brooklyn
Well-Known Member
My rat Memphis is now 34 months old. I've had him since he was one month and he has been a healthy rat his whole life and even into his old age he hasn't had any major problems, only things like small abscesses and HED which he's adapted fairly well to. I do an overall check twice daily, once before work and once when I get home. I check and clean penis plugs and have safety q-tips for his ears, saline solution for any abscesses, and I clean him with baby wipes daily as well as a weekly soak in warm water to get off any extra dirt. He gets a little bit of low fat, low sodium unflavoured soy milk mixed with banana baby cereal once every three or four days for extra protein, extra lab blocks and of course fruit and veggies, sometimes if theres left over food from dinner he'll get some chicken or fish for extra protein which he loves. He lives in a single level cage where he mostly just sleeps and eats now as he's much more interested in snuggling rather than playing. I take him out probably for about 2 hours a day but with breaks every 20-30 mins in case he needs to go to the bathroom since he cant hold it like he used to. I also leave lab blocks on the bed and have a cup of water beside the bed that I offer to him once every fifteen minutes or so since he has a hard time getting in and out of his cage without assistance. Is there anything else I should be doing to help keep him comfortable in his old age?