Caring for a elderly rat

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Ratgirl81

Active Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2009
Messages
40
Location
North West ~ UK
Hiya, as i posted on another part of this forum we lost one of our rats over a month ago and now only have one, he's got HED now and i have been reading around and have read that some of you use glucosamine, do you think that it would be any good if we tried to give him that? and how much?

Also we have made him a retirement home in a part of the cage and i put fleece in there and keep it clean and all that, but i think that he's got a bit of bumble foot :sad3: its like a little sore of the bottom of his foot, what should i do about this? apart from keeping him on the fleece and everything really clean, do i have to wash it with anything? this is our first time at having rats and are learning as we go, i just don't want to miss doing anything to care for a elderly rat.

thank you

Lisa
 
Some people have had success using glucosomine and vitamin b12...here's the thread: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11305&p=151669&hilit=glucosomine#p151669
I've never tried it myself...
As for the very small sore or bumblefoot, I don't think there's much extra care that is needed for him. He's probably not using the foot as much now so padding the cage with the fleece like you are already doing should be good enough as well as keeping it very clean.
 
Thank you very much for answering! Am now giving him a bit of Glucosamine, see if it does anything. Though i know not to expect any miracles or anything.

These are our first rats and i never knew all this about bumble foot and HED and seeing it is awful and it looks so bad, he can move his back feet a tiny bit still but he doesn't use them and drags them a lot.
We are trying another vet next time we have to go, the other one we got passed around way too many times, seeing different vets and one said that if the legs go you should put them to sleep, but reading on here just coz that happens doesn't mean you have to until they cannot have any kind of life anymore.
It doesnt look like its getting any worse though, and im keeping it clean, also giving him a underneath mini bath/rub down every night as he cant clean under there so well.

Now we have had rats though we are having them forever! Don't know if i could cope with how many some of the people on here have though, but i think its great that those rats are happy for the rest of their lives and well looked after.

thank you
~ Lisa ~
 
Enjoy your special bonding sessions with him in his slower months, you'll never forget it :)

And when washing him, if he can't get his nether regions so well, you may have to look out for penis plugs D8 Worst things ever but you've just gotta remember how uncomfortable it must be for him if he can't clean it out himself >.< I had to do that for my Joey when his back legs went.
 
Argent said:
Enjoy your special bonding sessions with him in his slower months, you'll never forget it :)

And when washing him, if he can't get his nether regions so well, you may have to look out for penis plugs D8 Worst things ever but you've just gotta remember how uncomfortable it must be for him if he can't clean it out himself >.< I had to do that for my Joey when his back legs went.
Click to expand...


Thank you to you as well for replying! :)
He is really more cuddly than he ever was before and it's really nice, i wish he was ok still though and could get around.
When they get HED, it doesnt mean that they are getting near the end does it? I mean, do rats get this and live for ages after getting it?

As for the penis plugs, wow never knew, thanks for letting me know.
I have been reading this forum mainly as i know that what i read here is true, i have been reading over all the posts for elderly rats and care and every other one too, to learn more and to be able to care for Mr Maxwell and future rats much better :)
When im washing him there, if he had a penis plug would it be really obvious that he had one? Like something bad blocking the end? Just want to know what im looking for :shock: and make sure he never has one.

Thanks again!

~ Lisa ~
 
I have two old timers now, one with HED and the other pretty spry still. I just make sure they are both clean and I use fleece, so things are always soft :)

I adopted both of these fellas, over 2 years already! I make sure they are given extra yummy foods and they are both able to feed themselves and drink properly. I will sit and wait to watch them using the water bottle or munching a lab block.

Neville is my lil man with HED and its hard to see him drag along, but he seems to get along fine. I clean him everyday. Teddy came to me with CHF and bumblefoot. I have him on meds and keep the feet washed. The sores look wicked, but they don't bleed and are not getting bigger. I am testing out a bath with epsom salt soak and then a special ointment my brother sent that is used on burn victims. It encourages healthy skin regeneration. I used a similar routine on a girly with a really nasty spay incision (it was GROSS, whole belly opened and was infected). She healed up wonderfully, so I have hope for the bumbly foot Teddy. :happydance:

Oldies are so sweet and love cuddles. I spend hours with Neville in my lap and Teddy wandering the couch. Its a wonderful time and it will be something you remember when he is gone.
 
That's a good account of a penis plug MomRat thanks for posting that link.

