# Elderly Rats



## tortoiseluvr (Nov 11, 2010)

I have two elderly rats who are almost two years old. I am extremely concerned about one of them whose name is Remmie. He has gotten very skinny despite the plentiful and easily accessible food supply. I am looking for some high calorie things to help him put some more weight on because he is starting to feel like skin and bones. I was wondering about giving him some milk through a syringe because he will eat anything that comes out of syringe. He is showing signs of a typical aging male rat, but I want to try and make him as comfortable as possible. He is showing signs of hind leg degeneration, but he still is able to move his hind legs a little bit. Is there anything I can do to prevent his hind legs from becoming completely paralyzed? I was doing some reading but I could not find anything from a reliable source.


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## dmmj (Nov 11, 2010)

I am not being mean but what is a rat's lifespan? Is it like a hamster's 2 years on average I had 2 when I was a kid that lived for almost 3 years.


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## moswen (Nov 12, 2010)

oh how sad i didn't know rats had such a short lifespan! elderly at 2 years? i really want a rat at some point in my life, but 2 years is such a short period of time! i'm so sorry about his hind legs, and i'm sorry i don't have any information to contribute. poor guy!


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## Tom (Nov 12, 2010)

Higher calorie or dairy foods will tax his system to a point that it probably can't handle anymore.

At the point you are at, it is likely the even hundreds of dollars in vet bills couldn't save him. So sorry to give you bad news. I've had lots and lots of pet rats over the years and its never easy to go through what you are going through.

It helps me to try to remember all the good times...


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## South FL Katie (Nov 12, 2010)

Ensure (strawberry seems to be the favorite flavor and mixed with a little water) is a good supplement for old ratties. As far as the HED there's not much you can do about that except keeping him in a one level cage to make it easier to get around. Rats usually scoot around pretty well and don't seem to notice it too much. Give Remmie lots of Ensure and Yogis and he'll be happy. 
I have a rat that will be 3 next month and he has HED too. Most of my other rats died around 2 years old, it's the worst part of rat ownership


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## Isa (Nov 12, 2010)

Poor little one, that is very sad. Can you call a vet for an advice, maybe he will tell you if he could help or not and they will not charge you for a call.
Good luck and please keep us posted.


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## Laura (Nov 12, 2010)

just make him comfortable and cozy.. I agree with Tom.. 
sorry...


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## DeanS (Nov 12, 2010)

South FL Katie said:


> Ensure (strawberry seems to be the favorite flavor and mixed with a little water) is a good supplement for old ratties. As far as the HED there's not much you can do about that except keeping him in a one level cage to make it easier to get around. Rats usually scoot around pretty well and don't seem to notice it too much. Give Remmie lots of Ensure and Yogis and he'll be happy.
> I have a rat that will be 3 next month and he has HED too. Most of my other rats died around 2 years old, it's the worst part of rat ownership :



When I lived in FL, one of my workout buddies was actually giving his older rats Met-Rx (a meal replacement powder that is really high in protein while supplying a minimum of carbs and fat)...so it makes sense that Ensure would work, as well! And nice to see you back Katie! Some updated pics of Cody and Charlie would be appreciated, too!


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## South FL Katie (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks Dean! We're working on their baby pool today so I'll try and get some pictures for you. Cody is practically huge these days


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## Angi (Nov 12, 2010)

Isn't Ensure high in sugar? I don't know if that is good for rats or not. I had a pet rat that seemed to live forever when I was a kid. My mom made me get rid of him when she had a baby because she was afraid my rat would draw others that would eat her baby. I think her lodgic was based on an urban legend. Anyway my rat ate a veriety of fruits, veggies, crackers, nuts and rat food, peanutbutter was a favorite. He also was not kept in a cage. we had a rat table with an open cage on it that he slept in. He got a lot bigger and lived a lot longer than his siblings that my step brother kept at his house. I wonder if this was due to his open space or his diet. I can't remember exactly how long we had him. It seemed like a really long time.
Anyway I am very sorry to hear your rat is in poor health tortoislovr. Maybe a little baby asprin would make him more comfortable.


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## DeanS (Nov 12, 2010)

Angi said:


> Isn't Ensure high in sugar? I don't know if that is good for rats or not. I had a pet rat that seemed to live forever when I was a kid. My mom made me get rid of him when she had a baby because she was afraid my rat would draw others that would eat her baby. I think her lodgic was based on an urban legend. Anyway my rat ate a veriety of fruits, veggies, crackers, nuts and rat food, peanutbutter was a favorite. He also was not kept in a cage. we had a rat table with an open cage on it that he slept in.  He got a lot bigger and lived a lot longer than his siblings that my step brother kept at his house. I wonder if this was due to his open space or his diet. I can't remember exactly how long we had him. It seemed like a really long time.
> Anyway I am very sorry to hear your rat is in poor health tortoislovr. Maybe a little baby asprin would make him more comfortable.



All protein drinks have some sugar...Ensure isn't that bad! SlimFast is pure SH*T! Stay away from it! And a rat is like an ant...give 'm a good sugar source and they're happy! Plus! If it's that old, let go out with some joy!


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## ChiKat (Nov 12, 2010)

Yeah it sounds like a typical aging rat to me. A few of my girls got very thin during their last year.
Their short lifespan is the only downfall to keeping rats as pets! Two of my girls were rescues that had terrible genetics and chronic respiratory problems- they didn't even make it to 2  

Just keep loving him and feeding him a healthy diet. It doesn't sound like he's knocking on death's door or anything- just a typical aging rat!


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## tortoiseluvr (Nov 15, 2010)

Thanks for all of the advice. It is unfortunate they have such a short lifespan. I am taking him to the vet on Thursday to get advice. I am going to see if there is anything I can do to help him and if there is I will help him. If he is suffering terribly and is not going to get better then I will make the sad decision to put him to sleep.


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## Isa (Nov 16, 2010)

Good luck and please keep us updated. I am sending plenty of positive thoughts your way.


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## tortoiseluvr (Dec 15, 2010)

This is an overdue update but better late than never  I took the rats to the vet and it turns out that Remmie had an pneumonia and they both had fur mites. I got some medicine and Remmie is doing much better and they are both less itchy. Remmie will be on the medicine for the rest of his life to keep his respiratory system under control, but it is helping him a lot. I did not want to try to keep him alive just for my sake and have him suffer, but he has made a good recovery from the pneumonia and will live his last days out in peace. Thank you everyone one for the kind thoughts


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