Cage mate passed away.

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davidwilson

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Hello, I'm looking for advice. I have two rats for just under two years. I bought them both at the same time. Suddenly, one of the rats was acting strange last night and after contacting an emergency vet, I had to get him put down due to ilness.

This is very sudden to me and I have been upset all day as both rats seemed healthy. However, this has left the other alone and I don't know what to do to comfort him when he is grieving.

I have moved the cage into the bedroom and I bought a soft toy to comfort him. I know that rats need companionship but I don;t know how long he might need to grieve etc.

Any advice?
 
I think you could get him another rat friend immediately if that is your intention. Make sure to go through the proper introductions though. Moving his cage in with you was a good idea however, Because he definitely needs some comfort right now. Give him lots of extra attention.
 
I hope I can. I do not want to leave him alone for long but I'm also worried about him grieving and worried that he may not accept other rats yet.
 
I hope I can. I do not want to leave him alone for long but I'm also worried about him grieving and worried that he may not accept other rats yet.

Spend as much time with him as you can and if you are wanting more rats in your life, then I would get him a buddy or two. If you can find a spayed female, that would be easiest but a couple of young boys would do too. The intro process would take some time so you will need an extra cage for that.
 
It's come at a bad time as me and my partner are both working a lot in the next few days and since we were not expecting this to occur, I am unsure if putting him up for adoption would be a more realistic route to go.
 
At two years old, I think I would then just try to spend more time with your rat while you are home. Unless you know someone who is trust worthy and knows about rats... Be very careful when rehoming. There are a lot of people pretending to be adopting for pet but in fact they are feeding their snake.
 
I agree, please either spend as much time as possible with him or adopt another older rattie or a pair of younger rats to befriend him ................. you could check with rescues or sites where people are rehoming pets ..... you might see if a rescue would like you to foster a couple of rats that could befriend him ...... at 2 years, he might pass away soon or live another 6 to 8 months
 
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