Norry slowing down *sigh*

My boy Norry is slowing down, not wanting to come out of the cage much... not bossing the other boys around any more.
He seems to be comfortable, just tired. he's the guy with the heart issue (probably cardiomyopathy)

he's not having trouble breathing, he's not breathing faster or using his abdominal muscles to breathe, he's just- tired looking.

Dre and Rocko play together now more and seem to be working on which one is going to step into Norry's spot as alpha
Kinda sad for me to see but they all seem to be handling it well.

I don't really have any questions, I just wanted to talk about it, is all.

I can say that boys in my kraken group are the least likely to have any type of energy. They dont run to far at all for anything LOL I think boys slow down when they get older so it is pretty normal. This group has floor space to come out in and rarely do i see many boys out there.

How old is your boy? They do tend to slow down and sleep more as they age, especially as they edge closer to two, and beyond age two. If he already has a heart condition, he may find it tiring to not take it easy. Just keep him comfortable and let him enjoy himself however he can at this point. As long as he seems happy, is eating and drinking, and doesn't seem to be in pain, all is as good as it can be.

A lot of my boys are like that too, just slugs... They are perfectly content to just lay around all day - even if we take them out of the cage they just want to lay on top of the couch. However, Popper and Oliver had days like that too - mostly Oliver - where he didn't want to come out and play and on other days he was fine. He might just need a couple days to rest. Does everything else seem the same to you?

thanks for understanding guys.

Norry is around er, lets see, his estimated month of birth was anywhere from June to Sept of 2012 (Dre is probably his brother, Rocko is about the same age, or slightly younger, maybe 19 mos)
I gave him an Aug birthday which would make him 20 mos old but he could be as much as 22 mos. OH my where has the time gone!?! I'm gonna cry.........

Rocko is still very active (but then he had a better start in life then Norry and Dre who came from a feeder breeder and were put in wiht a snake!)
Dre is still very active as well, it's only Norry who has slowed down.
Norry has always been the calm one, the more sedate one, and he has always needed more rest. Vet believes he was born with the heart condition so this makes sense.

But even for him, he's slowed down enough that he's no longer the alpha, as far as I can see. He doesn't come out to supervise the other boys.

I enjoy him when I'm with him, but when I think about him maybe leaving me soon, I get so sad.

Well gonna dry my tears, have some tea and put on a happy face for my boy. Gotta clean up their room too.

I know what you mean. I was just thinking today how all mine are over 12 and up, and most are over 2 years old. It's scary when they get up there in age.

Where does the time go? My boys are just over 22 months. I constantly worry about their health, it's something I'm working on not driving me nuts. It's so hard. I can imagine you worry when your alpha boy is no longer in charge. It sounds like it's just his heart that's slowing him down. *hugs for Norry*

I had to do a big cage clean out so that meant Norry needed to be out of the cage, whether he wanted to be or not.
He wasn't doing much for awhile, but then he got a burst of energy and started roaming around with Dre and Rocko. Rocko was absolutely thrilled!

Norry seems to pace himself well, maybe that's why I never see him breathing fast. When he's been out roaming for a bit, he'll get into a hut or go under the cage and rest, close his eyes, and then he'll get a lab block and slowly nibble on that.

I watched him climb up the ramp after I'd put the cage back together and he did that very slowly- do you think it's time to take the shelf out of the cage and only have one level? Dre wouldn't care, and Rocko still climbs a lot so he'd be ok. I think I'll work on some larger hammocks as levels for them and see how that works out

it was so good to see Norry out playing. He even came over to me for snuggles. <3

That's great

You said they are swaying now, so he maybe walking up the ramp slower do to eye sight. I notice my older boys have more trouble which the steep ramps as they get older. Perhaps you can stack boxes or something else he can use to climb in and out of the cage. That might also have something to do with him slowing down when he's out, especially if you change things around.

I completely understand about them getting older and losing them. After Popper I was like that's it I'm done with rats no more after these 14 its just too hard losing these guys... I can't keep going through this! I also was thought from now on as soon as they are diagnosised with something that's it they get pts right then and there. No more daily medications and trying and trying to keep them with us longer - just get it over with since this is where we end up anyway. Obviously that last insane thinking, I'm over and I'll probably get more ratties too - maybe! Its just so depressing to lose and think about losing these guys... So your definitely not alone in that....

It's tough to see our babies aging, that's for sure. Your boy has had the best care from you, so try not to dwell on things you have no control over, and just enjoy every day with him. What a lucky boy that his angel put him in your hands instead of a snake's belly!