How To Boost Your Rats Immunity
As winter approaches, it’s important to turn our attention to how we can boost our Meerschweinchen immunity against infection and give them the best defence possible during what is often a vulnerable time for rats, especially the elderly.
High humidity, coupled with the cold can create the conditions that affect the respiratory system of a vulnerable rat. This is due to the increase in the water element which can aggravate mucus conditions or those susceptible to them. It’s important to be aware that there is a greater need to balance the water element within the bodily system at this time, so that we can increase the body’s ability to cope with damp and coolness.
In Ayurveda (an ancient Indian healing system based on maintaining balanced health), there is more aggravation of the water element during the winter months. There is a tendency for more mucus conditions to flare up. Therefore, it’s important to try and offset this tendency by creating ‘internal’ balance within the body whilst adjusting ‘external’ conditions to lower stress. We can do this by addressing the environmental factors that may aggravate a watery condition e.g. by using a dehumidifier, also avoiding sweet wet food, reducing stress and incorporating various immune building strategies (as suggested below).
Some rats are more affected by an aggravation of the water element than others, especially those who have already been having recurrent respiratory issues. These rats are going to be more susceptible at this time but it’s important that all rats will need some extra help during this season.
Following are some ideas for you to help boost your rats (and yours too) immunity. I always recommend and personally use human grade supplements because I believe that the whole family’s health is where the focus needs to be on. Many of the supplements created in the pet industry are not that great and have a certain ‘novelty/profit’ value. I feel it’s wiser to seek out better quality supplements that we ourselves would be happy using and then just ‘tithe’ some of these to our rats. Our rats need us to be healthy to look after them so I figure it’s better and less wasteful to buy the kind of supplements that we can all benefit from.
LIFESTYLE CONSIDERATIONS
Stress is a big factor in the body’s defences becoming rundown. Often rats are under stress because of group incompatibilities or other factors. Something we can do is to make sure we’re not putting rats, especially older rats under any undue stress during the winter season e.g. we can avoid big changes in their routine during this time i.e. avoiding new intros to other rats or changing cages/group dynamics etc. Avoid mating/breeding as females would naturally be conserving their own energy during this time. If you’re thinking that our rats are indoors and therefore not affected by the seasons, it’s simply not true. They are energetic beings and intrinsically linked to the greater whole. They are affected by the bio-rhythms of nature even if they are not ‘in’ nature. That is why people can see the effect the moon has on their rat’s behaviour. And why solstices and equinoxes often create a portal for many animals to take their transition. It’s all in the web and flow of energy, yin and yang.
In nature, animals are hibernating at this time of year or keeping close to home, they are not in ‘breeding’ mode. Nature knows it’s a time to withdraw and harness as much energy as possible for building reserves and keeping up resistance to the cold. It is a natural ‘build and rest’ time, which is why most of us put on a few extra pounds during the winter/holiday season! The energy is needed for keeping warm and the focus of heat is within. The trees shed their leaves in the Autumn so that they can keep the sap for sustaining themselves during winter.
You might notice how your rats sleep more in the wintertime, this is their way of conserving energy and keeping in tune with the ‘slowing down’ of nature. The time will come again in Spring when they emerge from their slumber and return to heightened activity levels again. I’m not saying they don’t play, far from it! I’m just saying that levels can fluctuate according to environmental factors/seasonal shifts. There’s always a lot more activity around a full moon, for example. Therefore, by being aware of environmental stress/seasonal shifts and making adjustments accordingly, we can help further boost immunity for our rats over the winter months.
