Lone Rat

Shop with us on Ebay
Fins us on Amazon
Advertise with us
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
R

Rebekkah

Guest
Hey guys, i had to put my one rat down on Monday, and now I am at a loss. I can't get another rat because of housing situation (made a deal with the landlord I wouldnt get anymore, or he could kick me out), but i also am scared to rehome the one I have now because she is so dependent on me.
Now, she has always bèen an introverted rat, even when her sister was alive, she never botheree too much with her. They are free range so they always stayed on opposite ends of the room. I know she knows her sister is gone, though i couldnt take the body home to bury it because of where i live, so i already feel bad about that. Now she is just sleeping alot and comes out to eat and will still run around the room.
My ultimate question is, should i rehome her, or will she be okay on her own? She is older, about 2 years, and i have someone in mind for a rehome if i choose, but i worry about her getting depressed without me.
Im still in shock over her sister, and i feel horrible that i haven't taken the time to thimk about Daisy.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss....it really is hard when you lose a rattie. They seem to intertwine themselves in your heart.....
 
I'm so sorry you lost one. As posted by Dena, it seems they worm their way into your heart before you realize it. Unfortunately, I don't know the author of this quote, but it's one of my favorites. "If there is a heaven, it's certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become to interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them." I'm not very religious, but this quote still touches me.
Simply for Daisy's sake, it may be best to keep her with you. Uprooting her and forcing her to move could be stressful for her because she is currently grieving and she is older, after all.
I had two male rats from the same litter. Amun passed away from a freak accident and Maddox, the introverted brother, never seemed keen to be around me (which was fine). When Amun died, he wanted me to hold and pay attention to him a lot more. Daisy may do that, but in the end, she may not. For now, offer her your support and make sure she feels loved. I wouldn't usually recommend keeping a rat alone, but I'd be afraid of uprooting her at her advanced age and mental health. For now, just offer her support. I wish your landlord would give in and let you get her some babies/rescues to bond with.
 
I am very sorry about your loss.

As others mentioned, Daisy will new a great deal of attention from you, a stuffed toy to snuggle with - that contains no small parts etc as it will likely be chewed …… and people can never replace the companionship of another rat ……. Maybe she could be introed to your friends rats and they could spend part of each day together?

Would it be possible to explain the situation to your landlord and request permission to get Daisy a friend, or permission to foster an older rat for a rescue so that Daisy is not alone?

It is possible that Daisy could still live another 6 months to a year so it would be good if she had another friend (or 2 young rats to befriend)

As I am sure you are aware, unsupervised free ranging is dangerous and the potential for damage is very high so a new rat may cause a lot of damage.
 
Last edited:
SQ said:
I am very sorry about your loss.

As others mentioned, Daisy will new a great deal of attention from you, a stuffed toy to snuggle with - that contains no small parts etc as it will likely be chewed …… and people can never replace the companionship of another rat ……. Maybe she could be introed to your friends rats and they could spend part of each day together?

Would it be possible to explain the situation to your landlord and request permission to get Daisy a friend, or permission to foster an older rat for a rescue so that Daisy is not alone?

It is possible that Daisy could still live another 6 months to a year so it would be good if she had another friend (or 2 young rats to befriend)

As I am sure you are aware, unsupervised free ranging is dangerous and the potential for damage is very high so a new rat may cause a lot of damage.
Click to expand...

I was thinking I could find a rescue rat amd sneak her in, but its ridiculously hard to find older rats where i live. I may visit the pet stpre tomorrow to look at the rats.

The only other thing is that Daisy is sick, so my vet told me not to introduce new rats or else they'll get sick, and the cycle goes on.

So far, she hasnt seemed to clue i to the fact yoyo (her sister) is gone, shes actimg like her normal self, eatimg and sleepimg alot as usual (she always slept more than her sister, so this is not alarming)
 
I hope Daisy the best, especially if she's getting the treatment she needs.

I know this forum is adopt don't shop, but if it's easier to find her baby rats to pair up with, that may be the next best bet. If friends or family have a rat of the same sex (or a neutered male rat), see if they'll bond to each other (after Daisy has recovered from her illness). My Maddox went to live on another eight months without Amun, making him just shy of his third birthday. (Maddox wasn't living alone during this time, babies had been intro'd and are now grown up).

Daisy may be concealing her grief. Rats are prey animals and, in the wild, can't afford to grieve over their lost friends and siblings. Just make sure she gets snuggles, maybe some extra treats.
 
There are often rats of all ages being rehomed on Kijiji etc …. there are also several rat rescues in Ontario
If you do get young rats you will need to get two because babies need other babies to live with
and there are always babies being rehomed on Kijiji etc from pet store surprise litters or accidental pregnancies
 
Also, if you go to a pet store, ask if there are any older rats that are owner surrenders. They usually won't put them out for shoppers, because people usually only want to buy babies. They may also know someone who needs to rehome, but doesn't want to drop off for it to just become reptile food. That's how I ended up with Eva (we didn't end up naming her olive), and she's a super sweet girl!
 
Aw I’m so sorry it’s so hard to lost a rattie, I found some good info on the YouTube channel shadow the rat since she’s gone through similar experiences, but it’s been awhile since I’ve checked it out, there is a vid about when u come down to the last rat hope this helped in so sorry
 
SQ said:
What is wrong?
What medical treatment is Daisy getting?
How is Daisy doing?
Click to expand...
Daisy has a small URI, not as bad as her sister, thankfully. She was on baytril for a while, but has now stopped making the funky breathimg noises, but still has a small bit of congestion. I take her monthly to my vet, just to see how far the progression is, which is not a whole lot as of right now
 
If she is still making noises then she still needs to be on medication,
since it has been ongoing you might want to see about treating with 6 weeks of baytril +azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) orally, twice a day
 

Latest posts

Back
Top