Most of the time, the smell will hit you first... that's how I usually know when my boys have a plug to pluck.
 
wow thanks to you all!
and gosh i wish that i hadnt read and looked at that before i was just about to make tea :sick2: :shock: (thank you for the link) now at least i know what im looking for, smelly stuff and anything looking like them pics.
I can imagine how bad that would be for the rat, just looking at it isnt nice, to imagine any rat having to live with that.
Will be looking for that soon when i get him out and showing my BF that link as soon as he gets home from work, i give him the best treats! :)
So glad that i found this place, have learnt more about rat care since reading from here than i ever have searching the internet and not knowing what to believe and what not to.
And i really like cuddling with him, he's so cute when he crawls to me and wants to fall asleep.
Can't ever imagine not having rats now, will have them for the rest of my life! :heart:
 
Hey Ratgirl!
One thing I learned on my first ratty go-around was that after my Minnie died, Cassie was VERY lonely. When there were two of them, I had to drag them out of the cage kicking and screaming. After Minnie was gone, Cassie would throw herself out of the cage at me, and hated to go back in. So make sure you give your little man the absolute most time out of the cage with you as possible. They don't need to be entertained, they just want to hang out with you, and are happy snuggled on your shoulder or in a pouch.
Or, think about getting some more ratties....
 
Thanks all for answering :) well can safely say at the moment he doesnt have a penis plug! (thank you god)
he likes his mini baths, sits on my knee helping me do it, and he likes that when im there helping him sit up he can lick down there himself.
And thanks Joanne, he does come out with me a lot, he's right next to me right now in fact on my left hand where he likes to go to sleep! But i know what you mean, and on another thread i have said that we have been thinking about getting more rats, the only thing is, i think it might stress him way too much, he cant move around much, and everything, and all the into stuff that would need to be done with him, i dont know if it would be just too much for him, its only for that reason that we're not going and getting more rats. Would love more but thinking about him first. But we have been getting him out more, he hangs out with us on the bed more now, food bowl there and some water and if he's out for a while his little shoe box to go into if he wants.
Did you get more rats after Minnie died?

From now on we're going to have more than two rats and if introduce anymore do it before they get older to make it a bit easy for them. These were our first rats and i have learnt a lot since having them and even more since reading this forum.

We are thinking about trying a new vet as well as i said on another post, they do exotic animals i have read and im hoping that there's not that many vets who work there so you wont see a new one each time, I'm hoping that a nice vet (hoping we get lucky) will show me how to cut nails in person, so much easier to take it in if you see it being done. But my thing is, if its a exotic animal vet, they should know more about rats right? So would they say that we were being cruel to Mr Maxwell with him having HED or would they understand that it didnt mean that he needed to be put to sleep?
Was just wondering what the vets take on that was?
 
Ratgirl81 said:
Did you get more rats after Minnie died?
Click to expand...
Cassie had myco and was on permanent antibiotics. They were my first rats and I didn't know if it was contagious or not, so didn't want to risk it with new rats. As it turned out, Cassie started to go downhill very soon after Minnie died, and (as I later discovered) had a pituitary tumor, so she had to have her cage restricted to one level when she started losing her balance and falling. Minnie died Remembrance Day weekend, and Cassie died on New Years Day, so she wasn't too long by herself.
Now I have 8 ratties, so no one has to be alone....
 
So sorry to hear that, at least they are together though x
I know what you mean though, these were our first rats and its all been a learning curve. In future we will never just have two rats, i don't ever want to be in this circumstance again, and from what i see on here they are lots more happy in a bit of a bigger group as well.
 
It's interesting to observe the group dynamics. They do seem to have their buds, and are usually in groups of two or three, although sometimes one is off by themselves, or there is a big pile of 4 or 5. Everyone gets along though. My three older girls were young when I got them, and then one had babies, so 6 of 8 are related. The other two are spinster aunts LOL.
Everyone is neutered/spayed - 6 girls and two boys. It's great, I've never observed any kind of fight except "Hey! That's MY piece of cheese!" "No, it's MINE!" "No, I told you the first time, MINE!" "I think you're sadly mistaken, I said it's MINE!"
You get the idea....... :giggle:
 
I've been giving two of my guys glucosamine for about 3 weeks now and I swear they are much more mobile then before. It's liquid jamieson cherry flavor, 1,500mg and usually I can give it to them without any flavoring and they drink it right down, sometimes I have to mix it into cereal though. I've been giving about 1mg a rat which works out to 100mg a rat. It can't really harm then other then causing an upset stomach. My sister works for a vitamin company and recommended that I also try some chondroitin because it's supposed to be good for joints as well even though it hasn't really been proven but like the glucosamine it can't hurt. Pink also gives her rats glucosamine and has good success with it. I think she recommends a higher dose of 200mg/lb? but you might want to pm her and ask directly.
 

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