How much sleep is normal and what's the slow-down age?

[ChrisK]

Lollipop is approx 16 months old, and Skittles we think is about a year old. They both seem okay overall, but they sleep a lot, and I wondered if this is normal. Most days both ratties are up and ready for out time at 6am, when I take them out for about an hour. Lately some days Lollipop will not come out, she wants to stay behind and go back to sleep. But most days she comes out.

I leave for work and when I return around 5 or 6pm, sometimes one or both girlies will come to the corner of the cage nearest the door to say hello, and then they both go back to sleep. For Skittles most often, she prefers sleeping the rest of the time I'm awake. Lollipop will take more out time in the evening maybe half the days of the week.

So I don't know if they're up and active when I'm asleep, but I've worked at home a number of times, and they were sleeping thru the day. It looks like they sleep 20 hours a day. Is that normal?

I'm wondering if I should be doing something to stimulate them more. I remember Lollipop being much more active when she lived alone, but she was also younger then too. Which brings me to my next thought.. I'm wondering at what age girlie rats slow down. I seem to recall hearing 18months somewhere. Could this be an age slow-down?

Both girls seem just fine when they're awake.

 

[fenshae]

Around the 18-month mark ratties do tend to start showing their age more.

In my experience, my guys are usually asleep for the VAST majority of the day, waking up later in the evening. They used to keep me awake with their wrestling until I got used to the noise -- but that's the most active time for them, around midnight or later. For the most part, I'd say about 80% of the time, they'll be snoozing somewhere or another. Some are more active than others just by nature. Like, my girl Velvet was ALWAYS on the go, nest-building, chasing her tail, being a complete spaz constantly until the day she died. Her daughter Lily pretty much ate, and slept, and occasionally slept IN her food bowl so she could do both. So some of it's just personality.

When you let them out for free-roam time, are they active and interested in their surroundings? I would say if you let them out and they're still sluggish/uninterested in playing, they may not be feeling well....but if that's not the case, they're probably just being lazy rats.

On the bright side, lazy rats are much easier to cuddle. :thumbup:

 

[Marylou]

Great advise from Fenshae, Our girls are about 16 months and they are not as active as they were when we got them last July, but I feel they are not only older, they develop a routine, like dogs do.

I tend to go to bed early, Michael loves playing with the girls at night, he tells me that they are much more active and peekaboo, who normally is shy with him, comes out of her shell and plays :0)

I'll have to stay up late one night and check that out.

We also put them out for playtime at least 1 hour each evening, and they get energized by that, they play with each other, as I have 3 sets of females that don't all live together. They just play together.

 

[lilspaz68]

a year old rat is really just an adult, but may have slow down into adult rhythms by then, and then some are young nutbars til almost 2 . A 16 month old girl is likely to have slowed down some. The insane energy of youth is past, and they will sleep a lot. Mine are awake off and on at night but mostly quiet, 5 am is their hour to make serious noise, they wake up when I do, begging to come out or have pats when I medicate, change their waters and top up food bowls. Then they go back to sleep after that excitement is over. They usually sleep pretty steadily until I get home, then wake up and start bouncing for the most part. The older rats 18 months plus not so much bouncing as ambling. The much older rats at 2 years often are awake but still snoozing off and on, and the elderly sleep insane amounts.

They sound pretty normal to me :thumbup:

 

Abby (momma rat) is getting up in age too, I am not sure of her exact age but I am thinking around 16-17 months.
One weekdays when I get up in the morining all my ratties are up and full of energy, so I taken them out for a half an hour while getting ready for work. Then when I get home 530, they are all sleeping, and then usually around 630 they are all up again and full of energy. So I take them out again 630 for about 4 hours. But I have noticed that Abby is the last one to drag her lil ratty bum outta bed in the evenings, but once she is up, oh buddy watch out.
On weekends, they don't go to sleep until I get up (must be a habbitt from the weekdays), as soon as they get a treat there gone to bed, and they won't budge until 630 ..I could be making the most noise and tey wont even stir haha, then I take them out again for 3-4 hours.

 

[ChrisK]

Hmmm.. okay.. thanks for sharing those experiences. It sounds like my girlies are pretty much normal and just in a schedule that suits them (maybe not as much me, but that's okay).
I do notice they both have good days and not-as-good days energy-wise. I figure that's probably normal as we all have those. They are curious and energetic when they're out of the cage. Lollipop takes a bit longer to get going when I take her out, but she explores and plays once she does get going.

 

[Marylou]

Hmmm.. okay.. thanks for sharing those experiences. It sounds like my girlies are pretty much normal and just in a schedule that suits them (maybe not as much me, but that's okay).
I do notice they both have good days and not-as-good days energy-wise. I figure that's probably normal as we all have those. They are curious and energetic when they're out of the cage. Lollipop takes a bit longer to get going when I take her out, but she explores and plays once she does get going.

Are they spayed????

I wonder if behaviors are cyclic with the heat cycles, I plan on logging this, as I'm noticing my girls to be on and off...

 

[Teri]

My unspayed girls range in age from 6 months to about 9 months. They are all very active from about 8 at night until about 7 am. They do take little "rat naps" but mostly are very active in the hours after dark!! Bessy 31 months and Buttercup, 25 months are lazy bags of bones!

 

[ChrisK]

Neither of my girlies are spayed. Also Lollipop, who is the oldest, has never given birth, but Skittles had before I adopted her.

For sure when one or both are in heat, they are little Road-Runners. (reference to an old cartoon for those who are not familiar.)