piece of digestive biscuit too, even curry & rice, not everyone will agree with what I feed but Bob is huge & looks majestic, I can't really add anymore, only time will tell if I'm doing him any harm but, I know that everytime I tell Marie, Bob likes something she gives it to hers and none of them have what you describe, I like to think out of the box with these, as we all have to remember that in Africa they are scavengers and eat all sorts of everything, if I spot any info I'll post for you, don't worry, it'll probably be absolutely nothing in the end

Bobs Tail Jan 2010.jpg (81.82 KiB) Viewed 177 times

bob tail 009.jpg (84.06 KiB) Viewed 177 times

[shirley-whirley]

Right last night I thouroughly examined this Bobby boy & heres what I see there is no fur on/up to the eyelids after what I call the black mascara, Maries going to look at hers later ---- Tail (ignoring his bump) underneath only it feels flat from base up to white part at which point it feels fully round, but at base perhaps an inch but could be more( but because of bump can't tell,) it looks round but feels square, hope I helped, its all I could think of, so if Norberts & siouxes are same then perhaps its all normal,

[Adrian]

So long as there aren't any other causes for concern I don't think you should worry about malnutrition. After Ambaa had stopped eating properly the first thing I noticed was a more pronounced backbone especially over her rump and towards the tail.

As a more general indicator of health and well being look out for how pronounced their eyelids are. In my experience if a Pouchie is stressed or ill their eyelids become a bit puffy and more prominent.

[Pouchie]

yes, I have seen those signs with the eyelids on Toby after seizures.

[shirley-whirley]

After Ambaa had stopped eating properly the first thing I noticed was a more pronounced backbone especially over her rump and towards the tail.

Ditto after Fynnleys worst bowel blockage he hardly ate for weeks & his spine was very prominant and his sides looked sucked/sunken in, it took months for him to regain his weight, this is a photo of him as he was getting better, you can see the backbone & the sunken sides